JACKSONVILLE (FL) - OFFICE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE PLANNING - CRIME PREVENTION SURVEY - JUNE 1978

• NCJ Number: 48664
• Author(s): ANON
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 12 pages
• Corporate Author: Jacksonville Office of Criminal Justice Planning
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A GEOGRAPHICALLY DISTRIBUTED TELEPHONE SURVEY WAS UTILIZED TO EXAMINE PUBLIC ATTITUDES TOWARD NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY, COOPERATIVENESS WITH CRIMINAL JUSTICE COMPONENTS, AND AWARENESS OF CRIME PREVENTION PROGRAMS.

Abstract

OF 388 RESPONDENTS, 18 YEARS OR OLDER, IN THE JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA AREA, 60.8 PERCENT WERE UNAFRAID TO WALK ALONE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS AT NIGHT AND ONLY 10,3 PERCENT FELT UNSAFE IN THEIR HOMES AT NIGHT. SEVERAL RESPONDENTS MENTIONED TAKING SECURITY MEASURES, SUCH AS BURGLAR BARS, DOGS, OR THE PURCHASE OF GUNS. OF THE SAMPLE, 20.1 PERCENT HAD BEEN VICTIMIZED BY CRIME, MOST WITHIN A MILE OF THEIR HOME, AND OF THOSE, 10.5 PERCENT DID NOT REPORT THE CRIME. A VAST MAJORITY OF THE RESPONDENTS (94.6 PERCENT) STATED THEY WOULD REPORT A CRIME THEY WERE WITNESSING TO THE POLICE, AND 87.4 PERCENT INDICATED THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO TESTIFY IN COURT. THE MAJOR REASON GIVEN FOR NONCOOPERATION WITH POLICE OR COURTS WAS FEAR OF REPRISALS. RAPE WAS THE CRIME MOST FEARED BY RESPONDENTS; THIS IS PROBABLY ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE LARGE NUMBER OF WOMEN IN THE SAMPLE AND TO INCREASED PUBLIC AWARENESS OF THE CRIMES. BURGLARY AND ASSAULT WERE THE SECOND AND THIRD MOST FEARED CRIMES. OF THOSE WHO HAD BEEN VICTIMIZED, 25 PERCENT WERE AFRAID OF THE SAME CRIME HAPPENING TO THEM AGAIN. OVER 33 PERCENT OF THE RESPONDENTS WERE UNABLE TO SAY WHA THEY WOULD LIKE DONE TO PREVENT CRIME. OF THOSE RESPONDING, 17 PERCENT CITED INCREASED CITIZEN INITIATIVE/COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND 18 PERCENT CITED HARSHER AND LONGER SENTENCES. IN ALL, 26 PERCENT GAVE ANSWERS CENTERING ON CHANGES IN THE COURT SYSTEM, WHILE 23 PERCENT CITED MEASURES CENTERING ON LAW ENFORCEMENT CHANGES, PARTICULARLY INCREASED POLICE FORCE SIZE. ONLY 19.6 PERCENT OF THE RESPONDENTS INDICATED AN AWARENESS OF CRIME PREVENTION PROGRAMS, SUCH AS NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH AND HELPING HAND. THIS FIGURE IS RELATIVELY LOW, PARTICULARLY IN THE LIGHT OF RECENT MEDIA CAMPAIGNS. DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SURVEY POPULATION, AND PERCENTAGE RESPONSES FOR EACH QUESTIONS ARE APPENDED. SURVEY LIMITATIONS ARE BRIEFLY DISCUSSED. REFERENCES ARE FOOTNOTED. (JAP)