The impact of Hurricane Harvey on crime in Houston, Texas: A partial test of routine activity theory at the neighborhood level

IF 3.3 1区 社会学 Q1 CRIMINOLOGY & PENOLOGY Journal of Criminal Justice Pub Date : 2025-01-01 DOI:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2024.102332
Jihong Solomon Zhao, Yan Zhang
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Abstract

To enhance the understanding of potential theoretical applications, this research examines the impact of Hurricane Harvey on crime in Houston, Texas. Utilizing crime data obtained from the Houston Police Department (HPD) and employing Difference-in-Difference (DID) for panel-data analysis, the study explores the influence of varying levels of housing damage caused by Hurricane Harvey on four categories of crime: theft, residential burglary, robbery, and aggravated assault across Houston's neighborhoods. The findings reveal distinct crime patterns associated with varying levels of housing damage caused by flooding. After Hurricane Harvey, the average rate of residential burglaries remained largely unchanged over two months, except in neighborhoods with major housing damage, where the average count increased by 0.92 incidents (a 49 % increase) per census tract. In contrast, other types of crime generally declined. For example, the average count of robberies per census tract decreased by 0.57 incidents (a 42 % decrease) in areas severely affected by flooding. These results highlight the applicability of Routine Activity Theory in studying the relationship between natural disasters and crime. The study also explores policy implications and acknowledges its limitations.
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来源期刊
Journal of Criminal Justice
Journal of Criminal Justice CRIMINOLOGY & PENOLOGY-
CiteScore
6.90
自引率
9.10%
发文量
93
审稿时长
23 days
期刊介绍: The Journal of Criminal Justice is an international journal intended to fill the present need for the dissemination of new information, ideas and methods, to both practitioners and academicians in the criminal justice area. The Journal is concerned with all aspects of the criminal justice system in terms of their relationships to each other. Although materials are presented relating to crime and the individual elements of the criminal justice system, the emphasis of the Journal is to tie together the functioning of these elements and to illustrate the effects of their interactions. Articles that reflect the application of new disciplines or analytical methodologies to the problems of criminal justice are of special interest. Since the purpose of the Journal is to provide a forum for the dissemination of new ideas, new information, and the application of new methods to the problems and functions of the criminal justice system, the Journal emphasizes innovation and creative thought of the highest quality.
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