Showing 1 – 50 of 62 results.
Curated
Simple Crosstabs
Fatal and Non-Fatal Intimate Partner and Family Violence Against Older Women: An Exploration of Age and Police Response to Inform Research, Policy, and Practice, United States, 2011-2019 (ICPSR 39463)
Released/updated on: 2026-01-28
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2011-01-01--2019-12-31
This research project examined police response to fatal and non-fatal intimate partner violence (IPV) and family violence (FV) against older women from existing data sources, including the Uniform Crime Reporting Program's National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). The goals of this project were to explore how existing data sources could inform a better understanding of IPV and FV against older women.
This collection includes variables derived from the publicly available NCVS (Dataset 1) and NIBRS (Datasets 2 and 3) data. The NVDRS data is only available with restricted access through the CDC and is not available with ICPSR.
Curated
Simple Crosstabs
Partners in Crisis: Improving Police Response to Individuals in Moments of Crisis by Providing Service Alternatives, Roanoke Valley, Virginia, 2022 (ICPSR 39294)
Released/updated on: 2025-05-14
Geographic coverage: United States, Roanoke, Virginia
Time period: 2022-05-01--2022-12-31
This project was an experimental evaluation of a collaborative partnership among the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy at George Mason University (CEBCP-GMU), Roanoke Police Department (RPD), Roanoke County Police Department (RCPD), Salem Police Department (SPD), and Vinton Police Department (VPD) as well as Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare (BRBH) in Roanoke Valley region of Virginia to conduct a place-based cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the effects of the co-responder model on subsequent outcomes of individuals who were experiencing a crisis and involved in mental health-related calls for service. Responding to incidents involving individuals with mental illness has been a challenge for police officers.
While co-response teams have been embraced as an effective police response strategy, most prior evaluation studies on co-response teams focused on outcomes that are not directly related to individuals' subsequent mental health state. Additionally, the lack of experimental research hinders our ability to draw causal conclusions on the effects of co-response teams. To address this knowledge gap, this study evaluated the effectiveness of co-response teams on hospitalization outcomes of individuals in crisis using a place-based randomized controlled trial in southwest Virginia.
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Evaluating Gunshot Detection Technology (GDT) to Aid in the Reduction of Firearms Violence, United States, 2006-2016 (ICPSR 37448)
Released/updated on: 2023-05-30
Geographic coverage: Milwaukee, United States, Colorado, Denver, California, Wisconsin
Time period: 2008-01-01--2016-04-30, 2008-01-01--2016-12-31, 2006-01-01--2015-12-31, 2015-01-08--2016-05-28, 2011-02-25--2016-05-31, 2009-06-01--2015-10-31, 2015-01-08--2016-06-15, 2011-02-25--2016-12-31, 2009-06-01--2015-10-31
In 2015, the National Institute of Justice funded the Urban Institute's Evaluation of Gunshot Detection Technology to Aid in the Reduction of Firearms Violence. This project was designed to investigate the degree to which gunshot detection technology (GDT) aids in the response, investigation, and prevention of firearms violence and related crimes. The goal of this study was to conduct a rigorous process and impact evaluation of GDT to inform policing researchers and practitioners about the impact GDT may have. To achieve this goal, the research team implemented a mixed-methods research design with police departments in Denver, Colorado; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Richmond, California.
Quantitative data collection included administrative data on calls for service (CFS), crime, and GDT alerts, as well as comprehensive case file reviews of 174 crimes involving a firearm. Quantitative analyses examined the impact of GDT by (1) comparing counts of gunshot notifications for GDT alerts to shooting-related CFS, (2) comparing response times of GDT alerts to shooting-related CFS, (3) examining the impact GDT has had on CFS and crimes, and (4) conducting a cost-benefit analysis of the GDT. Qualitative data collection included 46 interviews with criminal justice stakeholders to learn implementation processes and challenges associated with its GDT, and 6 focus groups with 49 community members to learn how residents feel about policing efforts to reduce firearm violence and its use of GDT.
Three types of files were uploaded for each site. They include quantitative data on crimes and CFS (DS1-DS3), gunshot notifications (DS4-DS6), and response times (DS7-DS9). The qualitative data are not currently available as part of this collection.
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Detection of Crime, Resource Deployment, and Predictors of Success: A Multi-Level Analysis of CCTV in Newark, New Jersey, 2007-2011 (ICPSR 34619)
Released/updated on: 2019-09-24
Geographic coverage: United States, Newark, New Jersey
Time period: 2007-11-01--2011-04-30
The Detection of Crime, Resource Deployment, and Predictors of Success: A Multi-Level Analysis of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) in Newark, NJ collection represents the findings of a multi-level analysis of the Newark, New Jersey Police Department's video surveillance system. This collection contains multiple quantitative data files (Datasets 1-14) as well as spatial data files (Dataset 15 and Dataset 16). The overall project was separated into three components:
- Component 1 (Dataset 1, Individual CCTV Detections and Calls-For-Service Data and Dataset 2, Weekly CCTV Detections in Newark Data) evaluates CCTV's ability to increase the "certainty of punishment" in target areas;
- Component 2 (Dataset 3, Overall Crime Incidents Data; Dataset 4, Auto Theft Incidents Data; Dataset 5, Property Crime Incidents Data; Dataset 6, Robbery Incidents Data; Dataset 7, Theft From Auto Incidents Data; Dataset 8, Violent Crime Incidents Data; Dataset 9, Attributes of CCTV Catchment Zones Data; Dataset 10, Attributes of CCTV Camera Viewsheds Data; and Dataset 15, Impact of Micro-Level Features Spatial Data) analyzes the context under which CCTV cameras best deter crime. Micro-level factors were grouped into five categories: environmental features, line-of-sight, camera design and enforcement activity (including both crime and arrests); and
- Component 3 (Dataset 11, Calls-for-service Occurring Within CCTV Scheme Catchment Zones During the Experimental Period Data; Dataset 12, Calls-for-service Occurring Within CCTV Schemes During the Experimental Period Data; Dataset 13, Targeted Surveillances Conducted by the Experimental Operators Data; Dataset 14, Weekly Surveillance Activity Data; and Dataset 16, Randomized Controlled Trial Spatial Data) was a randomized, controlled trial measuring the effects of coupling proactive CCTV monitoring with directed patrol units.
Over 40 separate four-hour tours of duty, an additional camera operator was funded to monitor specific CCTV cameras in Newark. Two patrol units were dedicated solely to the operators and were tasked with exclusively responding to incidents of concern detected on the experimental cameras. Variables included throughout the datasets include police report and incident dates, crime type, disposition code, number of each type of incident that occurred in a viewshed precinct, number of CCTV detections that resulted in any police enforcement, and number of schools, retail stores, bars and public transit within the catchment zone.
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A Multi-Site Assessment of Police Consolidation: California, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, 2014-2015 (ICPSR 36951)
Released/updated on: 2018-10-25
Geographic coverage: Minnesota, California, Michigan, Pennsylvania
Time period: 2015-02-01--2015-07-01, 2014-12-02--2015-06-17, 2014-11-06--2015-04-08, 2014-11-03--2015-08-14, 2014-11-19--2015-08-30
These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.
The study gathered information from police officers and residents of four different community areas that had undergone some form of police consolidation or contracting. The communities were the city of Pontiac in Michigan; the cities of Chisago and Lindstrom in Minnesota; York and Windsor Townships and the boroughs of Felton, Jacobus, Yoe, Red Lion, and Windsor in Pennsylvania; and the city of Compton in California. Surveys were administered to gauge the implementation and effectiveness of three models of police consolidation: merger of agencies, regionalization under which two or more agencies join to provide services in a broader area, and contracting by municipalities with other organizations for police services.
The collection includes 5 SPSS files:
- ComptonFinal_Masked-by-ICPSR.sav (176 cases / 99 variables)
- MinnesotaFinal_Masked-by-ICPSR.sav (228 cases / 99 variables)
- PontiacFinal_Masked-by-ICPSR.sav (230 cases / 99 variables)
- YorkFinal_Masked-by-ICPSR.sav (219 cases / 99 variables)
- OfficerWebFINALrecodesaug2015revised_Masked-by-ICPSR.sav (139 cases / 88 variables)
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Street Stops and Police Legitimacy: Accountability and Legal Socialization in Everyday Policing of Young Adults in New York City, 2011-2013 (ICPSR 35217)
Released/updated on: 2017-03-30
Geographic coverage: New York City, United States, New York (state)
Time period: 2011-09-20--2013-10-14
These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they there received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except of the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompany readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collections and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.
This study interviewed young men living in New York City about their experiences being stopped by the police on the street or in their cars. It examined how experience with the police as well as general evaluations of police policies, practices and behaviors in the respondent's neighborhood shaped views about police legitimacy, and law related behavior, such as compliance with the law and cooperation with legal authorities.
