NCJ Number
75121
Date Published
1980
Length
19 pages
Annotation
Selected residents in a rural county in west-central Indiana were interiewed concerning their personal experience with crime over a 12-month period. Results were compared to several urban and national crime surveys to ascertain differences between urban and rural crime reporting patterns.
Abstract
In addition to demographic and attitude questions, the questionnaire included victimization screen items, which identified respondents for the completion of a crime incident report. A total of 481 interviews were conducted at 222 households; 102 business proprietors participated in the commercial component of the survey. The personal and household victimization survey identifies 148 victimizations. The commercial victimization portion identified 105 incidents. The victimization rates were lower than those previously found in urban areas, but were approximately the same as the national averages. Males had a greater probability for victimization than females, and persons under 25 were more likely to be victims than older persons. Upper income families were somewhat more likely to be victims than lower income households. Only 22 percent of personal victimizations and 27 percent of household ones were reported to police; in urban studies about 36 and 27 percent respectively were reported. Crimes were probably not reported because informal sanctions are preferred in rural societies. This hypothesis was supported by data analysis which revealed that offenses in the urbanized areas of the county were more likely to be reported even when seriousness of the offense was controlled. Little research has been conducted on the characteristics of rural crime; additional research is needed. Notes, tabular data, and 28 references are included.