Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 1983 - Bureau of Justice ...

----~------~~--~----------~--------______.~.__* ,,,,, __ 4"'"Public Attitudes Toward Crime and Criminal Justice-Related TopicsSourcebook of Crlminol Justice Stotistics 1983Table 2.8 Respondents rating their chance of being a victim of a violent crime,by demographic characteristics, United States, 1982NJTE: See NOTE, Tablo 2.1. For a discussion of public opinion survey samplingprocedures, see Appendix 7. For detailed information on this survey, see Appendix 8.Question: ''How would you rate the chances of your being the victim of a violentcrime someday--would you soy you are very likely to be a victim of a violent crime,somewhat likely to be a victim, somewhat unlikely or very unlikely?"(Percent a )N> opinion;Very Somewhat Somewhat Very refusedlikel)::: likel)::: un Ii ke I)::: unlikel)::: to answerI\k1tional 6 26 34 31 3Sex:Male 6 21, 36 32 2Female 6 30 32 28 4Race, ethnlclty:White 5 26 35 32 3Black 14 31 30 22 4Hispanic 12 26 29 30 3EducatIon:Col/elle 4 26 38 29 2High .5chool 6 28 32 31 3Grade school 10 14 23 47 7Employment status:Full-time employed5 28 35 30 2Part-time employed 5 28 40 25 IUnemployed 8 24 35 31 2Laid off 6 25 33 36 0Retired 6 17 28 42 7Full-time homemaker 5 31 32 28 4Student 12 36 38 14 01"''''' ood 0."Income:5 25 37 32 I20,000 to ~29,999 4 28 36 29 212,000 to 151,95151 7 26 35 251 38,000 to $11,51951 7 27 32 29 5Ulder $8,000 8 23 28 36 5Age:18 to 24 years 6 31 40 22 (b)25 to 251 years 4 31 38 25 230 to 451 years 6 28 35 30 250 to 64 years 6 23 32 35 465 years and older 6 16 27 43 8Conmunity size:Large city 8 33 32 23 4Suburb 5 30 38 25 2Small town 5 21 35 36 3Rural 6 24 30 38 3Region:Northeast 6 30 33 26 4Midwest 4 24 36 34 2South 7 :15 35 31 3West 5 29 33 30 3Neighborhood racial characteristics:Mostly or all white 5 25 36 32 2Racially mixed 10 30 30 26 4Mostly or all black JO 36 31 20 3Neighborhood age structure:Mostly younger than 35 years 5 27 43 24 (b)Mostly between 35 and 55 years 6 27 36 29 2Mostly older than 55 years 7 19 251 40 5lV'ixed, all ages 5 27 33 31 3~ercents may not add to 100 due to rounding.Less than or equal to 0.5 percent.Source: Table constructed by SOLRCEBClCX< staff from data provided by the ABCNews Poll' data were mode available through the Criminal Justice Archive andInformatlo~ Network, Inter-unlversi1y Consortium for Political and Social Research.Table 2.51 Fear of specific criminal victimization and general fearof crime, by demographic characteristics, United States, 1980N::>TE: The findings reported below result f:om a random digit dialtelephone survey conducted during April and May 15180 of 1,047 adultsin the Ulited States. The resulting survey was weighted to moreclosely approximate the general adult population, 18 years and cIder, Inboth sex and income characteristics.The concrete fear index Is a Guttman scale measuring how oftena person worries specifically about being the victim of murder, sexualassault, mugging, knifing, beating, or armed robbery. Answers to eachof the six ques lions that formed the concrete fear index were scored 0If the response was "rarely" or "never" ond I If the response was"frequently" or "sometimes," for a poss!ble score of 6. The concretefear Index score was then classified as "high" If It was 3 to 6 and''moderate to low" if less thon 3.The formless fear Index Is a Guttman scale measuring thefrequency of nonspecific worry about safety In one's home.neighborhood, and larger community. Answers to each of th~1 sixquestions that formed the formless fear index were scored a If theresponse was "very safe" or "somewhat safe" and I If the response was"somewhat unsafe" or "very unsafe," for a possible score of 6. Theformlt>:'s fear Index score was then classified as "high" If it was 3 to 6and ''moderate to low" If it was less than 3.For further discussion of the survey and Indices, see Appendix 9.NationalSex:MaleFemaleRace:WhiteBlackEducation:College gradll(]teHigh school graduateor some collegeLess than high school gradUateOccupation:Owner, manager, professionalWhite collarBlue collarIncome:$26,000 ona over$11,000 to $.l5,51519Ulder $11,000Age:18 to 29 years30 to 351 years40 to 49 years50 to 59 years60 year s und olderCommunity size:Large citySmall citySuburbRuralRegion:EastMidwestSouthWestMorltal status:MarriedDivorced, widowed, separotedSingleEmployment status:Full-timeOther(Percent)Level ofconcrete fearModerateHigh to low413446404846413542364340404349463440335241393136434339394345413959665460525459655864576060575154666067485516169645757616157555961Level offormless feorModerateHigh to lowSource: Research and Forecasts, Inc., The Fig~le Report on Fearof Crime: America Afraid (Willoughby, Ohio: Flgglenterncltlonal, Inc.,1980), pp. 30, 32-34, 42-44, 49, 51, 53, 54. Table cldapted bySOLRCEBOO< staff. Reprinted by permission.37264834483835453427442633493630344143543330313448333044637452665262655566735674675164706659574667706966526770562Q3