Curated
Simple Crosstabs
Defining Law Enforcement's Role in Protecting American Agriculture From Agroterrorism in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, 2003-2004 (ICPSR 32201)
Released/updated on: 2013-04-03
Geographic coverage: United States, Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas
Time period: 2003-01-01--2004-12-31
The study was conducted to determine law enforcement's role in protecting American agriculture from terrorism. In particular, the study looked at what effect a widespread introduction of Foot and Mouth disease to America's livestock supply would have on the nation's economy, and law enforcement's ability to contain such an outbreak. The study had two primary components. One component of the study was designed to take an initial look at the preparedness of law enforcement in Kansas to respond to such acts. This was done through a survey completed by 85 sheriffs in Kansas (Part 1). The other component of the study was an assessment of the attitudes of persons who work in the livestock industry with regard to their attitudes about vulnerabilities, prevention strategies, and working relationships with public officials and other livestock industry affiliates. This was done through a survey completed by 133 livestock industry members in Kansas (Parts 2-3, 6-9, 12-13), Oklahoma (Parts 4, 10, 14), and Texas (Parts 5, 11, 15).
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Statewide Study of Stalking and Its Criminal Justice Response in Rhode Island, 2001-2005 (ICPSR 25961)
Released/updated on: 2012-09-24
Geographic coverage: Rhode Island, United States
Time period: 2001-01-01--2005-12-31
The research team collected data from statewide datasets on 268 stalking cases including a population of 108 police identified stalking cases across Rhode Island between 2001 and 2005 with a sample of 160 researcher identified stalking incidents (incidents that met statutory criteria for stalking but were cited by police for other domestic violence offenses) during the same period. The secondary data used for this study came from the Rhode Island Supreme Court Domestic Violence Training and Monitoring Unit's (DVU) statewide database of domestic violence incidents reported to Rhode Island law enforcement. Prior criminal history data were obtained from records of all court cases entered into the automated Rhode Island court file, CourtConnect. The data contain a total of 121 variables including suspect characteristics, victim characteristics, incident characteristics, police response characteristics, and prosecutor response characteristics.
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Evaluation of Victim Advocacy Services for Battered Women in Detroit, 1998-1999 (ICPSR 3017)
Released/updated on: 2012-08-22
Geographic coverage: Detroit, United States, Michigan
Time period: 1998-01-01--1999-12-31
This study evaluated advocacy services offered to battered women in Detroit, Michigan, and examined other aspects of coordinated community responses to domestic violence by focusing on women named as victims in police reports. Advocacy was defined as those services provided to support victims during the legal process or to enhance their safety. For the Preliminary Complaint Reports Data (Part 1), a random sample of preliminary complaint reports (PCRs), completed by police officers after they responded to domestic violence calls, were gathered, resulting in a sample of 1,057 incidents and victims. For Victim Advocacy Contact Data (Part 2), researchers obtained data from advocates' files about the services they provided to the 1,057 victims. For Case Disposition Data (Part 3), researchers conducted a computer search to determine the outcomes of the cases. They looked up each perpetrator from the list of 1,057 incidents, and determined whether there was a warrant for the focal incident, whether it turned into a prosecution, and the outcome. The Initial Victim Interview (Part 4) and Follow-Up Victim Interview Data (Part 5) were conducted from April 1998 to July 1999. During the same period that researchers were completing the second interviews, they also interviewed 23 women (Victim Comparison Group Interview Data, Part 6) from the list of 1,057 whom they had been unable to reach during the first interviews. They compared these 23 women to the 63 who had second interviews to determine if there were any differences in use of services, or views toward or participation in prosecution. Variables in Part 1 focus on whether alcohol and abuse were involved, previous incidents, the suspect's psychological aggressions and physical assaults, if a weapon was used, if the victim was hurt, if property was damaged, if the victim sought medical attention, and the severity of physical abuse or injury. Variables in Part 2 provide information on the role of the advocate, methods of contact, types of referrals made, and services provided. Variables in Part 3 include the type of charge, outcome of resolved case, why the case was dismissed, if applicable, and if the suspect was sentenced to probation, costs, confinement, no contact with the victim, a batterer program, or community service. The initial, follow-up, and comparison group interviews (Parts 4-6) all collected similar information. Variables about the incident include how well the respondent remembered the incident, if police arrived promptly, if the respondent was advised to file charges, if police told the respondent that a counselor was available, and if the respondent's partner had been in jail since the incident. Variables concerning advocacy include whether the victim contacted advocates, and if advocates provided legal help and referrals. Legal system variables include whether the respondent felt pressured by anyone to drop charges or pursue charges, if the respondent received help for preliminary examination or trial, and if contact with the legal system helped the respondent. Variables about services include whether the respondent received assistance in temporary shelter, food/money resources, child care, employment, education, a lawyer for divorce/custody, support or self-help group, or a substance abuse treatment program. Variables concerning what happened in the previous six months cover the number of times the respondent had called police because of danger, left home because of a violent incident, partner had been arrested because of violence, and partner physically abused respondent. Variables about events that occurred while the respondent and abuser were separated include how often the partner harassed the respondent on the phone, wrote threatening letters, violated legal restrictions, refused to leave the respondent's home, failed to pay child support, and threatened to take the children. Demographic variables include respondent's race or ethnic background, education, marital status, number of children, number of children who lived with respondent, and employment status and income at the time of the interviews.
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Survey of Campus Incidents as Interpreted by College Presidents, Faculty Chairmen and Student Body Presidents, 1970 (ICPSR 7327)
Released/updated on: 2011-11-16
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1970-01-01--1970-12-31
This study was conducted in the summer of 1970 following the invasion of Cambodia in May 1970. Presidents, faculty chairmen, and student body presidents of all accredited colleges and universities in the United States were queried about the types of incidents that occurred on their campuses. These included incidents in which the National Guard was called, off-campus police were used, one or more protestors were arrested, temporary restraining orders or injunctions were obtained, teach-ins, rallies, or discussion groups took the place of regular academic activities, and where Black demands or racism were raised as issues. Other incidents examined were those involving destructive acts by students that took place off-campus and incidents involving serious damage to or the destruction of property, personal injury, or death. The seriousness of the incidents was reported as well as the response of the faculty, administration, and outside government units. The respondents were asked what plans were prepared before May of 1970 to handle unrest, and the degree to which these were implemented, as well as their proposals to curb or limit future outbreaks. The data include information on the school, such as location, size, sex of students, presence of ROTC on campus, academic emphasis, acceptance standards, and dollars expended per student.
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Multi-Method Evaluation of Police Use of Force Outcomes: Cities, Counties, and National, 1998-2007 [United States] (ICPSR 25781)
Released/updated on: 2011-04-28
Geographic coverage: Seattle, United States, Orlando, Texas, Austin, Florida, Washington, South Carolina
Time period: 2006-07-01--2006-10-31, 2005-01-01--2006-07-31, 2002-01-01--2006-05-31, 2005-12-01--2006-10-31, 1998-01-01--2007-12-31, 1998-01-01--2006-12-31, 2002-01-01--2006-12-31
The purpose of the study was to investigate how and why injuries occur to police and citizens during use of force events. The research team conducted a national survey (Part 1) of a stratified random sample of United States law enforcement agencies regarding the deployment of, policies for, and training with less lethal technologies. Finalized surveys were mailed in July 2006 to 950 law enforcement agencies, and a total of 518 law enforcement agencies provided information on less lethal force generally and on their deployment and policies regarding conducted energy devices (CEDs) in particular. A total of 292 variables are included in the National Use of Force Survey Data (Part 1) including items about weapons deployment, force policies, training, force reporting/review, force incidents and outcomes, and conducted energy devices (CEDs). Researchers also collected agency-supplied use of force data from law enforcement agencies in Richland County, South Carolina; Miami-Dade, Florida; and Seattle, Washington; to identify individual and situational predictors of injuries to officers and citizens during use of force events. The Richland County, South Carolina Data (Part 2) include 441 use-of-force reports from January 2005 through July 2006. Part 2 contains 17 variables including whether the officer or suspect was injured, 8 measures of officer force, 3 measures of suspect resistance, the number of witnesses and officers present at each incident, and the number of suspects that resisted or assaulted officers for each incident. The Miami-Dade County, Florida Data (Part 3) consist of 762 use-of-force incidents that occurred between January 2002 and May 2006. Part 3 contains 15 variables, including 4 measures of officer force, the most serious resistance on the part of the suspect, whether the officer or suspect was injured, whether the suspect was impaired by drugs or alcohol, the officer's length of service in years, and several demographic variables pertaining to the suspect and officer. The Seattle, Washington Data (Part 4) consist of 676 use-of-force incidents that occurred between December 1, 2005, as 15 variables, including 3 measures of officer force, whether the suspect or officer was injured, whether the suspect was impaired by drugs or alcohol, whether the suspect used, or threatened to use, physical force against the officer(s), and several demographic variables relating to the suspect and officer(s). The researchers obtained use of force survey data from several large departments representing different types of law enforcement agencies (municipal, county, sheriff's department) in different states. The research team combined use of force data from multiple agencies into a single dataset. This Multiagency Use of Force Data (Part 5) includes 24,928 use-of-force incidents obtained from 12 law enforcement agencies from 1998 through 2007. Part 5 consists a total of 21 variables, including the year the incident took place, demographic variables relating to the suspect, the type of force used by the officer, whether the suspect or officer was injured, and 5 measures of the department's policy regarding the use of CEDs and pepper spray. Lastly, longitudinal data were also collected for the Orlando, Florida and Austin, Texas police departments. The Orlando, Florida Longitudinal Data (Part 6) comprise 4,222 use-of-force incidents aggregated to 108 months -- a 9 year period from 1998 through 2006. Finally, the Austin, Texas Longitudinal Data (Part 7) include 6,596 force incidents aggregated over 60 months- a 5 year period from 2002 through 2006. Part 6 and Part 7 are comprised of seven variables documenting whether a Taser was implemented, the number of suspects and officers injured in a month, the number of force incidents per month, and the number of CEDs uses per month.
