NCJ Number
86073
Date Published
1982
Length
35 pages
Annotation
This report evaluates the crime prevention program of the Portland Police Bureau (Oregon). Individuals 60 years of age or older who are victims of residential burglary or fraud are contacted by the program.
Abstract
The evaluation examined how victims felt about being contacted, what actions they took to prevent future victimization, and what the subsequent victimization rate has been among individuals contacted by the call-back program. Over the 15-month period (April 1981-June 1982) studied, 2,081 elderly victims were contacted: 1,956 by phone and 125 in home visits. Of 3,274 requests for service by those contacted, 71 percent were for printed information, 39 percent for counseling, and 30 percent for residential security surveys; 10 percent were referred to other agencies. An information and attitude survey was administered to a random sample of 132 individuals from the contacted group, 92 percent of whom indicated that they were glad to receive the call and found it somewhat helpful. None said that there was no value to the call; two-thirds believed that their chances of being victimized again were reduced by the police contact. Evidence suggests that crime victims who are contacted by the program report more subsequent victimizations than do comparable elderly victims who have not been contacted. Ten references, survey instruments, and tabular data are appended.