Schools, Neighborhoods, and Violence

The study of place has recently gained prominence in new work by sociologists and criminologists. Neighborhoods, Schools, and Violence furthers this evolution of the merger of social disorganization theories and opportunity theories in explaining the crime potential of place. Specifically looking at data from Prince George's County, Maryland, author Caterina Roman cogently utilizes the criminal opportunity framework to examine the influence of schools on neighborhood variations in the rates of violence. Roman's research seeks to answer, What are the contributions of routine activity and social disorganization to block-level violence?, and How does the presence of schools change the relationship between opportunity and violence? Criminologist, sociologists, and any one interested in temporal and spatial aspects of crime opportunity, will find this volume an invaluable tool.