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Preventing Repeat Incidents of Family Violence: A Reanalysis of Data From Three Field Tests in Manhattan [New York City], New York, 1987, 1995-1997 (ICPSR 25925)
Released/updated on: 2011-03-21
Geographic coverage: New York City, United States, New York (state)
Time period: 1987-01-01--1987-12-31, 1995-01-01--1997-12-31
In the mid-1980s New York City officials developed an intervention program, the Domestic Violence Intervention Education Project (DVIEP), to reduce repeat incidents of family abuse. The program posited that repeat victimization would decline as victims extracted themselves from self-defeating relationships or by working with social services and criminal justice staff to develop strategies to end the abuse while staying in the relationship. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the DVIEP model in reducing repeat instances of family violence. Between 1987 and 1997, three separate, randomized field experiments in New York City's public housing projects evaluated whether or not the DVIEP program reduced the rate of subsequent victimization. All three studies tested the same intervention model: persons who reported family violence to the police were randomly assigned to receive or not to receive a follow-up visit from a domestic violence prevention police officer and a social worker. For this study, researchers concatenated the micro data from the 3 experiments into a single, 1,037 case dataset that contains identical treatment and control measures, and nearly identical outcome measures. Of the 1,037 total cases in the study, 434 are from the 1987 Domestic Violence Study, 406 are from the Elder Abuse study, EFFECTIVENESS OF A JOINT POLICE AND SOCIAL SERVICES RESPONSE TO ELDER ABUSE IN MANHATTAN [NEW YORK CITY], NEW YORK, 1996-1997 (ICPSR 3130), and 197 are from the Domestic Violence Arrestee Study in Manhattan's Police Services Area 2 (PSA2). The resulting data collection contains a total of 31 variables including which study (1987 Domestic Violence Study, Elder Abuse Study, or Domestic Violence Arrestee Study) the respondent participated in, whether the respondent was part of the experimental group or the control group, whether the respondent received public education or a home visit by a DVIEP team, the number of DVIEP services the respondent used, and whether the respondent completed a final interview with a DVIEP team after six months of tracking. Additionally, variables include the victim's age, whether the perpetrator of domestic abuse was a romantic partner of the victim, the number of incidents reported to the police, the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) violence score, and the number of days until the first new incident of domestic abuse.
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Hurricane Andrew: Its Impact on Law and Social Control [Florida, 1992] (ICPSR 22629)
Released/updated on: 2009-06-19
Geographic coverage: United States, Florida, Miami
Time period: 1992-08-24--1992-08-24
This data collection examines the degree of concensus/dissensus concerning ideal and actual priorities of policing during the breakdown of formal social control directly following Hurricane Andrew in Miami, Florida. Both citizens of the damaged neighborhoods and the attending police were nonrandomly surveyed using semistructured interviews. A small sample of students were also interviewed.
Residents were asked about what happened to their neighborhood, their home, themselves, and their family before, during, and immediately after the hurricane, and in the time since the hurricane. Questions focused on precautions taken before the hurricane to guard against the storm's impact, the effects of the storm on families, the occurrence of crime and violence following the hurricane, and the actions taken by the police and military to maintain order after the storm.
Police were asked about disaster training, termination of department services during the storm, crime frequency in the aftermath of the storm, and the effectiveness of their police departments in dealing with crime immediately after the hurricane. Police were also asked about the origin of people (e.g., local vs. nonlocal) arrested for "hurricane related" crimes, such as looting.
Both citizens and police were asked to make two ratings of various police activities: (1) how much time they thought police actually spent on that activity, and (2) what priority should have been given to that activity. Respondents were then asked to reconstruct these considerations for the first day, first week (days 2-7), second and third weeks, and first month after the hurricane, as well as at the time of the survey (which was at least two months after the hurricane).
Students were asked questions concerning their family and the family's neighborhood, preparations for the hurricane, victimization experiences, formal/informal social controls prior to and after the hurricane, and the disruption/re-establishment of routines in family and neighborhood life after the event.
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Statewide Profile of Abuse of Older Women and the Criminal Justice Response in Rhode Island, 2002 (ICPSR 22740)
Released/updated on: 2008-08-18
Geographic coverage: Rhode Island, United States
Time period: 1979-01-01--2007-12-31
This study examined the often overlooked and under reported issue of elder abuse. The research focused on female victims of domestic abuse over 50 years of age. The data were also compared to similar data on women under the age of 50. The data were collected in Rhode Island for several reasons, including the state's relatively broad definition of domestic violence and the large number of reports. Researchers examined every domestic violence report made to state and local law enforcement across Rhode Island in 2002 involving women victims 50 years of age and older. These reports include every incident, whether or not police ultimately arrested the alleged suspect, that meets the statutory definition of "domestic violence." The source of the report information was the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Reporting Form (DV/SA). Data were also collected about the past criminal activity of the suspects and any charges made after the study incident(s) occurred. The data were found in the Rhode Island Courts' central repository called CourtConnect. The purpose of the study was to better understand the characteristics of the victims and their abusers, the circumstances of the incidences of abuse, and the police response to the reports of domestic abuse. Data collected consisted of independent variables which are organized into conceptual clusters including those relating to victim characteristics, abuser characteristics, the nature of the incident, and the state's response to the incident. The victim characteristics included demographics and abuse history, if any. Abuser characteristics included demographics and criminal history. Incident characteristics described the abuse incidence in detail. Criminal justice response variables outlined how police and courts responded and reacted to the abuse. There were two dependent outcome variables in this study consisting of re-victimization and re-abuse. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, bivariate relationships, and multiple logistic regression. This study primarily focused on the response of the criminal justice system to elder abuse, the effect of age of victim, and re-abuse and re-victimization in order to gain a clearer picture into the realities of domestic abuse of elderly women.
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Effect of Procedural Justice in Spouse Assault in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1987-1989 (ICPSR 20343)
Released/updated on: 2008-04-17
Geographic coverage: Milwaukee, United States, Wisconsin
Time period: 1987-01-01--1989-12-31
The purpose of the research project was to examine the extent to which the perception of procedural fairness by suspects arrested for spouse assault effectively inhibited their subsequent violence. The data for this study were collected for the MILWAUKEE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE EXPERIMENT, 1987-1989 (ICPSR 9966), which was conducted from April 1987 to August 1988. In this experiment, all cases of misdemeanor domestic battery where probable cause to arrest existed were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) warning with no arrest, (2) arrest with a brief detention period (average of 3 hours), and (3) arrest with a longer detention period (average of 11 hours). Variables include demographic and background information, as well as descriptive variables pertaining to the domestic violence incident.
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Multi-Method Study of Police Special Weapons and Tactics Teams in the United States, 1986-1998 (ICPSR 20351)
Released/updated on: 2007-12-10
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1986-01-01--1998-12-31
This research study was designed to pursue three specific goals to accomplish its objective of enhancing knowledge about Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams and the role they play in contemporary American policing. The first goal was to develop a better picture of the structure and nature of SWAT teams in American law enforcement. The second goal of the research project was to increase the amount of knowledge about how SWAT teams prepare for and execute operations. The project's third goal was to develop information about one specific aspect of SWAT operations: the use of force, especially deadly force, by both officers and suspects. To gather this information, the SWAT Operations Survey (SOS) was conducted. This was a nationwide survey of law enforcement agencies with 50 or more sworn officers. The survey sought information about the agencies' emergency response capabilities and structures. The SOS included two instruments: (1) the Operations Form, completed by a total of 341 agencies, and containing variables about the organization and functioning of SWAT teams, and (2) the Firearms Discharge Report, which includes a total of 273 shootings of interest, as well as items about incidents in which SWAT officers and suspects discharged firearms during SWAT operations.
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Offender Characteristics, Offense Mix, and Escalation in Domestic Violence in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Miami-Dade, Florida, Omaha, Nebraska, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1987-1989 (ICPSR 4454)
Released/updated on: 2007-02-06
Geographic coverage: North Carolina, Milwaukee, Omaha, Charlotte, United States, Colorado, Florida, Colorado Springs, Wisconsin, Nebraska
Time period: 1987-01-01--1989-12-31
Using data from five Spouse Assault Replication Program (SARP) sites, this study examined the extent to which domestic violence offenders exhibit a specialized proclivity toward violence and the extent to which attack severity escalates, de-escalates, or stays about the same over time. The specialization question was examined using official arrest records from the Charlotte, North Carolina, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Omaha, Nebraska sites. Escalation was examined using victim interview data from the Charlotte, Milwaukee, Omaha, and Miami-Dada, Florida sites. This collection consists of 18 SAS setup files used to recode the variables from the original datasets, organized in five groups, by city of each data collection site. This collection does not contain the original data files, themselves.
