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On the basis of a multivariate analysis of quantitative data from all U.S. cities of 25,000 or more in 1970 and 1980, this paper investigates the impact of recent economic changes and population shifts on the levels of violent and property crime. Further investigation of a subset of cities yields information on the effect of these shifts for the development of youth gangs. The findings illustrate the criminogenic consequences of transition from a manufacturing to a service economy, where changes in technological conditions undermine the comparative locational advantages of cities as industrial centers and worsen economic opportunities for the unskilled urban poor. The results suggest that higher crime rates and more youth gangs are among the unintended consequences of the nation's patterns of postindustrial development.

Based on a study of U.S. cities of 25,000 or more, this paper describes the impact of urban decline from 1970-1980 and the magnitude of youth gang problems on municipal fiscal commitment to policing. After statistical controls are imposed for the city's crime rate, revenues and demographic characteristics, the results indicate that urban transition and recognition of youth gang problems influence municipal police funding. Implications are drawn concerning the extent to which police are called upon to manage social threats that rise from the ashes of urban decay.

Based on a study of all cities of 25,000 or more in population size, the research described in this paper investigates the response of the urban fiscal policing commitment to the visibility of those ethnic groups categorized as Hispanic by the U.S. Census. Although the funding requests of police officials may be based on sound professional judgement, the public nature of the budgetary process paves the way for non-professional criteria to play a role in the determination of the final level of financing. The results of the multivariate analysis indicate that the relative size of the Hispanic populations is a significant predictor of the level of policing expenditures in cities in the South and the West, even after the role of the police as providers of social services to the poor has been considered. Percent Hispanic does not, however, have a significant impact on policing expenditures in Northeastern and North Central cities.The findings suggest that while a community's fiscal capacity and its need for policing are important determinants of urban financial commitment to policing, the public's willingness to allocate resources for policing also appears to be related to the proportion of the population in Hispanic ethnic groups and to the historical pattern of Hispanic/non-Hispanic group relations characteristic of the region. While the elements of stratification and power that are part of the political process may influence the overall budget level, the way in which they impact on the nature and quality of policing activity is as yet unclear.