EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Socioeconomic Dynamics of Neighbourhoods and the Risk of Crime Victimization in the Netherlands

Socioeconomic Dynamics of Neighbourhoods and the Risk of Crime Victimization in the Netherlands

Introduction

This study systematically addresses the relationship between gentrification and local crime victimization in the Netherlands. It evaluates how socioeconomic change relates to the risk of theft, violence, and vandalism in the neighbourhood.

Description

Changes in neighbourhood status result primarily from the selective migration of income groups into and out of areas. These changes, in turn, are related to the chance of becoming the victim of a crime in a locality. Drawing on social disorganization theory, this study argues that victimization is more likely in disadvantaged neighbourhoods as well as in neighbourhoods where socioeconomic improvements are taking place. Gentrifying neighbourhoods may suffer from social instability caused by the strong influx of new residents and from social heterogeneity, which is caused by the simultaneous presence of different income groups and, depending on local context, different ethnic groups.

These hypotheses are tested with Dutch victimization survey data among approximately 70,000 respondents, distributed across 2,500 neighbourhoods within 500 municipalities in the Netherlands. The results show that, controlling for various individual, neighbourhood, and city characteristics, intensive socioeconomic improvement of neighbourhoods is related to higher victimization risk for theft, violence, and vandalism.

Methodology

To test the hypotheses, victimization survey data are combined with census data regarding the structural characteristics of neighbourhoods (four-digit zip codes) and cities. The data for victimization and individual target characteristics were drawn from the Dutch Police Population Monitor (PPM; Dutch Ministry of Justice 1999).

Within each of the Netherlands’ 25 police regions, at least 1,000 interviews were collected, and in most regions substantially higher numbers were gathered. The overall sample consisted of 77,539 respondents age 15 years or older. Complete data were available for 69,819 respondents from 2,526 neighbourhoods in 527 municipalities, covering some 65 percent of all Dutch neighbourhoods and 98 percent of Dutch municipalities.

Respondents were asked whether they had been the victim of a crime during the past 12 months. Five different types of victimization were distinguished: burglary, car-related theft, violence, car vandalism, and other vandalism. The researchers selected incidents that occurred within the respondent’s neighbourhood of residence for further analysis.

Conclusions

The chance of becoming the victim of a crime is higher not only in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, but also in neighbourhoods that are undergoing strong socioeconomic improvement.
The ethnic composition of the neighbourhood affects local victimization risk, with higher risk in areas with larger shares of non-Western immigrants, but improving and stable neighbourhoods do not differ much from each other on this aspect.
In neighbourhoods where improvements are taking place, decreases in victimization can be expected only after stabilization and, possibly, homogenization of the local community.
If victimization risks in gentrifying areas remain high, affluent newcomers will probably have lower attachment to place because of the fear of crime and perceived incivilities.
Victimization risk in one’s own neighbourhood is not only dependent upon individual and neighbourhood characteristics, but also upon the city’s social context. Individuals living in cities with a large number of inhabitants, high mean income, and low levels of public social control run a higher risk of becoming the victim of a crime.

Contact info

Leiden University - Faculty of Law
Johan van Wilsem, tel. +31 71 5277418

Publication date

01/01/2006

Researcher

Johan van Wilsem - Leiden University; Karin Wittebrood - Social and Cultural Planning Office (SCP); Nan Dirk de Graaf - Radboud University

Article info
ISSN: 0037-7791 / 1533-8533

Links

Leiden University - Faculty of Law

Read the article "Socioeconomic Dynamics of Neighborhoods and the Risk of Crime Victimization" (PDF, Eng, 600 KB)

Document type

research

Themes

Urban Policy

Keywords

Security & crime prevention, Housing, Urban environment