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Charlotte [North Carolina] Spouse Assault Replication Project, 1987-1989 (ICPSR 6114)
Released/updated on: 2006-07-13
Geographic coverage: North Carolina, Charlotte, United States
Time period: 1987-08-01--1989-06-30
This study is a replication and extension of an experiment conducted in Minneapolis (MINNEAPOLIS INTERVENTION PROJECT, 1986-1987 [ICPSR 9808]) to test the efficacy of three types of police response to spouse abuse. Three experimental treatments were employed: (1) advising and possibly separating the couple, (2) issuing a citation (an order to appear in court to answer specific charges) to the offender, and (3) arresting the offender. The main focus of the project concerned whether arrest is the most effective law enforcement response for deterring recidivism of spouse abusers. Cases were randomly assigned to one of the three treatments and were followed for at least six months to determine whether recidivism occurred. Measures of recidivism were obtained through official police records and victim interviews. Cases that met the following eligibility guidelines were included in the project: (1) a call involving a misdemeanor offense committed by a male offender aged 18 or over against a female victim aged 18 or over who were spouses, (2) ex-spouses, (3) cohabitants, or (4) ex-cohabitants. Also, both suspect and victim had to be present when officers arrived at the scene. Victims were interviewed twice. The first interview occurred shortly after the "presenting incident," the incident that initiated a call for police assistance. This initial interview focused on episodes of abuse that occurred between the time of the presenting incident and the day of the initial interview. In particular, detailed data were gathered on the nature of physical violence directed against the victim, the history of the victim's marital and cohabitating relationships, the nature of the presenting incident prior to the arrival of the police, the actual actions taken by the police at the scene, post-incident separations and reunions of the victim and the offender, recidivism since the presenting incident, the victim's previous abuse history, alcohol and drug use of both the victim and the offender, and the victim's help-seeking actions. Questions were asked regarding whether the offender had threatened to hurt the victim, actually hurt or tried to hurt the victim, threatened to hurt any member of the family, actually hurt or tried to hurt any member of the family, threatened to damage property, or actually damaged any property. In addition, criminal histories and arrest data for the six-month period subsequent to the presenting incident were collected for offenders. A follow-up interview was conducted approximately six months after the presenting incident and focused primarily on recidivism since the initial interview. Arrest recidivism was defined as any arrest for any subsequent offense by the same offender against the same victim committed within six months of the presenting incident. Victims were asked to estimate how often each type of victimization had occurred and to answer more detailed questions on the first and most recent incidents of victimization.
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Impact Evaluation of Stop Violence Against Women Grants in Dane County, Wisconsin, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Jackson County, Missouri, and Stark County, Ohio, 1996-2000 (ICPSR 3252)
Released/updated on: 2006-03-30
Geographic coverage: United States, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Wisconsin
In 1996 the Institute for Law and Justice (ILJ) began an evaluation of the law enforcement and prosecution components of the "STOP Violence Against Women" grant program authorized by the Violence Against Women Act of 1994. This data collection constitutes one component of the evaluation. The researchers chose to evaluate two specialized units and two multi-agency team projects in order to study the local impact of STOP on victim safety and offender accountability. The two specialized units reflected typical STOP funding, with money being used for the addition of one or two dedicated professionals in each community. The Dane County, Wisconsin, Sheriff's Office used STOP funds to support the salaries of two domestic violence detectives. This project was evaluated through surveys of domestic violence victims served by the Dane County Sheriff's Office (Part 1). In Stark County, Ohio, the Office of the Prosecutor used STOP funds to support the salary of a designated felony domestic violence prosecutor. The Stark County project was evaluated by tracking domestic violence cases filed with the prosecutor's office. The case tracking system included only cases involving intimate partner violence, with a male offender and female victim. All domestic violence felons from 1996 were tracked from arrest to disposition and sentence (Part 2). This pre-grant group of felons was compared with a sample of cases from 1999 (Part 3). In Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, a comprehensive evaluation strategy was used to assess the impact of the use of STOP funds on domestic violence cases. First, a sample of 1996 pre-grant and 1999 post-grant domestic violence cases was tracked from arrest to disposition for both regular domestic violence cases (Part 4) and also for dual arrest cases (Part 5). Second, a content analysis of police incident reports from pre- and post-grant periods was carried out to gauge any changes in report writing (Part 6). Finally, interviews were conducted with victims to document their experiences with the criminal justice system, and to better understand the factors that contribute to victim safety and well-being (Part 7). In Jackson County, Missouri, evaluation methods included reviews of prosecutor case files and tracking all sex crimes referred to the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office over both pre-grant and post-grant periods (Part 8). The evaluation also included personal interviews with female victims (Part 9). Variables in Part 1 (Dane County Victim Survey Data) describe the relationship of the victim and offender, injuries sustained, who called the police and when, how the police responded to the victim and the situation, how the detective contacted the victim, and services provided by the detective. Part 2 (1996 Stark County Case Tracking Data), Part 3 (1999 Stark County Case Tracking Data), Part 4 (Hillsborough County Regular Case Tracking Data), Part 5 (Hillsborough County Dual Arrest Case Tracking Data), and Part 8 (Jackson County Case Tracking Data) include variables on substance abuse by victim and offender, use of weapons, law enforcement response, primary arrest offense, whether children were present, injuries sustained, indictment charge, pre-sentence investigation, victim impact statement, arrest and trial dates, disposition, sentence, and court costs. Demographic variables include the age, sex, and ethnicity of the victim and the offender. Variables in Part 6 (Hillsborough County Police Report Data) provide information on whether there was an existing protective order, whether the victim was interviewed separately, severity of injuries, seizure of weapons, witnesses present, involvement of children, and demeanor of suspect and victim. In Part 7 (Hillsborough County Victim Interview Data) variables focus on whether victims had prior experience with the court, type of physical abuse experienced, injuries from abuse, support from relatives, friends, neighbors, doctor, religious community, or police, assistance from police, satisfaction with police response, expectations about case outcome, why the victim dropped the charges, contact with the prosecutor, criminal justice advocate, and judge, and the outcome of the case. Demographic variables include age, race, number of children, and occupation. Variables in Part 9 (Jackson County Victim Interview Data) relate to when victims were sexually assaulted, if they knew the perpetrator, who was contacted to help, victims' opinions about police and detectives who responded to the case, contact with the prosecutor and victim's advocate, and aspects of the medical examination. Demographic variables include age, race, and marital status.
Curated
Restricted
Evaluating a Multi-Disciplinary Response to Domestic Violence in Colorado Springs, 1996-1999 (ICPSR 3282)
Released/updated on: 2006-03-30
Geographic coverage: United States, Colorado, Colorado Springs
The Colorado Springs Police Department formed a nontraditional domestic violence unit in 1996 called the Domestic Violence Enhanced Response Team (DVERT). This unit involved a partnership and collaboration with the Center for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, a private, nonprofit victim advocacy organization, and 25 other city and county agencies. DVERT was unique in its focus on the safety of the victim over the arrest and prosecution of the batterer. It was also different from the traditional police model for a special unit because it was a systemic response to domestic violence situations that involved the coordination of criminal justice, social service, and community-based agencies. This study is an 18-month evaluation of the DVERT unit. It was designed to answer the following research and evaluation questions: (1) What were the activities of DVERT staff? (2) Who were the victims and perpetrators of domestic violence? (3) What were the characteristics of domestic violence-related incidents in Colorado Springs and surrounding jurisdictions? (4) What was the nature of the intervention and prevention activities of DVERT? (5) What were the effects of the intervention? (6) What was the nature and extent of the collaboration among criminal justice agencies, victim advocates, and city and county human services agencies? (7) What were the dynamics of the collaboration? and (8) How successful was the collaboration? At the time of this evaluation, the DVERT program focused on three levels of domestic violence situations: Level I included the most lethal situations in which a victim might be in serious danger, Level II included moderately lethal situations in which the victim was not in immediate danger, and Level III included lower lethality situations in which patrol officers engaged in problem-solving. Domestic violence situations came to the attention of DVERT through a variety of mechanisms. Most of the referrals came from the Center for the Prevention of Domestic Violence. Other referrals came from the Department of Human Services, the Humane Society, other law enforcement agencies, or city service agencies. Once a case was referred to DVERT, all relevant information concerning criminal and prosecution histories, advocacy, restraining orders, and human services documentation was researched by appropriate DVERT member agencies. Referral decisions were made on a weekly basis by a group of six to eight representatives from the partner agencies. From its inception in May 1996 to December 31, 1999, DVERT accepted 421 Level I cases and 541 Level II cases. Cases were closed or deactivated when DVERT staff believed that the client was safe from harm. Parts 1-4 contain data from 285 Level I DVERT cases that were closed between July 1, 1996, and December 31, 1999. Parts 5-8 contain data from 515 Level II cases from 1998 and 1999 only, because data were more complete in those two years. Data were collected from (1) police records of the perpetrator and victim, including calls for service, arrest reports, and criminal histories, (2) DVERT case files, and (3) Center for the Prevention of Domestic Violence files on victims. Coding sheets were developed to capture the information within these administrative documents. Part 1 includes data on whether the incident produced injuries or a risk to children, whether the victim, children, or animals were threatened, whether weapons were used, if there was stalking or sexual abuse, prior criminal history, and whether there was a violation of a restraining order. For Part 2 data were gathered on the date of case acceptance to the DVERT program and deactivation, if the offender was incarcerated, if the victim was in a new relationship or had moved out of the area, if the offender had moved or was in treatment, if the offender had completed a domestic violence class, and if the offender had served a sentence. Parts 3 and 4 contain information on the race, date of birth, gender, employment, and relationship to the victim or offender for the offenders and victims, respectively. Part 5 includes data on the history of emotional, physical, sexual, and child abuse, prior arrests, whether the victim took some type of action against the offender, whether substance abuse was involved, types of injuries that the victim sustained, whether medical care was necessary, whether a weapon was used, restraining order violations, and incidents of harassment, criminal trespassing, telephone threats, or kidnapping. Part 6 variables include whether the case was referred to and accepted in Level I and whether a DVERT advocate made contact on the case. Part 7 contains information on the offenders' race and gender. Part 8 includes data on the victims' date of birth, race, and gender.
