NCJ Number
106450
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 27 Issue: 2 Dated: (Spring 1987) Pages: 125-154
Date Published
1987
Length
30 pages
Annotation
A crime survey of seven small residential areas in Sheffield, England, concluded that official crime statistics constitute a valid indicator of differences in crime victimization in small areas of a similar housing type.
Abstract
The residential neighborhoods selected had populations of between 2,000 and 3,000 and fell into 3 housing types: interwar council housing estates, postwar high-rise council estates, and noncouncil or private areas. Interviews with residents covered recent crime victimization, perceptions of crime in the neighborhood, a self-report study, and household social characteristics. The final sample consisted of 806 respondents from 762 addresses. Within each housing type, the survey found that official crime statistics were valid indicators of area crime rate differences. However, the two high-rise housing areas appeared more problematic in the crime survey than in official data, with a particularly high rate of survey offenses to recorded offenses. Some adjacent small residential areas were demographically very similar, but had very different crime rates. Even in high crime rate areas, serious crime was not particularly common. Tables, 29 references, and the survey questionnaire. (Author abstract modified)