Numerous studies have explored the relationship between rates of homicide and income inequality and poverty. However, a general consensus on the theoretical and empirical connections among these variables has yet to be reached. This article reports the findings of a city‐level analysis of this relationship, using 1990 data for the 190 largest cities in the United States. In order to address several methodological and theoretical concerns in prior literature, three separate measures of inequality and three categories of disaggregated homicide rates are analyzed. The results suggest that both inequality and poverty have significant and independent positive effects on rates of homicide in U.S. cities following the largest increase in the economic gap between rich and poor in our nation's history.

To expand our understanding of gender inequality and violent crime, this study provides an assessment of the relationship between gender inequality and lethal violence against women. The authors use a cross-sectional design with racially disaggregated census data for 158 large U.S. cities in 1990 to assess the degree to which women's absolute status and their status relative to men affect their risk of homicide victimization. Overall, the findings suggest that although certain measures of women's absolute and relative socioeconomic status are related to female homicide victimization rates, when race-specific measures are used, the effects hold only for White women.During the past three decades, researchers have produced a substantial number of studies examining the link between inequality and homicide (for reviews, see Land, McCall, & Cohen, 1990;Vieraitis, 2000). Although this body of literature has considered the relationships between homicide and income inequality, racial inequality, and to a lesser extent, gender inequality, studies have overlooked the intersection of race, class, and gender. To extend our understanding of homicide and inequality, this study assesses the relationship between gender inequality and female homicide victimization for both White and Black women.The empirical research is extremely limited with regard to gender inequality and female homicide victimization. A review of the literature reveals only seven studies that focus on homicide, none of which examine the impact of race on these relationships. The 35

Research Summary Data for this study were collected in semistructured interviews with 59 individuals serving time in federal prisons for identity theft. We explore how offenders' experiences and life circumstances affected their subjective assessments of risks and rewards and thus facilitated the decision to engage in identity theft. Our findings suggest that offenders perceive identity theft as an easy, rewarding, and relatively risk‐free way to fund their chosen lifestyles. Policy Implications The findings suggest that several situational crime‐prevention measures may be effective at curbing identity theft. Crime‐prevention programs that are geared toward removing excuses and advertising consequences may be effective in deterring potential offenders. We also recommend that rehabilitation programs for convicted identity thieves be cognitive‐based interventions aimed at changing the way offenders think about their crimes.

Feminists have long argued that structural inequality between men and women influences the prevalence of female homicide victimization. In the present study, a cross-sectional analysis was performed using data on 3,083 U.S. counties in 2000 to assess the impact of women’s absolute status and gender inequality along educational, employment, income, and occupational dimensions and patriarchal culture on their risk of homicide victimization. The findings indicate that only women’s absolute status contributes to our understanding of cross-sectional variation in female homicide rates across U.S. counties and lends support to Marxist feminist theory.

Research Summary: The heavy reliance on the use of incarceration in an attempt to address the crime problem has resulted in a dramatic growth in the number of state prisoners over the past 30 years. In recent years, however, a growing concern has developed about the impact that large numbers of offenders released from prison will have on crime rates. Using a state panel data set for 46 states from 1974 to 2002, this study demonstrates that although prison population growth seems to be associated with statistically significant decreases in crime rates, increases in the number of prisoners released from prison seem to be significantly associated with increases in crime. Because we control for changes in prison population levels, we attribute the apparent positive influences on crime that seem to follow prison releases to the criminogenic effects of prison. Policy Implications: Policy makers should continue to serve the public interest by carefully considering policies that are designed to reduce incarceration rates and thus assuage the criminogenic effects of prison. These policies may include changes in sentencing, changes in probation and/or parole practices, or better funding of reentry services prerelease and postrelease.