Do Foreclosures Lead to Increased Violent Crime?
A Look at the Research Behind the Headlines
Scan the news headlines and you are sure to see a story about the state of the nation’s housing market. Many of these stories focus on the economic impact both to
individuals and to the national economy. A number of stories also examine some of the other implications of high foreclosure numbers on our communities, including the potential effect on crime rates. A sobering fact repeated in many of these stories is that an increase in the foreclosure rate in a neighborhood can lead to an increase in the rate of violent crime. Typical is this statement reported in the Houston Chronicle this June, Reae More, Foreclosure and Increased Crime Rate
