Crime and Safety in Suburbia

Abstract

Criminologists have long focused their attention on the inner-city street corner and neglected the suburban cul-de-sac. Crime in the suburbs should be of greater criminological concern. Cities are no longer centrally located. Suburbanization has impacted not only where most Americans live but also the types and reasons for crime. We begin this review with an overview of the unique structures of the suburb and the rise of the suburban city. We complicate the image of the dangerous city and the safe suburb and examine broad trends in crime and safety within each. The reasons and types of suburban crimes are further related to the decentered, diffused, and less public places of suburbia. Types of crime are described and prospects for future research into the structure and culture of suburbanization as they relate to comparative criminological research are discussed.