ABSTRACT

Place-based criminology largely centers on what and which areas attract or generate crime, with limited scholarly activity focused on which businesses/land uses prevent crime across spatial collectives. The current study proposes an original theoretical concept called “virtue locales” – which are race-specific land uses that reduce crime at the nearby area due to the virtuous effects these businesses provide to the community (e.g., social guardianship, place management, and social cohesion). Using a quasi-experimental design of street segments through propensity score matching, this study tests whether there are crime reducing effects of barbershops and beauty salons (virtue locales) in Columbia, South Carolina. Results from multiple count regression models show that street segments with barbershops and beauty salons (virtue locales) had lower crime counts than other streets with businesses, but no virtue locale. This finding remained in all areas of the city, regardless of racial composition. A number of policy, research, and theoretical implications are discussed.

摘要

基于地点的犯罪学主要集中在什么以及哪些区域吸引或产生犯罪，而有限的学术活动则侧重于哪些企业/土地用途可以防止跨空间集体的犯罪。目前的研究提出了一个名为“美德场所”的原始理论概念——这是特定于种族的土地使用，由于这些企业为社区提供的良性影响（例如，社会监护、场所管理和社会凝聚）。本研究通过倾向得分匹配使用街道段的准实验设计，测试南卡罗来纳州哥伦比亚的理发店和美容院（美德场所）是否具有减少犯罪的效果。多重计数回归模型的结果表明，有理发店和美容院的街道（美德场所）的犯罪率低于其他有企业但没有美德场所的街道。无论种族构成如何，这一发现都存在于城市的所有地区。讨论了一些政策、研究和理论意义。