Residential neighborhood crime control project, Hartford, Connecticut 1973, 1975-1977, 1979

Description

The Hartford project, funded by LEAA through the Hartford Institute of Criminal and Social Justice, began in 1973. The program was designed to reduce the rates of burglary and robbery or purse snatching and the fear of those crimes. These victimization surveys provide a consistent measure of the rate at which such crimes occur over time. The surveys also provide critical measures of people's fears and concerns about crime. The project's most distinctive feature was its integrated approach. Physical design changes were planned, carried out, and coordinated with appropriate citizen and police efforts in a unique three-pronged program. As part of its extensive evaluation, the center collected resident survey data on four occasions over a five year period: 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, and 1979. One half of the interviews were conducted by telephone and one half in person. In each survey except 1979 respondents reported on experiences during the preceding 12-month period, in 1979 the time reference was the past two years. The survey questions are very similar from year to year, with 1973 being the most unique. Each year there are sections with questions on victimization, fear, and perceived risk of being victims of the target crimes, perceptions of and attitudes toward police, neighborhood problems and neighbors, household and respondent characteristics. The 1976 survey is not an independent sample as it was based on some of the same households interviewed in 1975.