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Social Capital and Crime

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Organized Crime, Corruption and Crime Prevention

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Abstract

Social capital, collective efficacy, social cohesion, can be defined in various ways and may operate in more or less broad contexts. In general, the social capital perspective has proved useful in helping understand antisocial behavior in many countries, because empirical studies showed that higher levels of social bonds prevent different crimes, in particular homicide and other violent crimes.

Not all forms of social capital act in the same way, and several studies have found that social capital seems to exert a preventive effect on aggressive behavior only in certain circumstances.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Università di Genova, Via De Toni 12, 16132, Genova, Italy

    Prof. Uberto Gatti

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  1. Prof. Uberto Gatti
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Correspondence to Uberto Gatti .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. TRANSCRIME, U. Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy

    Stefano Caneppele

  2. TRANSCRIME, U. Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano, Italy

    Francesco Calderoni

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Gatti, U. (2014). Social Capital and Crime. In: Caneppele, S., Calderoni, F. (eds) Organized Crime, Corruption and Crime Prevention. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01839-3_8

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