Curated
Partially restricted
Evaluation of Victim Advocacy Services Funded by the Violence Against Women Act in Urban Ohio, 1999 (ICPSR 2992)
Released/updated on: 2006-03-30
Geographic coverage: United States, Ohio
Time period: 1999-01-01--1999-12-31
The focus of this research and evaluation endeavor was on direct service programs in Ohio, particularly advocacy services for female victims of violence, receiving funding through the Services, Training, Officers, Prosecutors (STOP) formula grants under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994. The objectives of this project were (1) to describe and compare existing advocacy services in Ohio, (2) to compare victim advocacy typologies and identify key variables in the delivery of services, (3) to develop a better understanding of how victim advocacy services are defined and delivered, and (4) to assess the effectiveness of those services. For Part 1, Service Agencies Data, comprehensive information about 13 VAWA-funded programs providing direct services in urban Ohio was gathered through a mailback questionnaire and phone interviews. Detailed information was collected on organizational structure, clients served, and agency services. Focus groups were also used to collect data from clients (Parts 3-11) and staff (Parts 12-23) about their definitions of advocacy, types of services needed by victims, services provided to victims, and important outcomes for service providers. Part 2, Police Officer Data, focused on police officers' attitudes toward domestic violence and on evaluating service outcomes in one particular agency. The agency selected was a prosecutor's office that planned to improve services to victims by changing how the police and prosecutors responded to domestic violence cases. The prosecutor's office selected one police district as the site for implementing the new program, which included training police officers and placing a prosecutor in the district office to work directly with the police on domestic violence cases. The evaluation of this program was designed to assess the effectiveness of the police officers' training and officers' increased access to information from the prosecutor on the outcome of the case. Police officers from the selected district were administered surveys. Also surveyed were officers from another district that handled a similar number of domestic violence cases and had a comparable number of officers employed in the district. Variables in Part 1 include number of staff, budget, funding sources, number and type of victims served, target population, number of victims served speaking languages other than English, number of juveniles and adults served, number of victims with special needs served, collaboration with other organizations, benefits of VAWA funding, and direct and referral services provided by the agency. Variables in Part 2 cover police officers' views on whether it was a waste of time to prosecute domestic violence cases, if these cases were likely to result in a conviction, whether they felt sympathetic toward the victim or blamed the victim, how the prosecution should proceed with domestic violence cases, how the prosecution and police worked together on such cases, whether domestic violence was a private matter, and how they felt about the new program implemented under VAWA.
Curated
Impact of Gang Migration: Effective Responses by Law Enforcement Agencies in the United States, 1992 (ICPSR 2570)
Released/updated on: 2006-03-30
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1992-01-01--1992-12-31
This study was the first attempt to investigate gang migration systematically and on a national level. The primary objectives of the study were (1) to identify the scope of gang migration nationally, (2) to describe the nature of gang migration, (3) to assess the impact of gang migration on destination cities, and (4) to describe the current law enforcement responses to the migration of gangs and identify those that appeared to be most effective for various types of migration. Two phases of data collection were used. The major objective of the initial phase was to identify cities that had experienced gang migration (Part 1). This was accomplished by distributing a brief mail questionnaire in 1992 to law enforcement agencies in cities identified as potential gang or gang migration sites. The second major phase of data collection involved in-depth telephone interviews with law enforcement officers in cities that had experienced gang migration in order to develop descriptions of the nature of migration and police responses to it (Part 2). For Part 1, information was collected on the year migration started, number of migrants in the past year, factors that deter gang migration, number of gang members, names of gangs, ethnic distribution of gang members and their drug market involvement, number of gang homicides, number of 1991 gang "drive-bys", and if gangs or narcotics were specified in the respondent's assignment. For Part 2, information was collected on the demographics of gang members, the ethnic percentage of drug gang members and their involvement in distributing specific drugs, and the influence of gang migrants on local gang and crime situations in terms of types and methods of crime, drug distribution activities, technology/equipment used, and targets of crime. Information on patterns of gang migration, including motivations to migrate, drug gang migration, and volume of migration, was also collected. Local responses to gang migration covered information sources, department policies relative to migration, gang specialization in department, approaches taken by the department, and information exchanges and coordination among local, state, and federal agencies.
Curated
Reducing Disorder, Fear, and Crime in Public Housing: Evaluation of a Drug-Crime Elimination Program in Spokane, Washington, 1992-1995 (ICPSR 2628)
Released/updated on: 2006-03-30
Geographic coverage: United States, Spokane, Washington
Time period: 1992-01-01--1995-12-31
Established in 1994, Project ROAR (Reclaiming Our Area Residences) is a public housing drug-crime elimination program sponsored by the Spokane Police Department and the Spokane Housing Authority. This study was undertaken to examine and evaluate the effects and outcomes of Project ROAR as it was implemented in the Parsons' Public Housing Complex, located in downtown Spokane, Washington. In addition, the study sought to determine to what extent the project as implemented reflected Project ROAR as originally conceived, and whether Project ROAR could be considered a comprehensive community policing crime prevention program. Further, the study attempted to determine what effects this collaborative anti-crime program might have on: (1) residents' perceptions of the quality of their neighborhood life, including perceptions of neighborhood inhabitants, satisfaction with their neighborhood, fear of crime, and neighborhood physical and social disorder, (2) objective measures of physical and social disorder, (3) levels of neighborhood crime, and (4) subjective perceptions of the level and quality of policing services. To assess the implementation and short-term impacts of Project ROAR, data were collected from various sources. First, four waves of face-to-face interviews were conducted with Parsons' Public Housing residents at approximately six-month intervals: April 1994, December 1994, May 1995, and November 1995 (Part 1, Public Housing Residents Survey Data). Information collected from interviews with the Parsons' residents focused on their involvement with Project ROAR, community block watches, and tenant councils. Residents commented on whether there had been any changes in the level of police presence, drug-related crimes, prostitution, or any other physical or social changes in their neighborhood since the inception of Project ROAR. Residents were asked to rate their satisfaction with the housing complex, the neighborhood, the Spokane Police Department, the number of police present in the neighborhood, and the level of police service. Residents were also asked if they had been the victim of any crimes and to rate their level of fear of crime in the complex during the day and night, pre- and post-Project ROAR. The gender and age of each survey participant was also recorded. The second source of data was a city-wide survey mailed to the residents of Spokane (Part 2, Spokane Citizens Survey Data). Information collected from the survey includes demographics on ethnicity, gender, age, highest level of education, present occupation, and family income. The city residents were also asked to assess the level of police service, the number of police present in their neighborhood, the helpfulness of neighbors, whether they felt safe alone in their neighborhood, and overall satisfaction with their neighborhood. Third, a block-level physical and social disorder inventory was taken in April 1994, October 1994, April 1994, and October 1995 (Part 3, Neighborhood Inventory Data). The sex, age, and behavior of the first ten people observed during the inventory period were recorded, as well as the number of people observed loitering. Other observations made included the number of panhandlers, prostitutes, open drug sales, and displays of public drunkenness. The number of residential and commercial properties, restaurants, bars, office buildings, empty lots, unboarded and boarded abandoned buildings, potholes, barriers (walls or fences), abandoned cars, and for-sale signs, along with the amount of graffiti on public and private properties and the amount of litter and broken glass observed in each neighborhood, completed the inventory data. Finally, crime reports were collected from the Spokane Police Department's Crime Analysis Unit (Part 4, Disaggregated Crime Data, and Part 5, Aggregated Crime Data). These data contain monthly counts of robberies and burglaries for the public housing neighborhood, a constructed controlled comparison neighborhood, and the city of Spokane for the period January 1, 1992, through December 31, 1995.
Curated
Restricted
National Evaluation of the Arrest Policies Program Under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), 1996-2000 (ICPSR 3795)
Released/updated on: 2006-03-30
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1996-01-01--2000-12-31
This study was undertaken to evaluate the impact of the Arrest Policies Program, funded by the Violence Against Women Office (VAWO), on criminal justice system changes and offender accountability, and victim safety and well-being. Through convenience sampling, six project sites were chosen to participate in the study. Part 1, Case Tracking Data, contains quantitative data collected from criminal justice agencies on arrests, prosecution filings, criminal case disposition, convictions, and sentences imposed for intimate partner violence cases involving a male offender and female offender. Data for Part 2, Victim Interview Data, were collected from in-depth personal interviews with domestic violence victims/survivors (1) to learn more about victim experiences with and perceptions of the criminal justice response, and (2) to obtain victim perceptions about how the arrest and/or prosecution of their batterers affected their safety and well-being. The survey instrument covered a wide range of topics including severity and history of domestic violence, social support networks, perceptions of police response, satisfaction with the criminal justice process and the sentence, experiences in court, and satisfaction with prosecutors, victim services provider advocates, and probation officers.
