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Sociology and CJRC Colloquium

January 17, 2014
5:30PM - 6:45PM
248 Townshend

Date Range
Add to Calendar 2014-01-17 17:30:00 2014-01-17 18:45:00 Sociology and CJRC Colloquium Event Host: Sociology and CJRC Andrew Papachristos, associate professor, sociology, Yale University, will speak on "Connected in Crime: Using Network Analysis to Understand America's Violence Epidemic."Abstract:  This paper describes a network approach to gun violence that seeks to explain not just the unequal distribution of gun violence across geographic space, but, in fact, a more severe concentration of gun violence within social networks. Using six years of data on gunshot victimization and arrests in Chicago, this study reconstructs patterns of co-offending for the entire city and locates gunshot victims within these networks.Results indicate that 70 percent of all nonfatal gunshot victims during the observation period can be located in co-offending networks comprised of less than 6 percent of the city’s population. Results from logistic regression models suggest that as an individual’s exposure to gunshot victims increases, so too do that individual’s odds of being a victim. Even small amounts of exposure can dramatically increase the odds of victimization. For instance, if 1 percent of one’s associates are victims, there is a 1% increase in the odds of victimization, compared to someone with no exposure to victims. In a similar vein, a 10% exposure to gunshot victims in one’s network is associated with a 12% increase in the odds of victimization, while 50% exposure is associated with a 77% increase in the odds of victimization, holding all else fixed. These observed associations are more pronounced for young minority males, and effects of exposure extend to indirect associations at distances of two to three steps removed. All of the results hold even when considering more traditional “risk factors” such as age, race, gender, geography, and gang membership. Preliminary results from other cities will also be discussed. These findings imply that the risk of gunshot victimization is more concentrated than previously thought, being concentrated in small and identifiable networks of individuals engaging in risky behavior, in this case criminal activity. 248 Townshend College of Arts and Sciences asccomm@osu.edu America/New_York public
Event Host: Sociology and CJRC


Andrew Papachristos, associate professor, sociology, Yale University, will speak on "Connected in Crime: Using Network Analysis to Understand America's Violence Epidemic."

Abstract:  This paper describes a network approach to gun violence that seeks to explain not just the unequal distribution of gun violence across geographic space, but, in fact, a more severe concentration of gun violence within social networks. Using six years of data on gunshot victimization and arrests in Chicago, this study reconstructs patterns of co-offending for the entire city and locates gunshot victims within these networks.

Results indicate that 70 percent of all nonfatal gunshot victims during the observation period can be located in co-offending networks comprised of less than 6 percent of the city’s population. Results from logistic regression models suggest that as an individual’s exposure to gunshot victims increases, so too do that individual’s odds of being a victim. Even small amounts of exposure can dramatically increase the odds of victimization. For instance, if 1 percent of one’s associates are victims, there is a 1% increase in the odds of victimization, compared to someone with no exposure to victims. In a similar vein, a 10% exposure to gunshot victims in one’s network is associated with a 12% increase in the odds of victimization, while 50% exposure is associated with a 77% increase in the odds of victimization, holding all else fixed. These observed associations are more pronounced for young minority males, and effects of exposure extend to indirect associations at distances of two to three steps removed. All of the results hold even when considering more traditional “risk factors” such as age, race, gender, geography, and gang membership. Preliminary results from other cities will also be discussed. These findings imply that the risk of gunshot victimization is more concentrated than previously thought, being concentrated in small and identifiable networks of individuals engaging in risky behavior, in this case criminal activity.