NCJ Number
108853
Date Published
1986
Length
33 pages
Annotation
This report on a 2-year (1984-1986) victimization survey of Kentucky residents describes estimates of Kentucky crime, the short and long-term effects of victimization, and citizen awareness and use of formal support and crime prevention services.
Abstract
A sampling design using random digit-dialing produced 557 interviews representing 3,843 households. Respondents were interviewed regarding their crime experiences in the spring of 1985 and 1 year later. Over 20 percent of these households experienced a crime in 1986, a rate which did not differ from 1985 but was well below the national rate. Approximately 19 percent of the households were touched by property crime and 2.5 percent by violent crime in both years. The 1986 crime rate was more than twice as high among households that experienced crime in the previous year, as among those that did not. Approximately half the victimized households reported the crime to the police. Within a year of the crime, respondents from victimized households were significantly more depressed and fearful than respondents in nonvictim households. While levels of fear continued to be higher even after a year had passed, depression in victim households was not higher than in nonvictim households over the long-term. Most Kentuckians took some precautions against crime, such as locking their cars and looking out for one another's homes. Few citizens were aware of the State's witness/victim assistance programs. Other survey findings address residents' contacts with the police, association with formal prevention programs, and awareness of programs for rape victims, abused spouses, and abused children. Charts and survey questionnaire.