Racial Segregation, Concentrated Disadvantage, and Violent Crime

Existing studies have identified an association between racial segregation and crime but analyses of segregation and crime have occurred solely at the city level of analysis. Measurement of segregation at the neighborhood level is necessary because the larger the unit of analysis is geographically, the more likely variation in segregation is to be concealed within the aggregate unit. This study provides analyses of segregation and crime at the neighborhood level and empirically examines the process by which segregation produces crime. Results indicate that segregation is positively and significantly associated with aggravated assault at the neighborhood level and that the effect of segregation on assault is fully mediated through economic disadvantage. These findings suggest that segregation is an important predictor of violent crime and that efforts to control urban violence should address the many sources of disadvantage caused and exacerbated by segregation.