Curated
Spouse Abuse Replication Project in Metro-Dade County, Florida, 1987-1989 (ICPSR 6008)
Released/updated on: 2006-03-30
Geographic coverage: United States, Florida
Time period: 1987-08-01--1989-01-31
The Metro-Dade project replicated an earlier study of domestic violence, the Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment (SPECIFIC DETERRENT EFFECTS OF ARREST FOR DOMESTIC ASSAULT: MINNEAPOLIS, 1981-1982 [ICPSR 8250]), which was conducted by the Police Foundation with a grant from the National Institute of Justice. The Metro-Dade study employed a research design that tested the relative effectiveness of various combinations of treatments that were randomly assigned in two stages. Initially, eligible spouse battery cases were assigned to either an arrest or a nonarrest condition. Later, cases were assigned either to receive or not to receive a follow-up investigation and victim counseling from a detective working with the Safe Streets Unit (SSU), a unit that deals specifically with domestic violence. Given the various treatment conditions employed, three types of dependent variables were examined: (1) prevalence--the proportion of suspects who engaged in repeat incidents, (2) incidence--the frequency with which repeat incidents occurred, and (3) "time to failure"--the interval between the presenting incident and subsequent incidents. Initial interviews were conducted with victims soon after the presenting incident, and follow-up interviews were attempted six months later. The interviews were conducted in either English or Spanish. The interview questions requested detailed background information about the suspect, victim, and any family members living with the victim at the time of the interview, including age, gender, and marital and employment status. Parallel sets of employment and education questions were asked about the victim and the suspect. Additionally, the interview questionnaire was designed to collect information on (1) the history of the victim's relationship with the suspect, (2) the nature of the presenting incident, including physical violence, property damage, and threats, (3) causes of the presenting incident, including the use of alcohol and drugs by both the victim and the offender, (4) actions taken by the police when they arrived on the scene, (5) the victim's evaluation of the services rendered by the police on the scene, (6) the nature of the follow-up contact by a detective from the Safe Street Unit and an evaluation of the services provided, (7) the victim's history of abuse by the offender, and (8) the nature of subsequent abuse since the presenting incident. Data for Parts 1 and 2 are self-reported data, obtained from interviews with victims. Part 4 consists of data recorded on Domestic Violence Continuation Report forms, indicating subsequent assaults or domestic disputes, and Part 5 contains criminal history data on suspects from arrest reports, indicating a subsequent arrest. The police report of the incident and information on the type of randomized treatment assigned to each case is given in Part 6.
Curated
Survey of Victimization and Attitudes Towards Crime and Law Enforcement in Boston and Chicago, 1966 (ICPSR 9085)
Released/updated on: 2006-03-30
Geographic coverage: United States, Chicago, Illinois, Massachusetts, Boston
Time period: 1965-07-01--1966-06-30
This data collection was designed to explore attitudes toward crime and the police and to examine factors related to criminal victimization and the reporting of crime incidents to the police. It combines a victimization survey with data on citizens' attitudes toward crime and the police, and information on behavior in response to crime or the threat of crime. Variables provide information about respondents' neighborhood characteristics, individual demographic attributes (e.g., age, race, gender, education, income, religion, marital status), perceptions of crime, social environment, respondents' views of the criminal justice system, experiences with the police, criminal victimization experiences, protective measures taken, victim-offender relationship, characteristics of the crime incident, police response to crime reports, and victim perceptions of and satisfaction with police response.
Curated
Partially restricted
National Survey of Police Call Management Strategies and Community Policing Activities, 2000 (ICPSR 3931)
Released/updated on: 2006-01-31
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2000-05-01--2000-10-31
For this study, two different projects with an overlap of purpose made use of the same data, which were based on a national sample of 695 police departments. One project conducted background research for a guidebook on call management for community policing. The other focused on the use of computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems in community policing. Survey questions focused on the types of CAD systems, call management strategies, and community policing activities employed by each of the departments. Variables include types of CAD data used, use of different call management strategies, problem solving measures used, resource allocation measures used, community involvement/satisfaction measures used, support for special units, methods used for management accountability, and involvement in community policing activities.
Curated
Evaluating a Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) Night Drug Court in Las Cruces, New Mexico, 1997-1998 (ICPSR 3186)
Released/updated on: 2006-01-18
Geographic coverage: Las Cruces, United States, New Mexico
The purpose of this study was twofold. First, researchers wanted to assess the benefits of the driving while intoxicated (DWI) drug court established in the Las Cruces, New Mexico, Municipal Court in an effort to determine its future viability. This was accomplished by examining the behaviors and attitudes of three groups of convicted drunk-drivers and determining the extent to which these groups were different or similar. The three groups included: (1) non-alcoholic first- and second-time offenders (non-alcoholic offenders), (2) alcoholic first- and second-time DWI offenders (alcoholic offenders), and (3) chronic three-time (or more) DWI offenders (chronic offenders). The second purpose of this study was to explore police officers' attitudes toward court-based treatment programs for DWI offenders, while examining the distinguishing characteristics between police officers who support court-based programs for drunk drivers and those who are less likely to support such sanctions. Data for Part 1, Drug Court Survey Data, were collected using a survey questionnaire distributed to non-alcoholic, alcoholic, and chronic offenders. Part 1 variables include blood alcohol level, jail time, total number of prior arrests and convictions, the level of support from the respondents' family and friends, and whether the respondent thought DWI was wrong, could cause injury, or could ruin lives. Respondents were also asked whether they acted spontaneously in general, took risks, found trouble exciting, ever assaulted anyone, ever destroyed property, ever extorted money, ever sold or used drugs, thought lying or stealing was OK, ever stole a car, attempted breaking and entering, or had been a victim of extortion. Demographic variables for Part 1 include the age, gender, race, and marital status of each respondent. Data for Part 2, Police Officer Survey Data, were collected using a survey questionnaire designed to capture what police officers knew about the DWI Drug Court, where they learned about it, and what factors accounted for their attitudes toward the program. Variables for Part 2 include police officers' responses to whether DWI court was effective, whether DWI laws were successful, the perceived effect of mandatory jail time versus treatment alone, major problems seen with DWI policies, if DWI was considered dangerous, and how the officer had learned or been briefed about the drug court. Other variables include the number of DWI arrests, and whether respondents believed that reforms weaken police power, that DWI caused more work for them, that citizens have bad attitudes, that the public has too many rights, and that stiffer penalties for DWI offenders were more successful.
Curated
Effectiveness of Police Response: Denver, 1982 (ICPSR 8217)
Released/updated on: 2006-01-18
Geographic coverage: United States, Colorado, Denver
Time period: 1982-06-01--1982-09-30
This data collection investigates the nature of law enforcement by recording police behavior in problematic situations, primarily disturbances and traffic stops. The data collection contains two files. The first consists of information on disturbance encounters. Disturbance variables include type of disturbance, manner of investigation, designation of police response, several situational variables such as type of setting, number of victims, bystanders, suspects, and witnesses, demeanor of participants toward the police, type of police response, and demeanor of police toward participants. The second file contains data on traffic offenses. The variables include manner of investigation, incident code, officers' description of the incident, condition of the vehicle stopped, police contact with the passengers of the vehicle, demeanor of passengers toward the police, demeanor of police toward the passengers, and resolution of the situation. The data were collected based on field observation, using an instrument for recording observations.
Curated
British Crime Survey, 1982 (ICPSR 8672)
Released/updated on: 2006-01-18
Geographic coverage: Great Britain, Wales, England, Global
Time period: 1981-01-01--1981-12-31
The primary purpose of the British Crime Survey was to estimate how many of the public in England and Wales are victims of selected types of crime over a year, describing the circumstances under which people become victims, and the consequences of crime for victims. Other aims included providing background information on fear of crime among the public and on public contact with the police. Respondents were asked a series of screening questions to establish whether or not they or their households had been victims of relevant crimes during the one-year reference period. They were then asked a series of very detailed questions about the incidents they reported. Basic descriptive background information on respondents and their households was collected to allow analysis of the sorts of people who do and do not become victims. Information was also collected on other areas which were of intrinsic interest and which could usefully be related to experience as a victim, namely, fear of crime, contact with the police, lifestyle, and self-reported offending.
Curated
British Crime Survey, 1992 (ICPSR 6717)
Released/updated on: 2006-01-18
Geographic coverage: Great Britain, Wales, England, Global
Time period: 1992-01-01--1992-12-31
The fourth in a series of surveys instituted by the Home Office in 1982, this survey examines levels of victimization in Great Britain and offers attitudinal data on issues relating to crime. The 1992 survey was intended to replicate the 1982, 1984, and 1988 surveys (ICPSR 8672, 8685, and 9850) in methodology and content as much as possible. In 1992, a "core" sample of 10,059 adults along with booster samples of 1,650 ethnic minority adults and 1,350 young people aged 12-15 resident in the same households as adult respondents were interviewed. The 1988 survey had also included an ethnic minority booster sample employing the same sampling method. Respondents were asked a series of screening questions to establish whether they had been the victims of crime during the reference period, and another series of detailed questions about the incidents they reported. Basic descriptive background information, such as sex, age, employment, education, and number of children, was also collected on the respondents and their households. Other information was elicited on fear of crime, contact with the police, lifestyle, and self-reported offending. Part 1, Demographic File, consists of data captured on the Demographic Questionnaire. Parts 2 and 3 represent data collected via Follow-Up Questionnaire A and Follow-Up Questionnaire B, respectively. Each respondent completed one of the two Follow-Up Questionnaires, with all respondents in the ethnic minority booster sample completing Follow-Up Questionnaire A. Part 4, Main File, consists of data from the Main Questionnaire. Each respondent completed a Main Questionnaire that included some attitudinal questions and a large number of screening questions to identify crime victims. Data in Part 5, Victim File, were collected from the Victim Form. Only respondents reporting incidents of victimization on the Main Questionnaire have Victim Forms, with up to four Victim Forms per respondent. The unit of analysis for this collection is the individual.
