Neighborhood Context and Homicide Clearance: Estimating the Effects of Collective Efficacy

• Author: Karen F. Parker,Ashley M. Mancik,Kirk R. Williams
• Date: 01 May 2018
• DOI: 10.1177/1088767918755419
• Published date: 01 May 2018
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/1088767918755419

Homicide Studies

2018, Vol. 22(2) 188 –213

© 2018 SAGE Publications

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DOI: 10.1177/1088767918755419

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Article

Neighborhood Context

and Homicide Clearance:

Estimating the Effects of

Collective Efficacy

Ashley M. Mancik1, Karen F. Parker1,

and Kirk R. Williams2

Abstract

Only a handful of macro-level studies of homicide clearance exist, and the impact

of community characteristics is mixed. In addition, community members are critical

to clearances, but the willingness of residents to unite for the collective goal of

aiding in investigations (via collective efficacy) remains to be tested. Combining data

from the Chicago Police Department, Project on Human Development in Chicago

Neighborhoods (PHDCN), and U.S. Census, we estimate the effect of collective

efficacy on homicide clearances in Chicago neighborhoods, while taking into account

neighborhood characteristics and case composition. Results indicate that economic

disadvantage, residential stability, and victimization significantly decrease homicides

clearances, while collective efficacy increases clearances.

Keywords

homicide clearance, collective efficacy, structural features, neighborhood effects,

PHDCN

Introduction

Since the early 1990s, an average of 60% to 70% of all homicides are cleared by arrest

or exceptional means nationally (Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI], 2016).

However, cities and the neighborhoods within them can vary widely from this national

1University of Delaware, Newark, USA

2University of California, Irvine, USA

Corresponding Author:

Ashley M. Mancik, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Delaware, 325 Smith Hall,

Newark, DE 19716, USA.

Email: amancik@udel.edu

755419HSXXXX10.1177/1088767918755419Homicide StudiesMancik et al.

research-article2018

Mancik et al. 189

average. For example, larger cities tend to have lower clearance rates than smaller cit-

ies (FBI, 2016), and homicides that occur in certain neighborhoods remain harder to

clear. In addition, homicide is the most cleared crime when compared with other

offenses (FBI, 2016; Jarvis, Mancik, & Regoeczi, 2016; Litwin, 2004; Paré, Felson, &

Ouimet, 2007), yet homicide clearance rates are still much lower today than they were

a half-century ago. Low clearance rates not only prolong closure for the victims’

friends and families but also have negative consequences on the broader community

and for law enforcement. Lower clearance rates may heighten fear, contribute to dis-

trust between neighborhood residents and law enforcement officers, and affect percep-

tions of police effectiveness (see, for example, Keel, Jarvis, & Muirhead, 2009; Ousey

& Lee, 2010; Puckett & Lundman, 2003; Regoeczi, Kennedy, & Silverman, 2000).

Low clearance rates may also reduce both general and specific deterrence mecha-

nisms, inhibiting the effectiveness of the criminal justice system. Given these influen-

tial and far-reaching implications, an understanding of the factors that affect homicide

clearances in urban environments is imperative.

However, research on macro-level constructs that account for the variation in homi-

cide clearance rates across geographic areas is limited and empirical questions remain:

How are community characteristics linked to homicide clearances and what role does

neighborhood collective efficacy play in this process? This research utilizes data from

the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) in a novel

way—to test empirically the effect of collective efficacy on homicide clearances in

Chicago neighborhoods, while also taking into account other neighborhood character-

istics and homicide case composition.

Collective efficacy refers to social cohesion and trust among neighborhood resi-

dents combined with their willingness to intervene for the common good (Sampson,

Raudenbush, & Earls, 1997). For reasons discussed below, collective efficacy should

mobilize residents to aid in homicide investigations, thus increasing the likelihood that

homicides will be cleared. Extant research finds that collective efficacy reduces a

number of negative outcomes, including violent crime rates in neighborhoods

(Sampson et al., 1997) and negative health outcomes, such as low birthweights and

teen pregnancy (see Sampson, 2012, for a discussion), and increases the probability of

arrest (Kirk & Matsuda, 2011). We extend the possible benefits of collective efficacy

by examining whether it may also inform police clearance of homicides.

There is also mounting empirical evidence that legal factors, such as those related

to the investigation and amount of physical and verbal evidence available, are among

the most important in predicting whether a crime will be cleared or not. In fact, one of

the most important tools available to investigators is the availability of and coopera-

tion from witnesses and community members (see, for example, Carter & Carter,

2016; Greenwood, Chaiken, & Petersilia, 1977; Keel et al., 2009; Litwin, 2004;

Puckett & Lundman, 2003; Regoeczi et al., 2000; Reiss, 1971; Riedel & Rinehart,

1996; Wellford & Cronin, 1999; Wolfgang, 1958), which may be enhanced in neigh-

borhoods where collective efficacy is high.

A large body of research has established the importance of macrostructural predic-

tors on rates of crime and violence. Not only are acts of crime and violence affected by