Extracommunity Dynamics and the Ecology of Delinquency

Influenced by Park and Burgess, Shaw and McKay grounded their ecological model of delinquency exclusively in the dynamics of local communities. Although recent developments in human ecology have emphasized the adaptation of cummunities to external contingencies, this internal emphasis has continued to dominate the criminological literature. This paper examines the effects of radical change in adjoining areas on local delinquency rates. Evidence is presented that such external processes have a significant effect on local rates of delinquency. The consideration of these processes may explain why some stable, organized communities are nevertheless characterized by high rates of delinquency. Suttle's concept of the defended community provides a promising means of incorporating these findings into general ecological models of crime and delinquency.