NCJ Number
175308
Date Published
1996
Length
46 pages
Annotation
Data from the British Crime Surveys of 1982 and 1992 were used to measure the effects of individual socioeconomic characteristics and past victimization of women in England and Wales on their likelihood of receiving at least one obscene telephone call.
Abstract
The research aimed in part to identify individuals at particular risk of such calls to allow a graded response by telecommunications companies regarding notifying potential victims about call-tracing services and other help. Preliminary analysis revealed that fear of crime and worries about experiencing specific types of crime were highly related to receiving nuisance phone calls. Logit models and their significance tests were developed for each data set to reveal the groups of women more prone to receiving such calls, as well as changes over time. The risks of nuisance calls were then calculated from the models for five hypothetical women: a single mother, a professional, a student, a homemaker, and an elderly retired woman. Findings identified groups of women who had double or more than double the basic risk and suggested that telecommunications companies could give these groups particular attention and appropriate responses when victimization occurs, thereby increasing the chance of prevention and detection. Tables, footnotes, and 13 references (Author abstract modified)