Social Capital and Crime

With Ben Winchester, sociologist and research fellow with the University of Minnesota Extension and 2004 BCLP alumnus.

We all have a role to play in building the partnerships to meet the emerging challenges for community safety.  The safest communities are not those with the most police and prisons but those with the strongest community structures, including socializing institutions, families, and economic opportunities.

Overall, we live in a safe state.  The state of Minnesota ranks 21st in the nation for total population, yet ranks 33rd in terms of crime rates.  The highest rate of criminal behavior involves the property crime of larceny-theft, which impacts roughly two of every 100 people.  Rural crime rates are much lower, ranging from a quarter to a third the rate found in urban areas.

Crime is thought to occur for a variety of reasons both psychological and social. While no community is immune, leaders can act together to create an environment that helps to protect against crime.  Understanding social factors that contribute to criminal activity is a place to start.  With that understanding, communities can assess risk and consider what can be done to prevent crime. 

How do you know if your community is at risk?  The concept of risk factors – circumstances that make crime more likely ­ is useful here. Risk factors occur in multiple domains:

• Individual ­ psychological, behavioral and mental characteristics; age

• Family and Social Groups ­ family structure; peer influences

• Organizational ­ General health and effectiveness of schools, police, and other community organizations

• Community ­ high-crime areas; economic deprivation and poverty; social disorder

Equally important to understanding crime rates is the concept of protective factors.  These are circumstances that make crime less likely, or protect against it. Like risk factors, protective factors occur in the same domains of individual, family, organizational and community and the networks in and between those areas.  I will not focus here on the level of the individual, but on the dynamics we, as community leaders, can impact ­ those related to relationships and community.

Our small towns and large cities do not exist in a vacuum.  Societal trends impact all of our communities across the state in much the same way.  This is especially true today in the current global economic crisis.  “Every recession since the late ’50s has been associated with an increase in crime and, in particular, property crime and robbery, which would be most responsive to changes in economic conditions,” said Richard Rosenfeld, a sociologist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Typically, he said, “there is a year lag between the economic change and crime rates.”

Short term there may be unemployment, which is a risk factor for crime but, it is important to note that risk factors such as this do not necessarily ensure criminal behavior. Risk factors are, however, identifiable and can be mediated by protective factors, which can then reduce this risk.  Social capital, based on relationships within the community, is one such protective factor.

Social capital is developing and maintaining a network of relationships for working together.  It is these networks that people have with one another that can help to protect us from, or buffer, the impact of larger societal trends.  These networks are built on trust that exists between friends, strangers, as well as institutions.  The greater the trust level, the less risk your community has for crime, because the informal and formal support systems are utilized to help people solve problems, reduce stress and hold people accountable.

How Can Communities Use Social Capital to Protect against High Crime Rates?

At first glance, the crime rate can provide an indication that social capital may be lacking in your community.  Yet at the same time, social capital can be strengthened to protect against crime.  Like all other dimensions of a healthy community, solutions lie in utilizing strengths and resources ­ combined with strategic leadership.

It begins at home.  The idea of safe neighborhoods has been around for a long time, and in the context of social capital we know it works.  In safe neighborhoods, residents look out for one another and report incidents.
They get together for evening barbecues.  They get to know each other as people.  When residents bond in this way, safe neighborhoods are created.

Social capital also can be built when we create bridges between and among people and organizations.  If you know of a company that is cutting back on employees, help make sure people who will be displaced are connected to the personal and institutional support networks available.  If you know someone recently convicted of a crime, work to provide them with the connections they need to feel a part of the community economically and socially.
Facilitating a trusting relationship with law enforcement can increase the likelihood that crimes will be reported.

For some, it is difficult to approach institutional supports available in times of need.  A community one-stop shop for emergency assistance could increase the number of those who utilize services. Volunteer transportation networks can support people when transportation is a major obstacle.  This is especially important if human services offices for a particular region are spread across multiple counties.  Similarly, volunteer networks can help when day care provides obstacles between people and service.

It only takes a phone call to start.  Sometimes, building trust by supporting people through actions like these is needed to get people to pursue and accept help without questioning themselves.  At the same time this enhances the community as a whole thus reducing the risk of future crime.

1     Australian Crime Prevention Council.  October 20, 1999.  Crime and
Social Capital.
2     Shader, Michael.  U.S. Department of Justice.  Risk Factors for
Delinquency: An Overview.
3     New York Times.  October 9, 2008.  Keep Wary Eye on Crime as Economy
Sink