NCJ Number
46235
Date Published
1979
Length
64 pages
Annotation
FINDINGS OF A SURVEY OF 4,513 BOSTON, MASS., HOUSING UNITS (8,288 RESIDENTS) TAKEN UNDER THE NATIONAL CRIME SURVEY PROGRAM TO ASSESS PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES RELATING TO CRIME TRENDS ARE REPORTED.
Abstract
BOSTON RESIDENTS' VIEWPOINTS ABOUT CRIME-RELATED ISSUES APPEARED TO CONTRADICT ONE ANOTHER IN WAYS SUGGESTING THAT PERSONAL CONCERNS ABOUT CRIME WERE NOT WELL FOUNDED AND THAT THE THREAT OF CRIME DID NOT EXERT GREAT INFLUENCE OVER ACTIVITY PATTERNS. FOR EXAMPLE, ALTHOUGH A 62 PERCENT MAJORITY OF PERSONS THOUGHT THAT THEIR CHANCES OF BEING VICTIMIZED WERE GREATER THAN BEFORE, AND A 44 PERCENT PLURALITY BELIEVED NEIGHBORHOOD CRIME WAS INCREASING, ONLY 8 PERCENT CHARACTERIZED THEIR VICINITIES AS RELATIVELY DANGEROUS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL DETERIORATION VIED WITH CRIME AMONG THOSE WHO FOUND FAULT WITH THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS. BASED ON 37 STATISTICAL TABLES, THE SURVEY DISCUSSION CENTERS ON PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES RELATING TO TRENDS IN CRIME, FEAR OF CRIME, RESIDENTIAL PROBLEMS AND LIFESTYLES, AND LOCAL POLICE PERFORMANCE. THE REPORT IS ONE OF A SERIES OF 13 AND A COMPANION TO 'CRIMINAL VICTIMIZATION SURVEYS IN BOSTON' (1977), WHICH REPORTED THE RATES OF RAPE, ROBBERY, ASSAULT, BURGLARY, LARCENY, AND MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT FOUND IN THE SURVEY. IN ADDITION TO THE SURVEY DATA TABLES, THE SURVEY INSTRUMENT, TECHNICAL INFORMATION, A GLOSSARY AND A USER-EVALUATION FORM ARE APPENDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--DAG)