Sept. 12: Sociology Colloquium

Students of all levels are invited to attend Sara Hoskin’s presentation “Foreclosures and Crime: Testing Social Disorganization Theory in the Suburbs.”

“I use social disorganization theory to analyze the rate of foreclosures, crime, and collective efficacy in Orange County, Florida. Social disorganization theory argues that the level of collective efficacy can reduce crime even in neighborhoods that are otherwise considered to be socially disorganized,” Hoskin said.

The event is Monday, September 12 at 12:30 p.m. in Phillips Hall, Room 4061.

Using ArcGIS mapping and field observations, Hoskin investigates 30 neighborhoods that have high number of foreclosures and the presence of crime, measured by residential burglary, in 2005-2009. Some of the neighborhoods with high crime did in fact exhibit signs of low collective efficacy as expected by social disorganization theory, but yet other neighborhoods with low crime also exhibited signs of low collective efficacy.