Final answer:
Carter Hay focused on social disorganization theory in the general theory of crime, researching how neighborhood characteristics like unemployment rates influence crime rates and how the presence of businesses like payday lenders can exacerbate these rates.
Step-by-step explanation:
Carter Hay's research focused on the aspect of social disorganization theory within the general theory of crime. His study examined how certain neighborhood characteristics, such as the percentage of young males, unemployment rate, and residential instability, are predictive of crime rates. Hay's research also found that when these factors were controlled for, the presence of certain businesses, like payday lenders in Seattle, further exacerbated crime rates over time. Social disorganization theory asserts that a neighborhood's social factors create an environment that can either encourage or discourage criminal behavior and is popular among researchers for mapping crime data to analyze trends and assist in resource allocation for crime prevention.
The research suggests how crime analysts use geographical and sociological data to understand and potentially predict criminal behavior patterns. By employing such theoretical frameworks, it's possible to develop strategies for making communities safer and apply practical tools like CompStat to enhance law enforcement effectiveness. Hay's work contributes to the understanding of the socio-economic underpinnings of crime, shedding light on the environments that foster it and potential interventions.