Criminal's and Noncriminal's Perceptions of Urban Crime and the Criminal's Image of the City and Urban Crime Patterns (A Methodological Review) (From Link Between Crime and the Built Environment, Volume 2, P C24-C32, 1980, by Tetsuro Motoyama et al - See NCJ-79544)

• NCJ Number: 79547
• Author(s): T Motoyama; L Langbein; H Rubenstein; P Hartjens
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 9 pages
• Corporate Author: American Institutes for Research
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Available on microfiche from NCJRS as NCJ-79544.

Annotation

This methodological review examines a study of criminals' and noncriminals' perceptions of urban crime and the criminal's image of the city and urban crime patterns conducted by Ronald L. Carter and Kim Q. Hill.

Abstract

Specifically, the study examined the general character of criminals' evaluations of areas within the city and whether their evaluations differ from noncriminals' evaluations of the urban milieu. It also investigates criminals' evaluations of different places and how these evaluations are related to their choice of locales for committing offenses, and whether criminals have a more accurate perception than noncriminals of the actual incidence of crime in their city. The two pre-experimental components of the study compared evaluations of specific neighborhoods by the race (black, white) and criminal status (criminal, noncriminal) of a sample of respondents and correlated the number of crimes in an area with criminals' evaluations of the area. A sample of about 160 persons was selected, and subjects were asked to respond to a set of bipolar 7-point scales in assessing 15 areas of the city. Fifteen dependent measures were included in the questionnaire. The sample of 83 offenders who committed offenses in the city was drawn from 3 of the State's correctional institutions. Study conclusions were that (1) both criminals and noncriminals view the social phenomenon of crime similarly; (2) there are differences in the semantic structures of criminals and noncriminals, and these can be interpreted; and (3) there is a demonstrated linkage between a criminal's perceptions and his behavior. These conclusions appear to be overdrawn, although they have significant exploratory values. The limiting factor of the research is the small sample size (only 15 areas).