Curated
Delinquency in a Birth Cohort in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1945-1963 (ICPSR 7729)
Released/updated on: 2006-01-12
Geographic coverage: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Time period: 1945-01-01--1963-12-31
The purpose of this study was to investigate the history of delinquency in a birth cohort--in particular, the age of onset of delinquent behavior and the progression or cessation of delinquency. Data were collected on a cohort of males born in 1945 and residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Information provided in the study includes demographic characteristics of the individuals studied, academic performance, offense information, demographic characteristics of victims of offenses, and criminal incident information.
Curated
Police Response Time Analysis, 1975 (ICPSR 7760)
Released/updated on: 2006-01-12
Time period: 1975-03-01--1975-12-31
This is a study of the relationship between the amount of time taken by police to respond to calls for service and the outcomes of criminal and noncriminal incidents in Kansas City, Missouri. Outcomes were evaluated in terms of police effectiveness and citizen satisfaction. Response time data were generated by timing telephone and radio exchanges on police dispatch tapes. Police travel time was measured and recorded by highly trained civilian observers. To assess satisfaction with police service, personal and telephone interviews were conducted with victims and witnesses who had made the calls to the police.
Curated
Boston Police Department Domestic Violence Research Project, 1993-1994 (ICPSR 6483)
Released/updated on: 2006-01-12
Geographic coverage: United States, Massachusetts, Boston
The Domestic Violence Research Project was a pilot study designed to examine the dynamics of domestic violence within two of the ten police districts that comprise the city of Boston. The objectives were to collect data on domestic violence in greater detail than previously possible, conduct various analyses on this information, and determine how the findings could best be used to improve the police, prosecutorial, and social service responses to domestic violence. Data for 1993 are a stratified random sample of reported domestic violence incidents occurring throughout the year. The sample represents approximately 27 percent of the domestic violence incidents reported in 1993 for the two districts studied, B3 and D4. The 1994 data include all reported incidents occurring in the two districts during the period May to July. After the incident selection process was completed, data were collected from police incident reports, follow-up investigation reports, criminal history reports, and court dockets. Variables include arrest offenses, time of incident, location of incident, witnesses (including children), nature and extent of injuries, drug and alcohol use, history of similar incidents, whether there were restraining orders in effect, and basic demographic information on victims and offenders. Criminal history information was coded into five distinct categories: (1) violent offenses, (2) nonviolent offenses, (3) domestic violence offenses, (4) drug/alcohol offenses, and (5) firearms offenses.
Curated
Delinquency in a Birth Cohort II: Philadelphia, 1958-1988 (ICPSR 9293)
Released/updated on: 2006-01-12
Geographic coverage: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Time period: 1958-01-01--1988-12-31
The purpose of this data collection was to follow a birth cohort born in Philadelphia during 1958 with a special focus on delinquent activities as children and as adults. The respondents were first interviewed in DELINQUENCY IN A BIRTH COHORT IN PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, 1945-1963 (ICPSR 7729). Part 1 offers basic demographic information, such as sex, race, date of birth, church membership, age, and socioeconomic status, on each cohort member. Two files supply offense data: Part 2 pertains to offenses committed while a juvenile and Part 3 details offenses as an adult. Offense-related variables include most serious offense, police disposition, location of crime, reason for police response, complainant's sex, age, and race, type of victimization, date of offense, number of victims, average age of victims, number of victims killed or hospitalized, property loss, weapon involvement, and final court disposition. Part 4, containing follow-up survey interview data collected in 1988, was designed to investigate differences in the experiences and attitudes of individuals with varying degrees of involvement with the juvenile justice system. Variables include individual histories of delinquency, health, household composition, marriage, parent and respondent employment and education, parental contacts with the legal system, and other social and demographic variables.
Curated
Effects of Foot Patrol Policing in Boston, 1977-1985 (ICPSR 9351)
Released/updated on: 2006-01-12
Geographic coverage: United States, Massachusetts, Boston
Time period: 1977-01-01--1985-07-31
This collection evaluates the impact of a new foot patrol plan, implemented by the Boston Police Department, on incidents of crime and neighborhood disturbances. Part 1 contains information on service calls by types of criminal offenses such as murder, rape, aggravated assault, simple assault, robbery, larceny, burglary, and auto theft. It also contains data on types of community disturbances such as noisy party, gang, or minor disturbance and response priority of the incidents. Response priorities are classified according to a four-level scale: Priority 1: emergency calls including crimes in progress, high risk or personal injury, and medical emergencies, Priority 2: calls of intermediate urgency, Priority 3: calls not requiring immediate response, Priority 4: calls of undetermined priority. Parts 2 and 3 include information about patrol time used in each of the three daily shifts during the pre- and post-intervention periods. Part 4 presents information similar to Parts 2 and 3 but the data span a longer period of time--approximately seven years.
Curated
Reexamining the Minneapolis Repeat Complaint Address Policing (RECAP) Experiment, 1986-1987 (ICPSR 6172)
Released/updated on: 2006-01-12
Geographic coverage: Minneapolis, United States, Minnesota
Time period: 1986-01-01--1987-12-31
This study reexamines REPEAT COMPLAINT ADDRESS POLICING: TWO FIELD EXPERIMENTS IN MINNEAPOLIS, 1985-1987 (ICPSR 9788). The original Repeat Complaint Address Policing (RECAP) experiment was a field study of the strategy of problem-oriented policing, which used control and treatment groups consisting of specific addresses in the city of Minneapolis. The impact of problem-oriented policing was measured by comparing the number of 911 calls received for each address during a baseline period to the number received during a period when experimental treatments were in effect. Several features of the original data distort the one-to-one correspondence between a 911 call and an event, such as the occurrence of multiple versions of the same call in the databases. The current study identifies and attempts to correct these occurrences by applying multiple levels of data cleaning procedures to the original data to establish a better one-to-one call-to-event correspondence.
Curated
Milwaukee Domestic Violence Experiment, 1987-1989 (ICPSR 9966)
Released/updated on: 2006-01-12
Geographic coverage: Milwaukee, United States
Time period: 1987-01-01--1989-12-31
This study represents a modified replication of the Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment (SPECIFIC DETERRENT EFFECTS OF ARREST FOR DOMESTIC ASSAULT: MINNEAPOLIS, 1981-1982 [ICPSR 8250]). The Minneapolis study found arrest to be an effective deterrent against repeat domestic violence. The two key purposes of the current study were (1) to examine the possible differences in reactions to arrest, and (2) to compare the effects of short and long incarceration associated with arrest. Research protocol involved 35 patrol officers in four Milwaukee police districts screening domestic violence cases for eligibility, then calling police headquarters to request a randomly-assigned disposition. The three possible randomly assigned dispositions were (1) Code 1, which consisted of arrest and at least one night in jail, unless the suspect posted bond, (2) Code 2, which consisted of arrest and immediate release on recognizance from the booking area at police headquarters, or as soon as possible, and (3) Code 3, which consisted of a standard Miranda-style script warning read by police to both suspect and victim. A battered women's shelter hotline system provided the primary measurement of the frequency of violence by the same suspects both before and after each case leading to a randomized police action. Other forms of measurement included arrests of the suspect both before and after the offense, as well as offenses against the same victim. Initial victim interviews were attempted within one month after the first 900 incidents were compiled. A second victim interview was attempted six months after the incident for all 1,200 cases. Data collected for this study included detailed data on each of the 1,200 randomized events, less detailed data on an additional 854 cases found ineligible, "pipeline" data on the frequency of domestic violence in the four Milwaukee police districts, official measures of prior and subsequent domestic violence for both suspects and victims, interviews of arrested suspects for eligible and ineligible cases, criminal justice system dispositions of the randomized arrests, results of urinalysis tests of drug and alcohol use for some arrestees, and log attempts to obtain interviews from suspects and victims. Demographic variables include victim and suspect age, race, education, employment status, and marital status. Additional information obtained includes victim-offender relationships, alcohol and drug use during incident, substance of conflict, nature of victim injury and medical treatment as reported by police and victims, characteristics of suspects in the Code 1 and 2 arrest groups, victim and suspect reports of who called police, and victim and suspect versions of speed of police response.
