Citation

Hannon L, DeFina R. Soc. Probl. 2010; 57(4): 611-629.

Affiliation

Villanova University.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Society for the Study of Social Problems, Publisher Oxford University Press)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

20976973

Abstract

Previous research has identified a positive relationship between prisoner reentry and crime rates. The relationship potentially reflects both the recidivism of reentering offenders and the broader impact of the releases on the social organization of the areas to which they return. This article explores how economic conditions moderate the association between the size of the reentering population and crime rates. Using a state-level panel spanning the years 1978 through 2003, and two alternative measures of economic strength, the results demonstrate that the amount of increase in property and violent crime associated with prisoner societal reentry is substantially lessened by strong economic conditions. The findings suggest that economic conditions and criminal justice policies should not be pitted against each other as simply competing explanations for variation in crime rates. Instead, they should be recognized as irreducibly interdependent.

Language: en