NCJ Number
200926
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 31 Issue: 4 Dated: July/August 2003 Pages: 383-396
Editor(s)
Kent B. Joscelyn
Date Published
July 2003
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study provides exploratory data on the incidence of and sociodemographic risk factors associated with three social problems: predatory crime victimization, illegal drug use, and alcohol consumption in Canadian public housing.
Abstract
This exploratory study deals with the surprisingly small amount of scientific study of crime victimization specifically on public housing estates, particularly in Canada. For this study, six public housing estates in the west end of an urban center in Eastern Ontario, Canada were selected. One person in each household over the age of 18 was asked to complete the Quality of Neighborhood Life Survey (QNLS). The study yielded 325 usable questionnaires. A total of 55 percent of the men and women in the QNLS sample reported being harmed by one or more types of crime. The QNLS participants reported higher rates of predatory crime victimization than members of the Canadian general population, and higher than those found in the full 2000 National Crime Victimization Survey. Due to high levels of poverty, joblessness, low collective efficacy, and other social problems, the public housing estates in this study were for the most part unhappy places and this was compounded by the amount of crime. The exploratory data presented strongly suggest that the public housing complexes included in this study were “hot spots” of predatory criminal activities. Tables and references