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Neighborhood Effects on Crime and Youth Violence
The Role of Business Improvement Districts in Los Angeles
Despite declines in youth violence nationally in the past decade, incidence of youth violence and victimization — from assaults to homicide — continue to be pressing concerns in public safety and public health. Youth violence is also a particular concern for low-income, minority communities, where poverty, family instability, and unemployment provide a fertile context for gangs and illicit drug markets. Due to the effects of youth violence and the documented association between community socioeconomic conditions and violence, officials and researchers have invested heavily in developing and examining community-level responses to youth violence. While some of these community-level approaches have shown evidence of effectiveness, they are often expensive, difficult to sustain, and hard to replicate. What community-level interventions and activities might address underlying environmental conditions that facilitate youth violence rates in communities? RAND investigators examined the impact of business improvement districts (BIDs) on crime and youth violence in Los Angeles. BIDs are self-organizing, local public-private organizations that collect assessments and invest in local-area service provisions and activities, such as place promotion, street cleaning, and public safety. Such activities can contribute to community-level attributes that might reduce crime and youth violence by increasing informal social control, reducing visible signs of disorder and blight, improving order maintenance, and providing enriched employment opportunities by facilitating overall improvements in the local business environment.
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Pages: 138
ISBN/EAN: 9780833046635
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Contents
Chapter One:
Introduction
Chapter Two:
Budgetary and Organizational Characteristics of BIDs
Chapter Three:
Observations of Business Improvement Districts
Chapter Four:
Family, Individual, and Community Effects on Youth Violence
Chapter Five:
Analysis of BID Effects on Reported Violent Crime
Chapter Six:
Summary and Conclusions
Appendix:
Results for the K Model with Natural Spline Year Effects
This research was conducted under the auspices of the Safety and Justice Program within RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment.
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