Revisiting the Crime Control Benefits of Voluntary Organizations: Organizational Presence, Organizational Capacity, and Crime Rates in Los Angeles Neighborhoods

Abstract

This study examines the independent effects that the number of voluntary organizations and the total amount of income they possess have on neighborhood crime, over time. Drawing upon a sample of Los Angeles census blocks from 2000 to 2010, I utilize fixed-effects negative binomial regression to estimate crime models. The number of voluntary organizations and the total amount of income they possess in the focal block, respectively, are not related to most crime types the following year. Yet, both aspects of voluntary organizations exhibit crime-reducing influences when accounting for their broader spatial impact, and controlling for numerous factors that have been shown to be associated with crime rates. The implications for communities and crime research are discussed.