Community Influences on Offending and Victimization Patterns
A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760). This special issue belongs to the section "Crime and Justice".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 May 2026 | Viewed by 11
Special Issue Editor
Interests: violent offending & victimization; race/ethnicity and crime; homicide studies; inequality and crime; rural crime; macro criminology; urban crime; public health & mortality; subcultures of violence; quantitative methods
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue explores the role of community-level influences on patterns of offending and victimization. Drawing from disciplines including criminology, sociology, social psychology, public health, and urban studies, it examines how structural conditions such as poverty, residential segregation, social disorganization, and collective efficacy shape individual and group behaviors related to crime and victimization. Articles should address both macro-level trends and neighborhood-level dynamics, highlighting the interplay between social context and personal outcomes. Special attention should be given to how community resources, social networks, exposure to violence, and local norms mediate risks and resilience. This Special Issue will also incorporate emerging research on how gentrification, environmental factors, and digital spaces alter traditional understandings of community and crime. Contributions should include both qualitative and quantitative approaches, and articles should offer policy-relevant findings aimed at reducing disparities and improving public safety through place-based interventions. Submissions should underscore the importance of contextualizing crime within the broader social environment and advocate for broad strategies that engage local communities in crime prevention and victim support.
Dr. Emily R. Berthelot
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Social Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- social disorganization
- collective efficacy
- victimization risk
- neighborhood effects
- urban inequality
- place-based crime
- gentrification and crime
- social capital
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
