NCJ Number
249524
Editor(s)
Jennifer Dodge
Date Published
November 2015
Length
66 pages
Annotation
This report presents findings from the most recent (2015) Maine Crime Victimization Survey (MCVS) and compares them with the findings of MCVS done in 2006 and 2011.
Abstract
The findings from the 2015 MCVS address respondents' crime perceptions, crime victimization rates, crime reporting, and victim characteristics. Although most respondents felt safe in their communities, a higher percentage of those reporting criminal victimization felt less safe in their communities. Just over two-thirds of respondents believed that law enforcement was doing a good job. Just over 75 percent of respondents perceived that drug abuse was the most significant crime factor. The highest victimization rates were reported to be identity theft, property crime, and stalking. The crimes most often reported to law enforcement were property crimes, threats of violence, and stalking. Younger respondents were nearly four times more likely to be crime victims compared with other age groups. Respondents in households with incomes less than $25,000 were more likely to be stalked, and identity theft was more common among respondents from households with incomes exceeding $100,000. Respondents without intimate partners had higher victimization rates than those with partners. The MCVS used a methodology designed to gain as high a degree of representation as possible. Steps included using a team of trained and experienced telephone survey research interviewers and supervisors, a willingness to schedule call-backs at almost any time, a contact protocol designed to maximize the likelihood of reaching respondents difficult to contact, and refusal conversion efforts. Extensive tables and figures and appended survey questionnaire