Collective efficacy and arson: the case of Malmö

Abstract The burning of cars and containers during social unrest has become a topic of both scholarly and public interest in Sweden over the past decade. Studies have suggested that social disorganization theory, or its modern expression collective efficacy, may be important for explaining why some neighbourhoods experience elevated levels of arson and unrest while others do not. To date, no study has explicitly studied the link between arson and collective efficacy at the neighbourhood level. The present study attempts to fill this gap by analysing the association between arson and collective efficacy in the city of Malmö, Sweden. Collective efficacy data from 96 neighbourhoods were collected in 2012 in the Malmö Community Survey (N = 4051). Arson data were collected from the rescue services, which employ GPS-receivers to accurately record the location of incidents. Regression models were fitted for arson, controlling for concentrated disadvantage, ethnic heterogeneity and residential stability. Results show no significant link between collective efficacy and arson following appropriate controls. This suggests that arson may depend on mechanisms other than collective efficacy, at least at the neighbourhood level. Future research may need to focus on alternative theoretical explanations such as strain, or on other levels of analysis than neighbourhoods.