Briefs
Concentrated Disadvantage Index Brief
Oklahoma incarcerates its citizens at one of the highest rates on Earth, but the state maintains a crime rate far higher than the national average. Instead, Oklahoma’s response to crime is worsening poverty and making communities less safe. Struggling neighborhoods desperately need more public investment and policy innovation to address the root causes of crime. New data and analysis around “areas of concentrated disadvantage” show that one of the most worrisome impacts of persistent community poverty is violent crime.