NCJ Number
244775
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 31 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2014 Pages: 43-73
Date Published
February 2014
Length
31 pages
Annotation
This study examined trends in crime reporting.
Abstract
Police measures of crime are shaped by victims' decisions to notify the police. To obtain a better understanding of U.S. crime trends, this study uses the National Crime Victimization Survey to examine geographic differences and temporal trends in crime reporting in New York and other metropolitan areas for the period 1979-2004. The study found that net of crime characteristics and survey methodology, the New York metropolitan area showed fewer increases in crime reporting than did other metropolitan areas. These divergent trends suggest that the real differences in the drop of nonlethal violence between New York and other areas may have been smaller than those indicated by police-based crime statistics. The study also found that from the early 1990s to 2004, New York showed a sharp decrease in the likelihood of victims perceiving that "police wouldn't help." This trend suggests that police reforms in New York City have not resulted in more victims using police-related reasons to explain their non-reporting behavior. Instead, researchers need to develop a broader theoretical framework (not an exclusive focus on police actions) to understand how police- and non-police-related factors may explain the geographic variation in the trends of reporting observed in this study. Abstract published by arrangement with Taylor and Francis.