In the social sciences generally, and specifically in criminology, we are often

In the social sciences generally, and specifically in criminology, we are often interested in identifying “policy implications.”‘ That is, after developing or learning about a theory, and after conducting or reading about research, one of the first questions we ask is “based on this information, what kinds of policies, programs, or laws should we recommend in order to improve the situation?” One shortcoming of much research on communities and crime is that there are so few clear, practical recommendations for policies and programs that we might implement in order to reduce crime in neighborhoods, or to reduce the negative impact that neighborhoods have on individual delinquency and offending.