Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Major/Program
International Crime and Justice
First Advisor's Name
Stewart D'Alessio
First Advisor's Committee Title
Committee chair
Second Advisor's Name
Lisa Stolzenberg
Second Advisor's Committee Title
Committee member
Third Advisor's Name
Rosa Chang
Third Advisor's Committee Title
Committee member
Fourth Advisor's Name
Assefa Melesse
Fourth Advisor's Committee Title
Committee member
Keywords
Air Pollution, Carbon Monoxide, CO, Violent Crime, Aggression, Environmental Racism
Date of Defense
3-24-2020
Abstract
Recent research links exposure to air pollution with elevated violent crime rates, despite there being no strong theoretical rationale for why air pollution would influence an individual’s decision to commit a crime. In contrast to prior research that used the violent crime rate as a proxy measure for aggressive behavior, this study employs the probability of a victim being physically injured during the commission of the crime to better quantify the degree of aggressive behavior exhibited by an offender. Results generated in a multilevel analysis of data drawn from 109 U.S. cities show that while carbon monoxide has little effect on the overall level of aggression displayed by the criminal offender, both the offender’s sex and race appear to moderate the relationship between carbon monoxide levels and victim injury. These substantive conditioning effects are likely the consequence of both groups being disproportionately exposed to air pollution. Men tend to be overrepresented in jobs that require workers to spend most of the workday outdoors, thereby increasing their exposure to carbon monoxide. Black citizens are also disproportionately exposed to carbon monoxide emanating from vehicle exhaust because they are often forced to dwell in areas located near a major roadway or highway due to persistent residential racial segregation in society. The policy implications of these findings are discussed.
Identifier
FIDC008916
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9509-1106
Recommended Citation
Cruz, Erik, "Air Pollutions Impact on Violence During the Commission of a Crime" (2020). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 4423.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/4423
Rights Statement
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).