CRIMINAL VICTIMIZATION IN RURAL AREAS - AN ANALYSIS OF VICTIMIZATION PATTERNS AND REPORTING TRENDS

• NCJ Number: 59026
• Author(s): B L SMITH
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 376 pages
• Grant Number(s): 78-NI-AX-0032
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice; Purdue University
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Thesis/Dissertation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: PURDUE UNIVERSITY - DOCTORAL THESIS

Annotation

THE PATTERNS OF VICTIMIZATION IN A RURAL AREA AND RURAL RESIDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE CRIME PROBLEM IN THEIR COMMUNITY ARE EXAMINED, AND COMPARISONS ARE MADE BETWEEN THE VICTIMIZATION RATES OF RURAL AND URBAN AREAS.

Abstract

PERSONAL INTERVIEWS WERE CONDUCTED WITH A SAMPLE OF 481 RURAL INDIANA RESIDENTS AGED 12 AND ABOVE, AND WITH 102 BUSINESS PROPRIETORS. THE INTERVIEWS FOCUSED ON VICTIMIZATION EXPERIENCE, FEAR OF CRIME, PERCEPTIONS OF THE QUALITY OF LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT, AND PERSONAL, HOUSEHOLD, AND COMMERCIAL DEMOGRAPHIC DATA. SECONDARY DATA INCLUDED AN EXAMINATION OF CRIMES KNOWN TO THE POLICE AND ARREST RECORDS OF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES WITHIN THE COUNTY SURVEYED, JUVENILE OFFENSE RECORDS AND COURT CASES FOR THE PERIOD COVERED BY THE SURVEY, AND INTERVIEWS WITH ADMINISTRATORS OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCIES WITHIN THE COUNTY. THE RESULTS OF THESE SURVEYS WERE COMPARED TO THE PATTERNS OF VICTIMIZATION REVEALED BY NATIONAL CRIME PANEL SURVEYS OF URBAN AREAS. WHILE MOST URBAN SURVEYS FOUND THAT MALES HAVE A SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER VICTIMIZATION RATE THAN FEMALES FOR CRIMES OF VIOLENCE, THE DATA FROM THESE RURAL SURVEYS REVEALED THAT THIS PATTERN EXTENDS TO PERSONAL THEFT CRIMES AS WELL. HOWEVER, FOR RURAL RESIDENTS, THE YOUNGER THE RESPONDENT, THE GREATER THE RISK OF VICTIMIZATION, AND UPPER-INCOME FAMILIES WERE SLIGHTLY MORE LIKELY TO BE VICTIMS OF HOUSEHOLD CRIME THAN LOWER OR MIDDLE-INCOME FAMILIES. FURTHERMORE, THE VULNERABILITY OF RURAL RESIDENTS AND THEIR WILLINGNESS TO REPORT CRIMES WERE SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT FROM URBAN RESIDENTS. THE FACT THAT APPROXIMATELY ONE-FOURTH OF THE VICTIMIZATIONS EXPERIENCED BY RURAL RESIDENTS OCCUR OUTSIDE THEIR GEOGRAPHICAL LIMITS IN CITIES OF 10,000 OR MORE, SUGGESTS THAT RURAL RESIDENTS ARE PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TO PERSONAL THEFT CRIMES WHEN VISITING URBAN AREAS. RURAL RESIDENTS' TENDENCY TO REPORT A MUCH LOWER PROPORTION OF OFFENSES TO THE POLICE THAN URBAN RESIDENTS IS ATTRIBUTED TO THE DESIRE OF RURAL RESIDENTS TO USE INFORMAL MEANS OF SANCTIONING WHENEVER POSSIBLE. THUS, A WILLINGNESS TO REPORT OFFENSES TO THE POLICE MAY BE RELATED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF FORMAL, BUREAUCRATIC CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS, A POSSIBLE OUTGROWTH OF URBANIZATION. APPENDIXES INCLUDE A GLOSSARY OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE TERMINOLOGY, SAMPLING INFORMATION, THE SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES, INTERVIEWER GUIDELINES AND SCHEDULES, AND AN INDEX OF CRIME SEVERITY. NOTES AND AN EXTENSIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE PROVIDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)