Understanding the Effect of Immunity on Over-Dispersed Criminal Victimizations: Zero-Inflated Analysis of Household Victimizations in the NCVS

This study aims to empirically test the immunity effect on the frequency distribution of household victimizations. To clarify the immunity effect, the statistical construction of zero-inflated models is reviewed and compared with that of non-zero-inflated models. The Benjamini and Hochberg correction is used to address the limitation of p values in multiple testing. Compared with the findings from the non-zero-inflated model, two sets of coefficients from the zero-inflated model reveal that there exist more complex and diverse statuses in the process of household victimization than predicted by risk heterogeneity and event dependence. With these findings, this study suggests that zero-inflated models should be introduced and compared with non-zero-inflated models for the clarification of victimization determinants.

Households amid Urban Riots

This article analyzes the determinants of household riot victimization, based on a unique survey collected in Maharashtra, India. We adopt a multilevel framework that allows neighborhood and district effects to randomly influence household victimization. We find that economically vulnerable households, households living close to unsafe areas, and shop owners are more prone to suffer from riots. Households report lower levels of victimization if they live further from police stations, exhibit higher levels of trust, are able to rely on outside help in times of need and accumulate savings. The results show, however, a double-edge effect of income: wealthier households are better able to cope with the adverse effects of riots, but also have more to lose from riots and are more exposed to opportunistic violence and looting. We find further that affluent neighborhoods and neighborhoods where caste fragmentation is high report higher levels of victimization. Neighborhoods with stronger social interactions experience lower levels of victimization.

Urban Structure and Household Victimization of the Elderly

This paper examines the relationships of several urban structural characteristics with the rate of household victimization of the elderly in twenty-six U.S. central cities. We find that inter-city variation in two types of household victimization (household burglary and larcency) is highly related to two factors: 1) population density, and 2) socioeconomic conditions. The implications of these findings for further research are discussed.