The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Robbed: Inequality in U.S. Criminal Victimization, 1974–2000

This paper investigates inequality in criminal victimization in the United States over the past quarter century. By analyzing data from the National Crime Victimization Survey, it shows that the crime drop since the early 1970s has benefited upper-income households much more than the poor, so that c...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Thacher, David (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2004
In: Journal of quantitative criminology
Year: 2004, Volume: 20, Issue: 2, Pages: 89-116
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Keywords:
Crime Victimization
Demographic change
Inequality
Stratification
Description
Summary:This paper investigates inequality in criminal victimization in the United States over the past quarter century. By analyzing data from the National Crime Victimization Survey, it shows that the crime drop since the early 1970s has benefited upper-income households much more than the poor, so that criminal victimization has become more concentrated among the poor (particularly in the area of nonstranger violence). The paper then decomposes this trend statistically in order to investigate factors that may explain it. That analysis finds that demographic changes in each quintile explain a significant share of the growing concentration of criminal victimization among the poor.
ISSN:1573-7799
DOI:10.1023/B:JOQC.0000029090.28541.4f