NCJ Number
44437
Date Published
1977
Length
60 pages
Annotation
A PROFILE OF THE CRIME PROBLEM IN A PUBLIC HOUSING PROJECT IN BALTIMORE, MD., BASED ON A SURVEY OF 145 HOUSEHOLDS, IS PRESENTED.
Abstract
RESPONDENTS WERE QUESTIONED ABOUT THEIR CRIMINAL VICTIMIZATION EXPERIENCES DURING 1975, ABOUT THEIR FEAR OF CRIME, AND ABOUT THE EXTENT TO WHICH THEY HAD CHANGED THEIR BEHAVIOR BECAUSE OF THEIR CONCERN ABOUT CRIME. THE SURVEY REPORT DESCRIBES THE METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY; PRESENTS DATA ON VICTIMIZATION, FEAR, AND BEHAVIOR ALTERATION; DISCUSSES RELATED ISSUES SUCH AS RESPONDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF PROBLEMS IN THE HOUSING PROJECT AND THEIR IDEAS ABOUT HOW TO MAKE THE PROJECT MORE SECURE; AND DRAWS COMPARISONS WITH SURVEY FINDINGS FROM DADE COUNTY, FLA., BOSTON, MASS., WASHINGTON, D.C., AND LOS ANGELES, CALIF. THE FINDINGS REVEAL THAT CRIME IS A COMMON EXPERIENCE FOR MURPHY HOMES RESIDENTS. MORE THAN HALF OF THE HOUSEHOLDS HAD EXPERIENCED A CRIME DURING 1975, AND MORE THAN A QUARTER HAD BEEN VICTIMS OF MORE THAN ONE INCIDENT. MURPHY HOMES HAS EXTRAORDINARILY HIGH LEVELS OF ROBBERY AND BURGLARY IN COMPARISON TO THE NATION AS A WHOLE AND TO NATIONWIDE POPULATION GROUPS OF COMPARABLE INCOME. ROBBERY, PURSE SNATCHING, AND ASSAULT ARE CONCENTRATED IN THE AREA SURROUNDING THE PROJECT'S FOUR HIGHRISE BUILDINGS. DESPITE CONTROLLED ENTRANCEWAYS, THE INTERIORS OF THESE BUILDINGS ARE NO SAFER THAN THE SURROUNDING AREA. RESPONDENTS INDICATED A VERY HIGH FEAR OF CRIME. THIRTY-FIVE PERCENT RATED SIMPLY WAITING FOR A BUS DURING THE DAY AS 'DANGEROUS' OR 'VERY DANGEROUS.' RESIDENTS CONSTRAINED THEIR USE OF FACILITIES AND PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL ACTIVITIES AS A RESULT OF THEIR CONCERN ABOUT CRIME. MOST HAD PURCHASED MEANS OF SELF-PROTECTION. SUPPORTING DATA ARE INCLUDED.