ABSTRACT
The social and physical conditions of persons who resided in inner city slums and the demographic characteristics of persons who resided in them were once considered explanatory of delinquency, crime, and a multitude of other deviant behaviors that seemed to have their genesis in these neighborhoods. There were reasonably systematic declines from the inner city and interstitial areas to the suburban fringe in the incidence and prevalence of delinquency and crime, in the seriousness of offenses, and in the seriousness of delinquent and criminal careers. Differences in the incidence and prevalence of delinquency and crime were sharpest between the inner city, interstitial, and then all other areas. The upward trend for females was not as clear-cut for the 18 through 20 or 21 and older age periods. As was true of measures of incidence and seriousness, there was a disproportional rise in prevalence among females but prevalence remained lower among females.
