Section 8 Vouchers and Crime: A Comparison of Six Neighborhoods in Stockton, California
Format
Oral Presentation
Faculty Mentor Name
Keith Smith
Faculty Mentor Department
Political Science
Abstract/Artist Statement
Is there a relationship between crime and Section 8 housing? In 2008, Atlantic Monthly journalist Hanna Rosin published an article investigating the relationship between high crime rates in the Memphis area and newly formed clusters of Section 8 recipients. Using research done by criminologist Richard Janickowski and his wife, sociologist Phyllis Betts, she concludes that the Section 8 program is responsible for the rise in crime rates for Memphis, Tennessee. She extends this conclusion to the rest of the United States, implicating a whole host of housing programs. Housing advocates and policy makers were quick to respond to these allegations, arguing that Rosin had established no causal link between Section 8 and crime, and that her findings could not be verified for the country as a whole. This paper seeks to test the hypothesis that the presence of Section 8 housing increases crime rates in an area. To do this I use a controlled comparison of crime rates in six Stockton neighborhoods in 2009, using three pairs of neighborhoods matched by similar demographic characteristics. Drawing from crime statistics from the Stockton Police Department, I then examine their crime rates in comparison to their matches, before finally drawing a conclusion. The results reveal that there is insufficient evidence to state that there is a relationship between Section 8 and crime. This presentation will cover relevant theories of crime, as well as the methods, research design and results of my study.
Location
DeRosa University Center, Room 211A/B
Start Date
21-4-2011 5:00 PM
End Date
21-4-2011 8:00 PM
Section 8 Vouchers and Crime: A Comparison of Six Neighborhoods in Stockton, California
DeRosa University Center, Room 211A/B
Is there a relationship between crime and Section 8 housing? In 2008, Atlantic Monthly journalist Hanna Rosin published an article investigating the relationship between high crime rates in the Memphis area and newly formed clusters of Section 8 recipients. Using research done by criminologist Richard Janickowski and his wife, sociologist Phyllis Betts, she concludes that the Section 8 program is responsible for the rise in crime rates for Memphis, Tennessee. She extends this conclusion to the rest of the United States, implicating a whole host of housing programs. Housing advocates and policy makers were quick to respond to these allegations, arguing that Rosin had established no causal link between Section 8 and crime, and that her findings could not be verified for the country as a whole. This paper seeks to test the hypothesis that the presence of Section 8 housing increases crime rates in an area. To do this I use a controlled comparison of crime rates in six Stockton neighborhoods in 2009, using three pairs of neighborhoods matched by similar demographic characteristics. Drawing from crime statistics from the Stockton Police Department, I then examine their crime rates in comparison to their matches, before finally drawing a conclusion. The results reveal that there is insufficient evidence to state that there is a relationship between Section 8 and crime. This presentation will cover relevant theories of crime, as well as the methods, research design and results of my study.