Social Capital and Urban Crime (Criminal Justice: Recent Scholarship)

Social capital is often hailed as the solution to many of the problems present in America today, but Neal's work indicates that this belief may be misplaced. The literature suggests that the levels of social capital in a community affect the way members of the community interact with one another and may also impact the level of crime. To examine this connection, Neal examines levels crime in U.S. cities over several years along with the levels of social capital. She finds that there is strong evidence of a correlation between social capital and crime; however it appears that a decrease in crime tends to precede increases in social capital rather than the other way around. Neal (criminal justice, U. of Nebraska at Kearney) suggests that the prevalent belief that social capital is the solution for many of America's problems is misguided. Topics include social capital and crime, evolving concepts of social capital and crime, how the two are related, and what to expect in the future. The author concludes that despite the belief that social capital can lessen the occurrence of crime, the fear of crime, and social disorder, it is not known if social capital can actually reduce crime and accomplish other related goals. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Danielle Lively Neal. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.