Demographic Differences and Crime Research Paper

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Crimes: Attitudes and Perceptions

This study was intended to provide insights into the attitudes and perceptions about crime in the local area. The study focused on the 18 to 25-year-old age group as compared to a 50 to 75-year-old age group. There were ten surveys completed as a representative sample of the local population. The hypothesis was that the older demographic would perceive more crime than the younger generation. The fear of crime has received a considerable amount of attention from the media and researchers alike because it can undermine the quality of life for the individuals that are fearful. Overall, women, older adults, and whites have been found to be more fearful compared to their counterparts and a number of correlates and predictors of fear of crime, such as demographic characteristics, disorder, and prior victimization have also been examined (Gainey, Alper, & Chappell, 2010).

The sample used in the survey were all Caucasian in their ethnicity and the in the older demographic (50-75 years old) were immigrants while the younger demographic (18-25 years old) were not. These individuals were sampled via different means. Some of them answered the questions via email, others by phone, and two of the individuals answered the surveys in person. There answers were coded and compiled into a spreadsheet for further analysis. Some of the participants lived in the same neighborhood, a couple actually lived together, and the remainder lived within a five mile radius. Although this survey does provide insights to the status of the attitudes and perceptions regarding crime in the local community, these factors could represent sampling limitations that may have biased the responses.

Data Analysis

The first question that was asked dealt with whether or not the individual felt that crime was a serious problem in their town. Six out of ten respondents felt that crime was in fact a serious problem in their town. Four of the six respondents that felt crime was a serious problem were in the 50 to 75-year-old demographic and every respondent who was in this demographic answer that crime was a serious problem. This would support the hypothesis that the older population perceives crime as a more serious problem relative to younger demographics.

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The second question dealt with whether or not crime has increased over the course of the last five years. Only two of the ten respondents felt that crime was increasing and these two individuals were both over the age of 65 years old.

The third question dealt with the types of crimes that people perceived were being committed. Some liberties were taken in coding the answers in this question and most of the answers were grouped into a category referred to as normal in the study. Seven of the ten respondents felt that the crime being committed was roughly "normal" in terms of its substance. However two of the respondents felt that poverty was driving criminal behavior while one respondent felt that hate was a driver of crime.

The next two questions dealt with how people felt in regards to being safe in their community. The first question asked if they felt safe in general and the second question asked about how safe they felt to walk around at night. All ten respondents answered that they felt safe in their community and some gave different explanations for this attitude. For example, a couple respondents answered that they have lived in the community for most of their lives and knew most of the individuals in the local community. While everyone surveyed stated that they felt safe in their community in general, three respondents stated that they did not feel safe walking around at night -- all three individuals who did not feel safe at night were over the age of fifty and female.

The next two questions dealt with how they perceived the motivation for criminal activity in others. The first of the two questions asked if they believed that people committed crimes out of necessity or if they committed crimes just because they could. Six people believed that people committed crimes because they could while only one felt that it was to meet some need; three of the individuals felt it could be both factors and two of these three respondents were under the age of thirty. The next question asked if they believed that people were "born bad." A majority of people (7) did not.....

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