Keri B. Burchfield

NOT IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD Assessing Registered Sex Offenders' Experiences With Local Social Capital and Social Control

Community registration laws requiring sex offenders to register with local law enforcement have become increasingly popular and increasingly restrictive in recent years. Although these laws were passed under the auspices of protecting communities from dangerous and violent sexual predators, little research has addressed their efficacy or their consequences. Building on a social capital framework that emphasizes the resources provided by local ties to family, friends, and the community, data from semistructured interviews with 23 sex offenders were analyzed to explore their experiences with local social capital while being registered and on and off of parole. Sex offenders discuss problems accessing and participating in networks of local social capital, incidents of community residential mobilization against them, and their experiences with formal barriers to social capital, including parole restrictions.

OUT OF THE PROJECTS, STILL IN THE HOOD: THE SPATIAL CONSTRAINTS ON PUBLIC-HOUSING RESIDENTS' RELOCATION IN CHICAGO

ABSTRACT: Public housing, usually located in predominantly poor, minority neighborhoods, has long been associated with concentrated poverty and spatially constraining opportunities for upward mobility. The federal government created HOPE VI in 1992 to transform the physical and social shape of public housing, demolishing existing projects and replacing them with mixed-income developments. To accomplish this public-housing residents are relocated with housing voucher subsidies to the private market and only a small portion will be able to return to the new mixed income developments. To what extent do these voucher subsidies simply reinforce a stratified housing market by limiting the types of neighborhoods available to former public-housing residents? Using spatial analytic techniques, this study examines the spatial patterns and neighborhood conditions of voucher housing and how these patterns link to public-housing relocatees’ destinations. Findings indicate that voucher housing tends to be clustered in poor African-American neighborhoods where the majority of relocated public-housing residents settle. Thus, there appear to be spatial constraints on relocatees’ residential options.

Sex offender residence restrictions in Chicago: An environmental injustice?

Guided by an environmental justice perspective of public policy, this study combines child sex offender registry information with US Census and geospatial data to examine the extent to which differences in the physical structure of Chicago neighborhoods (N = 872) affect the efficacy and fairness of the citys sex offender residence restrictions. Findings from mapping and regression analyses show that, because of differences in neighborhood size and the spatial distribution of prohibited sites (i.e., parks, schools, and daycares), Chicagos 500‐foot rule restricts the available residential space for child sex offenders to a much greater extent in disadvantaged neighborhoods (n = 175) than in affluent neighborhoods (n =130). The data also indicate, however, that despite legal proscriptions, child sex offenders continue several years after residence restrictions were first imposed to concentrate in disadvantaged neighborhoods and in relatively close proximity to prohibited sites. Implications for the offenders and communities are discussed.

The Impact of Alcohol On Different Types of Violent Incidents

The research examined whether alcohol intoxication is a greater risk factor for some types of violence than others, using data from the National Violence Against Women and Men Survey (NVAW). Analyses indicated that offenders were much more likely to be intoxicated when they physically assaulted a stranger than when they assaulted someone they knew and least likely to be intoxicated when they assaulted an intimate partner. Offenders who committed sexual assaults were no more likely to be drinking than offenders who committed physical assault. It is argued that conflicts involving people who know each other are more intense and may lead to an assault without the facilitative effect of alcohol.

Assessing Community Residents’ Perceptions of Local Registered Sex Offenders: Results from a Pilot Survey

Building on a social capital and social control framework that emphasizes the importance of the local neighborhood context for residential action, this research utilizes data from surveys of community residents to examine their perceptions of their neighborhhood, their familiarity with sex offender policies, and their awareness of and attitudes toward local registered sex offenders. Results indicate that a majority of residents are unaware of the presence of local sex offenders. However, residents who perceive their neighborhoods as high in informal social control also perceive their neighbors as more likely to report on local sex offenders.

Misperceived Neighborhood Values and Informal Social Control

Social disorganization theory explains the effects of neighborhood structure and culture on crime and delinquency. Within this perspective, the role of neighborhood informal social control is argued to be an important protective factor against many social problems. While a growing body of research supports the importance of informal social control, we still have limited understanding of its development. Of the research that does exist in this area, most examines structural processes supporting informal social control, while cultural aspects of communities have only rarely been examined. We further develop this limited body of research by drawing on the prevention literature that focuses on social norms and their misperceptions. Specifically, this study examines the role of pluralistic ignorance regarding neighborhood values on the likelihood of informal social control. The results are discussed in relation to social norms theory and their relevance for crime‐prevention strategies.

The Sociology of Animal Crime: An Examination of Incidents and Arrests in Chicago

ABSTRACT This study seeks to sociologically examine the patterns of animal crime in one large American city. Using Chicago Police Department animal crimes data, this research analyzes the types of crimes perpetrated, characteristics related to animal crime, and patterns of arrest. Findings indicate that a majority of animal crime was classified as abuse/neglect. High animal crime areas had higher rates of crime, more socioeconomic hardship, and more African-American residents. Compared to abuse/neglect, animal fighting was more likely to occur in community areas with more socioeconomic hardship, and animal crimes were more likely to result in arrest when they occurred in areas with more hardship.

Special-Needs Companion Animals and Those Who Care for Them: Stories of Identity and Empathy

Through a series of in-depth interviews asking individuals about their decisions to adopt special-needs companion animals, we discovered that a combination of anthropomorphism and empathy are at play when individuals decide to adopt them. This tendency is explained using David Blouin’s typology of guardians: humanistic and protectionistic guardians anthropomorphized their companion animals, exhibited greater empathy, and were more willing to adopt animals with special needs.