Reducing Intergenerational Poverty (2024) / Chapter Skim
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9 Neighborhood Crime and the Criminal Justice System
9 Neighborhood Crime and the Criminal Justice System
Pages 191-208
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From page 191... ...
. In evaluating whether crime and the criminal justice system are key drivers of intergenerational poverty, this chapter begins by reviewing evidence on how these factors affect the well-being, development, and intergenerational mobility of children, devoting particular attention to disparities by race and ethnicity.
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From page 192... ...
Exposure to Neighborhood Violence Beyond direct victimization, children's exposure to violence and violent crime in their neighborhoods is traumatic and can have a negative effect on their development, reducing future educational attainment and earnings (Nader et al., 1990; Sharkey, 2010)
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From page 193... ...
. lower exposure to neighborhood crime during adolescence increases intergenerational mobility as measured by their family-income ranking at age 26 (also see Chetty et al., 2014)
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From page 194... ...
Over a three-year period, the intervention resulted in significant declines in overall crime and a 29% reduction in violent crime in the low-income neighborhoods where the vacant lots were improved. Other work (Kondo et al., 2016; South et al., 2021)
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From page 195... ...
They found that such investments have a direct effect on reducing violent crime in disadvantaged neighborhoods, and indirectly reduce crime by increasing private mortgage investments. Civic engagement is another important predictor of neighborhood crime.
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From page 196... ...
Rigorous research shows that neighborhood violent crime can be reduced through community investments and en gagement, certain kinds of policing, and gun safety regulations. YOUTH OFFENDING AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AS DRIVERS OF INTERGENERATIONAL POVERTY The incarcerated population is overwhelmingly poor and less educated, so it is not surprising that childhood poverty is a strong predictor of future incarceration (Looney & Turner, 2018)
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From page 197... ...
In the case of links between criminal justice involvement and children's economic outcomes in adulthood, the research reviewed below has shown that juvenile detention and incarceration are associated with worse educational outcomes and 17.80 White 0.82 4.80 Asian 0.03 45.70 Black 4.40 Native 19.50 American 0.08 All crimes Violent crimes only FIGURE 9-2 Juvenile overall and violent crime arrest rates (per 1,000) in 2018, by race/ethnicity.
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From page 198... ...
Some relate to criminal justice policy and practices that target low-income communities and populations, but others relate to differences in youth behavior. Regarding the latter, research has found that schooling and educational attainment, exposure to the environmental toxin lead, household income, and the development of socioemotional skills all play important roles in youth offending.
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From page 199... ...
. Once children are exposed to lead, evidence suggests, providing additional services to those children with elevated levels can be effective in improving outcomes, including reducing arrest rates (Billings & Schnepel, 2018)
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From page 200... ...
. High-Frequency Police Encounters and Excessive Use of Force As noted above, policing can reduce violent crime, but aggressive policing that results in high-frequency interactions with community members (i.e., stop-and-frisk)
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From page 201... ...
. Moreover, while among all young people involvement in the criminal justice system has declined, Black, Latino, and Native American youth are still significantly more likely than their White counterparts to be arrested, referred to court, and placed in out-of-home facilities after adjudication (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2022)
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From page 202... ...
. Detaining or incarcerating juveniles for even short periods results in significant human capital costs for them.
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From page 203... ...
. Descriptive studies show that fines and fees place a significant financial burden on youth and families, especially low-income and Black, Latino, and Native American families, who have disproportionate contact with the criminal justice system (Feierman et al., 2016; Paik & Packard,
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From page 204... ...
. Parent and Caregiver Interaction with the Criminal Justice System: Incarceration, Fines, and Fees Parent and caregiver incarceration as well as their court fines and fees reduce household resources available for investment in children.
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From page 205... ...
As a result, fewer resources are available to invest in children. INTERVENTIONS INVOLVING NEIGHBORHOOD CRIME AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE The committee identified a number of evidence-based interventions that address violence and victimization as well as the ways in which the criminal justice system affects youth outcomes and, ultimately, intergenerational mobility.
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From page 206... ...
Providing incentives to state and local governments to reduce reliance on juvenile detention will likely lead to disproportionate mobility benefits for Black and Native American youth. It is important that any steps taken to reduce juvenile confinement be accompanied by efforts to monitor their possible effects on neighborhood crime levels.
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From page 207... ...
Maintaining funding for nonprofit organizations at American Rescue Plan levels would support such community organizations. Although policing has been shown to lower crime, especially homicides, and can be an effective means of reducing premature death and victimization, for any efforts to increase or enhance policing to reduce crime it is important to consider the potential for negative impacts of aggressive policing and frequent stops and searches of low-income and particularly minority youth.
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From page 208... ...
To reduce such fatalities, along with exposure to crime and violence, the committee explored a menu of proven interventions: • Reduce access to guns in ways that pass constitutional review; promote child access prevention laws, restrictions on right-to-carry laws, limited guns access for domestic abusers, and sentencing add ons for violence involving firearms. Policy and Program Ideas Based on Indirect Evidence As detailed in Appendix C: Chapter 9, a number of additional interventions may be promising avenues for increasing intergenerational mobility by reducing crime and the footprint of the criminal justice system, but still lack strong evidence of their effectiveness.
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