NCJ Number
97143
Date Published
1981
Length
31 pages
Annotation
Data regarding Nebraskans' criminal victimization and attitudes toward crime and criminal justice, collected during the 1980 Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey, are reported.
Abstract
Of the 1,916 respondents, almost 24 percent were victims of some offense, and more than 75 percent of all victimizations involved vandalism (33 percent) and larceny-theft (45 percent). Somewhat more than half of the offenses were reported to law enforcement authorities, with motor vehicle theft, robbery, and burglary being most frequently reported. Young, urban, and middle-income respondents were the most likely to have been victimized. Most respondents believed that crime levels had remained the same in their neighborhoods for 1 or 2 years prior to the survey, and 24 percent of the respondents had taken some steps to make their houses more secure against crime. Economic conditions and drug problems (including alcohol abuse) were the most often cited crime causes. Thirty-five percent of the respondents were satisfied with the performance of their local police. Finally, the majority of respondents (72 percent) believed that the courts were to lenient in dealing with persons charged with crimes; only 2 percent said the courts were too strict. Included are 22 figures.