Co-offending in context: The role of economic hardship

Abstract

Abstract Scholars have argued that emergence of co-offending depends on the availability, proximity, and convergence of suitable co-offenders. The current study argues that changes in economic conditions may uniquely alter degree to which offenders are motivated to take on criminal accomplices and make engaging in group behaviour a more viable criminal opportunity. This study examines the between and within-MSA effects of economic hardship between 1990-2004 on the rate of co-offences committed using MSA-level data from the National Crime Victimization Survey. Findings indicate that there are similarities in the relationship between economic hardship and crime generally but portray a much more nuanced relationship when viewed through the lens of group behaviour. The discussion evaluates the results from a series of hybrid decomposition model and considers the utility of situating co-offending within broader socio-structural contexts.