Browsing by Author "Stucky, Thomas D."

Now showing 1 - 10 of 23
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    Alcohol outlets, social disorganization, and non-violent crimes in urban neighborhoods
    (Taylor & Francis, 2016) Snowden, Aleksandra J.; Stucky, Thomas D.; Pridemore, William Alex; School of Public and Environmental Affairs
    Many studies show an association between alcohol outlets and violence, though fewer consider non-violent crime. We add to this literature using block group data from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to explore whether (1) on- and off-premise alcohol outlet density is related to thefts from vehicles and vandalism and (2) social disorganization moderates these associations. Using spatially informed regression models, we found positive effects of on-premise alcohol outlet density on thefts from vehicles. We also found positive effects of on- and off-premise alcohol outlet density on vandalism. Social disorganization was not a consistent moderator of these associations.
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    A bigger piece of the pie? State corrections spending and the politics of social order
    (2007-02) Stucky, Thomas D.; Heimer, Karen; Lang, Joseph B.
    The dramatic increase in American state prison populations during the past three decades has sparked considerable research interest. Empirical research has most often examined changes in prison admissions or populations, but few studies have considered shifts in state corrections budgets. This study examines variation in annual, state-level corrections expenditures as a proportion of state expenditures from 1980 to 1998, drawing together existing theoretical arguments about criminal punishment under a common rubric that focuses on state responsibility for the maintenance of social order and the need for state officials to maintain office through popular election. From this view, partisan politics, economic and racial threats, citizen preferences, fiscal considerations, policy priorities, and crime are important explanations of corrections spending because they affect strategies for maintaining social order, garnering votes, and maintaining political office. Findings generally support this perspective. Partisan politics, racial threats, state economic prosperity, and budgetary priorities all play a role in determining state corrections expenditures.
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    The Conditional Effects of Race and Politics on Social Control: Black Violent Crime Arrests in Large Cities, 1970 to 1990
    (2012-02) Stucky, Thomas D.
    Numerous studies of the determinants of formal social control of Blacks focus on racial threat arguments, which contain implicit or explicit political elements. Using insights from research on politics and social control more generally, this article argues that the relationship between variation in the racial composition of a city and social control of minorities will be conditional on characteristics of the local political system. Hypotheses are tested using pooled cross-sectional time-series data on 100 large U.S. cities in 1970, 1980, and 1990. Contrary to expectations, Black violent crime arrest rates are curvilinearly negatively associated with larger percentages of Black residents. As predicted, the relationship between the percentage of Black residents and Black violent crime arrest rates is conditional on city political system characteristics (elected mayors, district council elections, and partisan ballots), the race of the mayor, and the percentage of city council members who are Black.
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    Crime, Politics, and Punishment: Criminological Research for Political Sociologists
    (2013-07) Stucky, Thomas D.
    As a sociologist studying the intersection of crime, punishment, and politics, it is often surprising to me how many aspects of political sociology and the study of crime and punishment overlap, and yet, there is often limited cross-fertilization of the two fields. For the sake of brevity in this discussion, I refer to those who study crime, deviance, law, criminal justice, and punishment as criminologists. My goal is to provide an extremely brief “primer” on criminology for political sociologists, in the hopes that a short reading of some issues and research in criminology may stimulate additional theorizing and research, as has so often happened when I have read political sociological work. To do this, I begin with a brief discussion of overlaps in political sociological and criminological perspectives. Following this, I highlight some examples of criminological research which incorporates politics, and would likely interest political sociologists, Then, I highlight a hot button issue in criminology – sex offenses – and suggest some ways that political sociologists could examine recent legislation on sex offenders and conclude with brief discussions of a few additional areas of overlap for the two disciplines.
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    The Effect of Foreclosures on Crime in Indianapolis, 2003-2008
    (2012-09) Stucky, Thomas D.; Ottensmann, John R.; Payton, Seth B.
    Objective Until recently, few studies have examined the relationship between home foreclosures and crime. Foreclosures are one major source of neighborhood instability and can be expected to affect crime from several theoretical perspectives. Some recent research has found conflicting results on whether foreclosures cause crime. Method This study examines whether foreclosures are a robust predictor of crime and whether the effect of foreclosures on crime varies across neighborhood contexts. We estimate fixed-effects negative binomial models using geocoded Indianapolis foreclosure and crime data for 2003–2008 to predict crime counts in 1,000 feet × 1,000 feet square grid cells. Result Foreclosures exhibit consistent positive effects on indices of overall, property, and violent UCR-reported (where UCR is Uniform Crime Report) offenses in a cell and rape, aggravated assault, and burglary counts. In addition, foreclosures had greater effects on reported UCR crimes in stable neighborhoods, especially those with more owner-occupied homes. Conclusion Foreclosures were a robust predictor of crime in the current study.
