An Intersectional Analysis of Differential Opportunity Structures for Community-Based Anticrime Efforts

Numerous studies document the positive ramifications of locally based crime prevention efforts, but also reveal that neighborhoods are not equally positioned to engage in such efforts. The same social–structural correlates of high crime rates also make locally based initiatives less likely to emerge and more difficult to sustain. Opportunities for organized anticrime work are therefore unequally allocated across neighborhoods. In this article, I adapt the differential opportunity structures framework to explore an additional dimension of unequal opportunities for crime prevention: those that exist within organizations themselves. Using an intersectional lens to analyze 3 years of ethnographic data on civilian-run anticrime efforts in a small east coast community, my findings illustrate how processes groups use to train and teach their members, the day-to-day realities of their work, and the contours of social interaction within a group all impact participation. Social status factors like race, gender, and age impact access to learning and performance structures associated with anticrime work at the local level.