NCJ Number
65690
Date Published
1978
Length
56 pages
Annotation
THIS REPORT CONTAINS INFORMATION AND DATA WHICH SUMMARIZE RECENT STUDIES OF CRIME IN CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, WITH PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES.
Abstract
A COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED ON CRIME PATTERNS, LAW ENFORCEMENT PROBLEMS, CRIME TRENDS, AND OTHER ISSUES RELEVANT TO CITIZENS' SECURITY AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT. FOUR ISSUES WERE STUDIED: (1) CHARLOTTE'S INCIDENCE OF MAJOR CRIME, COMPARED WITH OTHER U.S. CITIES OF SIMILAR SIZE; (2) LOCAL TRENDS IN MAJOR CRIME IN THE LAST 5 YEARS; (3) CITIZENS' PERCEPTION OF THE LOCAL CRIME SITUATION AND OF LAW ENFORCEMENT EFFECTIVENESS; (4) LOCAL DISTRIBUTION OF CRIME. DATA WERE GATHERED FROM ACADEMIC CRIMINOLOGY STUDIES, POLICE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT REPORTS, AND PERSONAL INTERVIEWS WITH COMMUNITY OFFICIALS, LOCAL BUSINESSMEN CITIZENS' REPRESENTATIVES AND MEMBERS OF THE MAYOR'S ADVISORY M CRIME COMMISSION, ALL OF WHOM ANSWERED TWO QUESTIONNAIRES AND THEN DISCUSSED THE ISSUES AT AN OPEN FORUM. THE QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES AND THE FORUM ATTENDANCE WERE DISAPPOINTINGLY LOW, THUS LIMITING RELIABILITY OF THE SURVEY FINDINGS. OTHER INFORMATION SOURCES WERE TAPPED, SUCH AS THE CITIZEN LETTERS TO THE MAYOR ON CRIME AND LAW ENFORCEMENT, AND CRIME STORIES IN THE LOCAL PAPERS. THIS REPORT DISCUSSES THE RELIABILITY (OR LACK THEROF) OF CRIME RATE STATISICS IN GENERAL, ESPECIALLY FOR VICTIMLESS CRIMES (E.G., PROSTITUTION, VAGRANCY, DRUNKENNESS, VANDALISM, DISORDERLY CONDUCT, WHITE-COLLAR CRIMES) WHICH GO LARGELY UNREPORTED. AMONG THE MAIN SURVEY FINDINGS WERE THAT COMPARED TO OTHER CITIES, CHARLOTTE RANKS HIGH IN BURGLARY, AND RELATIVELY LOW IN OTHER PROPERTY CRIMES AND CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS, ALL OF WHICH SHOWED A LEVELING TREND. PROPERTY CRIMES ARE MORE FREQUENT IN THE INNER CITY, WHICH HAS THE LEAST RESOURCES TO COMBAT CRIME AND CITIZENS PERCEIVE THE INCIDENCE OF CRIME TO BE HIGHE THAN IT REALLY IS. THE POLICE IS EVALUATED POSITIVELY BY THE MAJORITY EXCEPT IN HIGH-CIME AREAS, VICTIMIZATION STUDIES INDICATE THAT THE ACTUAL RATE IS ABOUT DOUBLE THAT IN POLICE REPORTS. DEVIANT AND NUISANCE GROUPS DO NOT NECESSARILY MAKE AN AREA UNSAFE. LEGAL RESTRAINTS DEALING WITH THESE DEVIANTS HAMPER CONTROL EFFORTS; NEW MECHANISMS MUST BE DEVISED. RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE THE USE OF CITIZENS' GROUPS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGNS TO IMPROVE THE POLICE IMAGE AND EFFECTIVENESS. THE REPORT CONTAINS TABLES AND GRAPHS; SUPPLEMENTARY TABLES ARE ARE ION THE APPENDIX. BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (LGR)