calculated for each block-group. Percent change in the total volume of calls were used because
no reliable data were available to calculate rates independently within the years examined.
Examination of the data provide evidence that there is variation in the dependent variable, and
reveal a suprisingly normal distribution of percent change in the 327 block-groups examined. As
such, the constructed variables are ideal for addressing the hypotheses of the present study.
In order to assess the degree to which objective rates of crime are effected by ecological
reporting discrepancies, it was necessary to construct rates for
Controls
Given the degree to which objective levels of crime are likely to effect reporting, it was
important to develop measures of crime/disorder that were unlikely to be affected by reporting
discrepancies. It has been widely reported that serious violent incidents are relatively equally
likely to be reported across populations (Hindelang 1979; ????). Drawing on this evidence, the
relationship between violent incidents and measures of structural disadvantage were assessed to
determine the degree to which they were empirically related in the present data (Table 2). The
finding of a weak and non-significant correlation between the rate of citizen-initiated reports of
violence and measures of structural disadvantage supports the notion that these types of crimes
are equally likely to be reported across populations. As such, the present analysis utilizes the
rate of citizen-initiated reports of violence to control for the objective levels of crime within
block-groups in the present analysis.
[INSERT TABLE 2 ABOUT HERE]
8
Convention