Assessing Public Housing Resident’s Perceptions of Crime and Safety

• In Event: Perceptions of Crime and Safety in Public Housing and Transportation

Abstract

Neighborhood resident’s perceptions of crime and public safety do not always reflect reality. Further, the importance of the neighborhood and individual-level factors has gained significant attention in recent criminological scholarship in the area of crime perceptions. This study analyzes how actual rates of crime in a specific public housing neighborhood compare to the perceptions of crime and safety held among residents and identifies factors correlated with resident perceptions of crime and safety. This study utilizes two quantitative sources of data: surveys that were conducted in-person with residents at two apartment complexes located in Orlando Florida, and officially reported Orlando crime data. Statistical analysis was conducted to highlight neighborhood resident’s overall perceptions of crime and safety, specific individual-level and neighborhood-level factors that are correlated with resident perceptions of crime and safety, and if perceptions of crime and safety in the neighborhood reflect reality.

Authors

• Alexandria Raven McClarty, University of Central Florida

• Amy Donley, University of Central Florida