Community Variations in Crime: A Spatial and Ecometric Analysis

Abstract

Collective efficacy is a new theoretical construct that describes a task-specific process for mobilising social capital to tackle specific neighbourhood problems. Collective efficacy has never been investigated in Australia, yet research in Chicago finds that communities with high levels of collective efficacy experience lower levels of violence regardless of poverty levels. We will conduct a spatial and ecometric analysis of collective efficacy and crime using a survey of 3000 residents in 50 Brisbane communities. We will compare similar data from Chicago and Stockholm to investigate the Australian contribution of collective efficacy to spatial crime patterns and its potential for future crime prevention programs.