Abstract
This study examines neighborhood characteristics as predictive factors in criminal offending. Systematic random sampling was used to select one out of every two adolescents confined for a criminal offense in the study area. Findings revealed that encounters with drug and alcohol had the highest functional coefficients among juvenile residents in a postcrisis part of the town. Neighborhood gang activities had the highest functional coefficients among juvenile residents in medium-density areas. The study concluded that predictive factors in criminal offending differ from one residential area to another. Targeted programs should therefore reflect these differences.