NCJ Number
80584
Date Published
1977
Length
92 pages
Annotation
Massachusetts crime statistics are compiled and interpreted for recent years.
Abstract
The report's first section describes the volume and nature of Part 1 crime reported in Massachusetts in 1975. Crime is compared in various subdivisions of the State: urban and suburban areas, planning regions, counties, and high crime cities. The second section examines the State's crime problem from the victim's perspective, using the Federal victimization surveys as the data source. Among the issues discussed are crime rates as reported by victims, the extent to which crimes are reported to the police, the extent to which various groups in the population are victimized, characteristics of offenders, and crime costs. The concluding chapter examines crime trends in the State from 1960 to 1975 compared with national trends and other New England States. Data show that crime increased significantly in both Massachusetts and the United States between 1960 and 1975; however, the annual rate of change in crime has shown considerable fluctuation from year to year. Total crime in Massachusetts has been increasing more rapidly than crime in the United States in general. The relative increases, however, have not been identical for all crime. Rape and murder rates have been rising less rapidly in Massachusetts than in the Nation, while the rates for aggravated assaults, robbery, burglary, larceny, and auto theft have been growing more rapidly. The overall crime increase in Massachusetts was found to be about the same as for the New England region. Tabular and graphic data are provided.