An Examination of Schools, Social Ecological Factors, and Neighbourhood Crime

Although theories suggest that schools are associated with higher neighbourhood crime rates, it is not clear what particular measures of schools have a crime-producing impact when controlling for a diversity of social-ecological factors. We therefore address this question by performing a block-level analysis of schools and crime in the city of Chicago. Negative binomial regression models reveal that the presence of any school in the focal block is associated with higher violent and property crime rates and that these associations are largely robust to differing measures of schools. We also determine that concentrated disadvantage moderates the effect of school presence in the block on property crime. The implications of these findings for criminology and public policy are discussed.