A Macro Social Analysis of the Change in Robbery and Homicide Rates: Controlling for Static and Dynamic Effects

Abstract This research, drawing on social disorganization and social deregulation theories, examines the effects of static and dynamic measures of the ecological structure of municipalities on the change in the level of robbery and homicide rates during the 1970s. The data analyses, for a sample of 109 U.S. cities, reveal that the change in the level of crime is affected by the change in the ecological structure of cities, as well as ongoing social processes. We interpret these findings as indicating that structural conditions which weaken social cohesion produce an increase in the level of crime.