Crime and Family Structure

(Charlottesville, VA.)—For Immediate Release

Contact: Chris Bullivant 

A report from the Institute for Family Studies (IFS) published today presents new research showing a clear relationship between family structure and violent crime in cities across the United States, including Chicago. The findings indicate that city leaders looking to reduce urban violence should seek to strengthen families. By supporting policies that create stronger families, they can make their city streets safer.
 
This new report finds that: 

• NATIONALLY: Violent crime rates in cities with high levels of single parenthood are 118% higher than cities with low levels of single parenthood. Crucially, the connection between urban crime and fragile families holds up even after controlling for other factors linked to crime like race, education, and poverty.

• IN CHICAGO: Neighborhoods with more single parents see violent crime rates that are 226% higher and homicide rates that are 436% higher than the city’s neighborhoods with lower levels of single parenthood.

“This new research indicates that our city streets are safer when families are more stable,” said co-author Brad Wilcox, Future of Freedom Fellow at the Institute for Family Studies and professor of sociology at the University of Virginia. “Given this, policymakers should be aiming to strengthen families by taking steps—like teaching the ‘success sequence’ and eliminating marriage penalties in our means-tested programs—that shore up the cultural and economic foundations of family life.” 

The report authors reviewed data from over 600 cities, drawing from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Crimes Known to Law Enforcement table, the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and, for the detailed analysis of Chicago, census tracts data alongside crime data from the Chicago Police Department. 

READ:

Rafael A. Mangual, Brad Wilcox, Seth Cannon, and Joseph E. Price, "Stronger Families, Safer Streets. Exploring Links Between Family Structure and Crime," The Institute for Family Studies, December 2023.

https://ifstudies.org/ifs-admin/resources/reports/ifs-strongerfamilies-final-1.pdf 

ENDS.

Notes: 

1. Report authors:
   Rafael Mangual, Nick Ohnell Fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research
   Brad Wilcox, Future of Freedom Fellow at the Institute for Family Studies
   Seth Cannon, Wheatley scholar, BYU
   Joseph Price, Professor of Economics at Brigham Young University