Minorities and Urban Crime

Abstract

Recent studies of crime in American cities have shown a major contributing factor to be the percentage of the population that is black. This relationship is "explained" by a variety of theories focusing on individual behavior. It is argued that such conclusions cannot be drawn from the data studied. An alternative theory is offered. It states that crime, among other things, has caused considerable flight to the suburbs since World War II, but this movement has been blocked for minorities who then have become trapped in crime-prone areas, the "victims," in a manner of speaking, of urban crime.