Perceptions of Neighborhood Crime, 1995

In 1995 the percentage of U.S. households identifying crime as a neighborhood problem remained about 7%, according to the American Housing Survey. 1 The percentage of households identifying crime as a problem had reached 7.4% in 1991 and was fairly constant afterwards. Somewhat similar to the Nation's general pattern of violent victimization rates, household perceptions of crime as a problem rose during the late 1980's and early 1990's and then leveled off. Nevertheless, differences between perception and actual victimization are found. As crime later dropped sharply from 1994 to 1995, perceptions of crime remained relatively stable. As a general matter, the gap between perceptions of crime and actual experience of crime varied among different subpopulations. For example, in 1995 the percentage of black households indicating a crime problem was almost 2.5 times greater than the percentage of white households. This difference was not nearly as large In 1995, 7% of U.S. households identified crime as a neighborhood problem. Over the 1985-95 period the percentage of households saying that crime was a problem reached 7.4% in 1991 and remained relatively constant through 1995. Black, central city, and renter households were more likely than other types of households to identify crime as a neighborhood problem. Twenty-five percent of black public housing households and 13% of white public housing households reported crime as a neighborhood problem in 1995. Perceptions of crime vulnerability generally reflected actual relative likelihood of criminal victimization. From 1992 to 1995 a higher percentage of black households than white households had experienced nonlethal violent crime. In 1995 about 9% of black urban households were victimized by violent crime compared to 7% of white urban households. In 1995, 8% of public housing households were victimized by violent crime compared to 6% of non-public housing households. 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% Among central city households from 1985 to 1995, a higher percentage of black than white households cited crime as a problem Black central city households White central city households Highlights 1 "Household" refers to occupants of a housing unit. A household representative provided information for the entire unit.