Victimization and Perception of Crime in a Ghetto Community

Criminal Appeals Over the Last 100 Years:

“…In general, it is asserted that several forms of distortion result in media coverage of crime, that media coverage of crime is an important (if not the primary) source of information on crime for the public, and that media information isuncritically accepted by the public. As a result, the public is misinformed about crime (Warr 1980: 458;Fishman, 1978;Clemente and Kleinman, 1977;Conklin, 1975Conklin, , 1971Hubbard et al, 1975;Kleinman and David, 1973;Roshier, 1973;Cook, 1971;Quinney, 1970;Greenberg, 1969;McIntyre, 1967;Bell, 1962). On the other hand, a more recent systematic empirical investigation of this issue indicates that the public's perceived incidence of crime is quite accurate (Warr, 1980).…”

Social Integration, Victimization, and Anomia

“…Using interviews shortly after the victimization, Cohn (1973) found evidence of adjustment problems.' In addition, Kleinman and David (1973), using a community approach, examined victimization rates of ethnic groups. The whites, a minority in the community, tended to have strong primary ties and church membership, reducing their perception of high crime rates.…”

A Community's Opinion On Crime

“…While labelling-interactionist theorists (e.g., Becker, 1963;Erikson, 1966;Kitsuse, 1962-, Lemert, 1967 have stressed the importance of the relationship between the offender or potential offender and the criminal justice system, little attention has been paid to the community's response to and perception of the crime situation. While some studies (Gibbons et al, 1972-, Grindstaff, 1974Hindelang, 1974;Kleinman and David, 1973;Newman, 1974;Simmons, 1965;Watkins and Sampson, 1975;Wilson, 1971; Wilson and Brown, 1973) have focussed on public opinion and response to criminal activity, the question of whether the public's perception of the crime situation 'fits' the 'official' or media accounts has been neglected. (One significant exception being Roshier, 1973).…”