Citation

Bichler G, Orosco CA, Schwartz JA. J. Crim. Justice 2012; 40(1): 83-93.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2011.12.002

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

PURPOSE: This research fulfills a void in offender mobility discourse. Metropolitan socioeconomic and spatial structure, defined in crime pattern theory as the urban backcloth, plays a significant role in shaping travel behavior; and yet, current analysis of offender mobility continues to favor individual characteristics to account for travel range.

METHODS: Using a large sample of juveniles, both delinquent and at-risk youth (N=2,552), this study compared the predictive utility of individual characteristics against indicators of urban backcloth.

RESULTS: Delinquent youth were found to be more sensitive to the environmental conditions exerted by community-level socioeconomic characteristics than their at-risk counterparts. However, two factors--intercity hierarchical structure and motor vehicle access--accounted for travel variability among all youth.

CONCLUSIONS: Offending behavior must be examined within the context of a dynamic environmental context formed by the metropolitan socioeconomic and spatial structure. Delinquents constitute an identifiable subgroup of youth.

KEYWORDS: Juvenile justice; Juvenile delinquency