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British Journal of Criminology Advance Access originally published online on August 3, 2007
British Journal of Criminology 2007 47(6):918-937; doi:10.1093/bjc/azm026
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The British Journal of Criminology 47:918-937 (2007)
© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies (ISTD). All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

A MULTILEVEL ANALYSIS OF THE RISK OF HOUSEHOLD BURGLARY IN THE CITY OF TIANJIN, CHINA

Lening Zhang*, Steven F. Messner and Jianhong Liu

Steven F. Messner is affiliated to the Department of Sociology at the University at Albany, SUNY and Jianhong Liu to the Department of Sociology at Rhode Island College

* Correspondence to Lening Zhang, Department of Behavioral Sciences, Saint Francis University, Loretto, PA 15940, USA; lzhang{at}francis.edu.


  Abstract

This study applies the integrated, multilevel framework developed in the West to explain variation in the risk of household burglary within the city of Tianjin, China. The analytic framework consists of three sets of determinants: household variables, neighbourhood structural factors, and neighbourhood social control processes. The selection of variables is guided by routine activities/lifestyle theories and the social disorganization perspective, adapted to reflect features of urban China. The results of multilevel regression modeling reveal that indicators of target attractiveness (household income) and guardianship (length of residence and ‘somebody home’) exhibit the predicted effects on the risk of household burglary. Similarly, the effects of two of the neighbourhood process variables—collective efficacy and public control—conform to theoretical expectations and findings in Western research. The results for the neighbourhood structural factors are inconsistent with those widely reported in the West. These analyses demonstrate the applicability of elements of Western criminological theory to contemporary urban China but also reveal important differences in the ecological dynamics of crime across contexts.


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