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    Exploring the Conditional Effects of Bus Stops on Crime
    (2014-03) Stucky, Thomas D.; Smith, Sarah L.
    Public transportation is a major element of social life in most cities, and the most common mode of public transportation is busing. This study examines whether bus stops are a robust predictor of crime, net of other factors, and whether the effect of bus stops on crime is conditioned by socioeconomic and land use factors. We use geocoded Indianapolis crime and bus stop data for 2010 to predict crime counts in 500-feet × 500-feet square grid cells, using negative binomial models. Net of other factors, bus stops are associated with variation in counts of Uniform Crime Reports reported rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and larceny in a cell. In addition, the effect of bus stops on crime was conditioned by land use characteristics. In particular, the effect of bus stops on crime was greater in commercial and industrial areas, but dampened in areas with high-density residential housing.
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    Further Tests of the Influence of Black Mayors on Murders of Police: A Response to Jacobs
    (2010-05) Kaminski, Robert J.; Stucky, Thomas D.
    In response to our reanalysis and extension of Jacobs and Carmichael (2002) in which we found no evidence of a Black mayor effect, Jacobs (this issue) critiques our article on theoretical and methodological grounds. Theoretically, Jacobs argues that we did not provide sufficient justification for the inclusion of the percentage of the city council that was Black. Methodological criticisms include failure to include a nonlinear specification of percent divorced, improper temporal ordering, and the inclusion of only a single regional dummy variable. In our rejoinder we clarify the theoretical importance of the percentage of the city council that was Black and we address each of Jacobs’ methodological concerns. In additional analyses, we again find that the effect of the Black mayor variable is not robust to model specification or data employed, which was the point of our original article.
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    Gender, guns, and legislating: An analysis of state legislative policy preferences
    (2008-11) Stucky, Thomas D.; Miller, Geralyn M.; Murphy, Linda
    Extant research suggests that gender affects the policy preferences of state legislators, particularly on women's issues. Fewer studies, however, have examined whether gender affects state legislators' policy preferences on other issues such as gun control. The current study uses 2000 National Political Awareness Test (NPAT) data to examine whether gender affects the preferences of state legislators regarding gun control policies. Results suggest that net of individual and constituency characteristics, female legislators are more likely to indicate support for gun control policies than their male counterparts.
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    Intra and Inter-Neighborhood Income Inequality and Crime
    (2015-01) Stucky, Thomas D.; Payton, Seth B.; Ottensmann, John R.
    One important factor in many macro-level theories of crime is income inequality. Although research generally shows that low levels of neighborhood income are associated with crime, research studies have been less clear on whether income inequality is a robust, independent predictor of crime, particularly in small area studies, and few studies have explicitly considered income inequality between neighborhoods, and those that do typically focus on homicide. The current study examines whether within and between neighborhood income inequality is associated with variation in violent and property crime. We employ geocoded Uniform Crime Report data from the Indianapolis police department and economic and demographic characteristics of the population from the American Community Survey for 2005–2009. Consistent with prior research, lower levels of income were associated with higher violent and property crime counts. Within-tract income inequality was also associated with higher Uniform Crime Reports violent and property crimes in most models. Results also showed that the ratio of tract income levels to neighboring tracts is associated with variation in crime. Thus, both local and nearby income inequality affect crime. Implications for theory and policy are discussed.
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    Investigating Whether Contacting Absent Students Increases Course Success
    (2008-02) Stucky, Thomas D.
    Studies suggest that student attendance in college classes increases course success. Yet, surprisingly few studies have examined strategies to increase student attendance. The goal of the current study is to consider whether contacting consistently absent students increases success in an undergraduate research methods course. Results of this classroom action study suggest that students view contacts positively and a majority stated that they were more likely to attend class following the contact. In regression analyses, however, net of other factors such as prior grade point average, contacts did not predict final grade percentage and D/F rate comparisons to a prior semester without contacts showed modest but not statistically significant improvements. Implications are discussed.