NCJ Number
46236
Editor(s)
A L PAEZ
Date Published
1979
Length
64 pages
Annotation
FINDINGS OF A SURVEY OF 4,381 BUFFALO, N.Y., HOUSEHOLDS (9,036 PERSONS) TAKEN IN 1974 AS PART OF THE NATIONAL CRIME SURVEY PROGRAM TO ASSESS PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES RELATING TO CRIME ARE REPORTED.
Abstract
THAT CRIME WAS PERCEIVED AS A GROWING SOCIAL PROBLEM BY BUFFALO RESIDENTS WAS EVIDENT FROM RESULTS OF THE ATTITUDE SURVEY. ABOUT THREE-FOURTHS OF THE MEASURED POPULATION BELIEVED THAT CRIME WAS ON THE UPSWING IN THE NATION AS A WHOLE, AND ONE-THIRD SENSED AN INCREASE IN CRIME WITHIN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES. ONLY A FRACTION OF THE CITY'S RESIDENTS--FEWER THAN 1 IN 10--BELIEVED CRIME HAD DECLINED EITHER NATIONALLY OR LOCALLY. WITH THIS IN MIND, IT IS UNDERSTANDABLE THAT MOST INDIVIDUALS REPORTED THAT THEIR OWN CHANCES OF BEING VICTIMS HAD INCREASED OVER THE YEARS. BASED ON 37 STATISTICAL DATA TABLES, THE DISCUSSION CENTERS ON PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES RELATING TO TRENDS IN CRIME, FEAR OF CRIME, RESIDENTIAL PROBLEMS AND LIFESTYLES, AND LOCAL POLICE PERFORMANCE. APPENDIXES INCLUDE THE SURVEY DATA TABLES, THE SURVEY INSTRUMENT, AND A DISCUSSION OF THE TECHNICAL INFORMATION AND RELIABILITY OF THE ESTIMATES. A GLOSSARY AND A USER EVALUATION QUESTIONNAIRE ARE ALSO PROVIDED. THE REPORT IS ONE OF A SERIES OF 13 AND A COMPANION TO 'CRIMINAL VICTIMIZATION SURVEYS IN BUFFALO' (1970), WHICH REPORTED ON THE RATES OF RAPE, ROBBERY, ASSAULT, BURGLARY, LARCENY, AND MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT FOUND IN THE SURVEY. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--DAG)