NCJ Number
75627
Date Published
1978
Length
76 pages
Annotation
The relationship between incidence and fear of crime and the effect of security measures upon these factors were investigated at the Cabrini-Green housing project in Chicago, Ill.
Abstract
Data on crime in the area were collected from the Chicago Police Department as recorded in case reports; 1,542 Cabrini-Green residents were also surveyed at three points in the study concerning crime victimization, fear of crime, life satisfaction, likes and dislikes about the development, and demographics. Crimes occurred most frequently on Wednesdays; however, the incidence of crime was spread evenly over the week. More crime took place later in the week than near the beginning, and the highest crime hours were 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. In general, the most common offenders were 16 to 27 years old. Fewer crimes occurred in buildings in which an architectual security program had been implemented, based on the defensible space concept. The most feared location among residents were the elevators and hallways. Resident fear decreased between the first and last samplings. Generally, age, sex, length of residence in the development, and prior victimization were not related to crime fear; however, fear level in elevators showed a significant difference between buildings involved in the architectual security program and those which were not. The incidence of crime, the location of crime occurrence, and fear of crime were not directly related. In some buildings and some areas, incidence and fear were related; in others they were not. Tabular data is provided. An appendix includes an eight-item bibliography and a copy of the survey instrument.