Objectives: Abandoned houses may attract or generate crime; however, little is known about the nature of this relationship. Our study is aimed at better understanding this link. Methods: Focusing on a high-crime neighborhood in Ohio, we use spatial video and calls for service (CFS) to examine how crime changed on streets where abandoned homes were removed. We also draw on the insights of 35 ex-offenders, police officers, and residents to examine how and why abandoned houses are connected to crime in this locale. Results: On average, streets where abandoned houses were razed accounted for a lower proportion of neighborhood crime after removal. Also, a lower proportion of total CFS from these streets related to serious crime. Our narrative data indicate that abandoned houses are opportunistic because they provide cover, unoccupied spaces, and are easy targets. Conclusions: The removal of abandoned housing was associated with positive changes in crime overall; however, our approach revealed interesting variation across streets. We surmise that the relevance of a particular abandoned house may be contingent on the larger context of that street or neighborhood. In order to understand these dynamics, future research should continue to “drill down” into micro-spaces.

中文翻译：

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了解空置房屋的犯罪性质：混合方法

目标：被遗弃的房屋可能招致犯罪。然而，人们对这种关系的本质知之甚少。我们的研究旨在更好地理解此链接。方法：针对俄亥俄州的一个高犯罪率社区，我们使用空间视频和服务呼吁（CFS）来研究在拆除了废弃房屋的街道上犯罪如何发生变化。我们还借鉴了35名前罪犯，警务人员和居民的见解，研究了废弃房屋如何以及为何在该地区与犯罪相关联。结果：平均而言，拆除房屋后夷为平地的街道占社区犯罪的比例较低。此外，来自这些街道的总粮安委中较低的比例与严重犯罪有关。我们的叙述性数据表明，废弃的房屋是机会性的，因为它们可以提供遮盖，空置的空间，并且是简单的目标。结论：拆除废弃房屋与犯罪总体上发生积极变化有关；但是，我们的方法揭示了整个街道的有趣变化。我们推测，特定废弃房屋的相关性可能取决于该街道或邻里的较大范围。为了了解这些动态，未来的研究应继续“深入”到微观空间。