NCJ Number
72109
Date Published
1977
Length
119 pages
Annotation
The results of a 1975 victimization survey of Orange County, California, are presented in this thesis.
Abstract
A multistage probability sample of 3,104 households in 10 communities responded to a questionnaire which was administered through personal interviews. The survey was patterned after a National Opinion Research Corporation survey and included only those crimes which affected individuals or members of households in the preceding 3 years. Larceny, auto theft, burglary, robbery, assault, fights, fraud, conterfeiting, vandalism, arson, and rape were included in the questionnaire. In addition, the survey sought to discover what people were most likely to be victimized, victims' reactions to the crimes, and attitudes regarding police and law enforcement. The findings showed that 5,236 incidents occurred in the 3-year period with an annual increase rate of 16.3 percent. Only 65 percent of the crimes had been reported to the police, and 5.8 percent of the reports resulted in the apprehension of a suspect. Burglary and petty theft were the most prevalent crimes experienced. Most reasons given for the nonreport of incidents indicated that victims believed that the police could not have done anything about the crime or that the extent of the victimization was too unimportant to report. In 35 percent of the reported cases, victims had heard nothing further from the police and did not know whether the crime had been investigated. A majority of the victims expressed concern, but positive regard toward law enforcement, despite its apparent inability to deal effectively with the problems. Both incidences of victimization and positive regard increased with levels of affluence. Maps and data tables are included, and appendixes contain the questionnaire and instructions given to interviewers. Footnotes with references are provided.