NCJ Number
79569
Date Published
1980
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This review assesses an exploratory study by Phillip Clay and the Lower Roxbury Community Corporation of environmental features and resident and management attitudes and behavior in their impact on multifamily housing development security in Boston, Mass.
Abstract
The study involved interviews with 202 residents of three public housing developments in Boston. The survey included questions on victimization, resident attitudes about their personal safety in the housing developments, and the residents' willingness to perform specific activities to increase their security. The study tested for relationships between knowledge of neighbors and victimization experience, between resident awareness of victimization and willingness to undertake security measures, and between the existence of 'insecure places' (i.e., dark places, threatening places, etc.) in the developments and resident perceptions of safety. The study concluded that (1) respondents who knew a great many of their neighbors were victimized significantly less than residents who know few of their neighbors; (2) when presented with three hypothetical situations of crimes or possible crimes, most respondents indicated they would do nothing or only call the police; (3) respondents aware of a victimization were more willing to undertake security activities than those not aware of victimization; and (4) residents' fear of victimization was related to the existence of identifiable frightening spaces in their developments. The miscomputed chi-square negates the conclusion that respondents who knew a greater number of their neighbors were victimized less frequently than those who knew fewer neighbors. The other study conclusions are supported by the data. For the original report, see NCJ 18578. (Author summary modified)