Demographic Differences and Crime

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. 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 believe that people were born bad and learned criminal behavior. The other three individuals agreed but also felt that it could be both depending on the circumstances and two of these three respondents were also under the age of thirty. The eighth question dealt with how people feel about the death penalty. A strong majority of the respondents were for the death penalty (8) while only two individuals were against the death penalty.

Both of the individuals who were against the death penalty were female and under twenty-five. Although this percentage may seem high and potentially indicate that the sample was biased, a national survey conducted by Gallup in 2009 indicated that only 31% of the entire U.S. population was against the death penalty (Newport, 2009). Therefore, the results of this study were roughly similar to other studies with larger samples. Furthermore, eight respondents also felt that different types of crimes should be punished differently.

The next two questions dealt with whether or not people have been the victims of crimes themselves. Only four of the respondents had been the victims of crime. One was given a counterfeit bill, one was robbed but in a different country, one had a bike stolen, and one was the victim of an attempted robbery by knife point. The next questions asked if any of the respondents had been the victims of violent crime in the past and all ten respondents reported that they had not experienced violent crimes.

The next two questions were related to gun ownership and the attitudes towards owning a gun if they were easier to get within the regulatory environment in the local community. Only one respondent owned a gun, however he owned it at a different location outside the local community. Six people said they would own a gun if they were easier to get, two people said maybe, and only two people said no they would not own a gun.

Both respondents that would not own a gun were female; one was 18 years old and the other was seventy years old. The final question asked about the best way to deter crime and there were a range of answers given. Only one person believed that the police were the best deterrent, three people felt that it was related to personal responsibility, three believed that education was best, and three people felt that it required more guns to deter crime. The data seems to suggest that the hypothesis was accurate.

Elderly people in the sample seemed to believe that crime was a more serious issue than the younger generation. Even among the people that have actually been victims of crime, there was no correlation.