Curated
Evaluating Alternative Police Responses to Spouse Assault in Colorado Springs: an Enhanced Replication of the Minneapolis Experiment, 1987-1989 (ICPSR 9982)
Released/updated on: 2006-01-12
Geographic coverage: United States, Colorado, Colorado Springs
Time period: 1987-03-01--1989-04-30
The purpose of this study was to replicate an experiment in Minneapolis (MINNEAPOLIS INTERVENTION PROJECT, 1986-1987 [ICPSR 9808]) testing alternative police response to cases of spouse assault, using a larger number of subjects and a more complex research design. The study focused on how police response affected subsequent incidents of spouse assault. Police responses studied included arrest, issuing emergency protection orders, referring the suspect to counseling, separating the suspect and the victim, and restoring order only (no specific action). Data were obtained through initial incident reports, counseling information, and personal interviews. Follow-up interviews were conducted at three- and six-month periods, and recidivists were identified through police and court record checks. Variables from initial incident reports include number of charges, date, location, and disposition of charges, weapon(s) used, victim injuries, medical attention received, behavior towards police, victim and suspect comments, and demographic information such as race, sex, relationship to victim/offender, age, and past victim/offender history. Data collected from counseling forms provide information on demographic characteristics of the suspect, type of counseling, topics covered in counseling, suspect's level of participation, and therapist comments. Court records investigate victim and suspect criminal histories, including descriptions of charges and their disposition, conditions of pretrial release, and the victim's contact with pretrial services. Other variables included in follow-up checks focus on criminal and offense history of the suspect. The data collection includes separate data files for the original, second, and final versions of some of the forms that were used.
Curated
Keeping the Peace: Police Discretion and the Mentally Disordered in Chicago, 1980-1981 (ICPSR 8438)
Released/updated on: 2006-01-12
Geographic coverage: United States, Chicago, Illinois
Time period: 1980-01-01--1981-12-31
For this data collection, information on police-citizen encounters was collected to explore the peacekeeping functions of the police and their handling of encounters with mentally ill persons. The data were gathered for part or all of 270 shifts through observations by researchers riding in police cars in two Chicago police districts during a 14-month period in 1980-1981. In Part 1 (Shift Level), information was collected once per shift on the general level of activity during the shift and the observer's perceptions of emotions/attitudes displayed by the police officers he/she observed. The file also contains, for each of the 270 shifts, information about the personal characteristics, work history, and working relationships of the police officers observed. Part 2 (Encounter Level) contains detailed information on each police-citizen encounter including its nature, location, police actions and/or responses, citizens involved, and their characteristics and behavior. A unique and consistent shift identification number is attached to each encounter so that information about police officer characteristics from Part 1 may be matched with Part 2. There are 1,382 police-citizen encounters involving 2,555 citizens in this collection.
Curated
British Crime Survey, 1988 (ICPSR 9850)
Released/updated on: 2006-01-12
Geographic coverage: Great Britain, Wales, England, Global
Time period: 1987-01-01--1987-12-31
This 1988 survey, the third in a series of surveys instituted by the Home Office in 1982, examines levels of victimization in Great Britain and offers attitudinal data on issues relating to crime. The 1988 survey was intended to replicate the 1982 and 1984 surveys (ICPSR 8672 and 8685) as much as possible. However, in 1988 an additional sample of ethnic minority respondents was included. Respondents were asked a series of screening questions to establish whether they had been the victims of crime during the reference period, and another series of detailed questions about the incidents they reported. Basic descriptive background information, such as sex, age, employment, education, and number of children, was also collected on the respondents and their households. Other information was collected on fear of crime, contact with the police, lifestyle, and self-reported offending. Part 1 consists of data captured on the Demographic Questionnaire. Parts 2 and 3 represent data collected via Follow-Up Questionnaire A and Follow-Up Questionnaire B, respectively. Each respondent completed one of the two Follow-Up Questionnaires, with all respondents in the ethnic minority sample completing Follow-Up Questionnaire B. Part 4 consists of data from the Main Questionnaire. Each respondent completed a Main Questionnaire that included a large number of screening questions to identify crime victims, and some attitudinal questions. Data in Part 5 were collected from the Victim Form. Only respondents reporting incidents of victimization on the Main Questionnaire have Victim Forms, with up to four Victim Forms per respondent. The unit of analysis for this collection is the individual.
Curated
Effectiveness of a Joint Police and Social Services Response to Elder Abuse in Manhattan [New York City], New York, 1996-1997 (ICPSR 3130)
Released/updated on: 2005-11-04
Geographic coverage: New York City, United States, New York (state)
Time period: 1996-01-01--1997-12-31
This project consisted of an evaluation of an elder abuse program run by the New York Police Department and Victim Services Research. The focus of the study was domestic elder abuse, which generally refers to any of several forms of maltreatment, physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, neglect, and/or financial exploitation of an older person. The program, conducted in New York City public housing, had two complementary parts. First, public housing projects in Manhattan were assigned to one of two levels of public education (i.e., to receive or not to receive educational materials about elder abuse). Once the public education treatment had been implemented, 403 older adult residents of the housing projects who reported elder abuse to the police during the next ten months were assigned to one of two levels of follow-up to the initial police response (i.e., to receive or not to receive a home visit) as the second part of the project. The home visit intervention consisted of a strong law enforcement response designed to prevent repeat incidents of elder abuse. A team from the Domestic Violence Intervention and Education Program (DVIEP), consisting of a police officer and a social worker, followed up on domestic violence complaints with a home visit within a few days of the initial patrol response. Victims were interviewed about new victimizations following the intervention on three occasions: six weeks after the trigger incident, six months after the trigger incident, and twelve months after the trigger incident. Interviews at the three time points were identical except for the omission of background information on the second and third interviews. Demographic data collected during the first interview included age, gender, ethnicity, education, employment, income, legal relationship with abuser, living situation, number of people in the household, and health. For each time point, data provide measures of physical, psychological, and financial abuse, knowledge of elder abuse, knowledge and use of social services, satisfaction with the police, assessment of service delivery, and self-esteem and well-being. The DVIEP databases maintained on households at each of the three participating Police Service Areas (PSAs) were searched to identify new police reports of elder abuse for households in the sample within 12 months following the trigger incident. Variables from the DVIEP databases include age, race, ethnicity, and sex of the victim and the perpetrator, relationship of perpetrator to victim, type of abuse reported, charge, whether an arrest was made, if an order of protection had been obtained, if the order of protection was violated, use of weapons, if the victim had been injured, and if the victim was taken to the hospital. Several time lapse variables between different time points are also provided.
Curated
Survey on Street Disorder in Large Municipalities in the United States, 1994-1996 (ICPSR 2479)
Released/updated on: 2005-11-04
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1994-01-01--1996-12-31
The objective of this survey was to provide city officials and police with information on how to carry out street disorder enforcement strategies within the constitutional guidelines established by the courts. To that end, a survey of 512 municipal police departments was conducted in the spring of 1996. The agencies were asked to supply data for the current year as well as for 1994 and 1995. Information was collected on the existence of particular street disorder ordinances, when such ordinances were passed, the number of citations and arrests resulting from each ordinance, and whether the ordinances were challenged in court. Data covered the following types of street disorder: panhandling, open containers of alcohol, public intoxication, disorderly conduct, sleeping in public places, unregulated day labor solicitation, vending, dumpster diving, camping in public, and juvenile curfews. Departments were also asked about their written policies regarding certain types of street disorder. Other departmental information includes location, number of personnel, and population of jurisdiction.
Curated
Communication of Innovation in Policing in the United States, 1996 (ICPSR 2480)
Released/updated on: 2005-11-04
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1996-01-01--1996-12-31
These data were collected to examine the patterns of communication among police planners in the United States. The focus was on information-sharing, in which police planners and others contact other law enforcement agencies directly to gather the information they need to manage their departments. This study examined this informal network and its role in the dissemination of police research. The Police Communication Network Survey was mailed to the chief executives of 517 local departments and all 49 state police and highway patrol organizations in March 1996. The chief was asked to forward the questionnaire to the commander of the department's planning and research unit. Questions covered the agency most frequently contacted, how frequently this agency was contacted, mode of communication used most often, why this agency was contacted, and the agency most likely contacted on topics such as domestic violence, deadly force, gangs, community policing, problem-oriented policing, drug enforcement strategies, civil liability, labor relations, personnel administration, accreditation, and police traffic services. Information was also elicited on the number of times different law enforcement agencies contacted the respondent's agency in the past year, the percentage of time devoted to responding to requests for information from other agencies, and the amount of training the respondent and the staff received on the logic of social research, research design, statistics, operations research, cost-benefit analysis, evaluation research, and computing. Demographic variables include respondent's agency name, position, rank, number of years of police experience, number of years in the planning and research unit, and highest degree attained.
Curated
Victims' Ratings of Police Services in New York and Texas, 1994-1995 Survey (ICPSR 6787)
Released/updated on: 2005-11-04
Geographic coverage: New York, United States, Texas
Time period: 1994-12-01--1995-03-31
The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act of 1984 (FVPSA) provided funding, through the Office of Victims of Crime in the United States Department of Justice, for 23 law enforcement training projects across the nation from 1986 to 1992. FVPSA was enacted to assist states in (1) developing and maintaining programs for the prevention of family violence and for the provision of shelter to victims and their dependents and (2) providing training and technical assistance for personnel who provide services for victims of family violence. The National Institute of Justice awarded a grant to the Urban Institute in late 1992 to evaluate the police training projects. One of the program evaluation methods the Urban Institute used was to conduct surveys of victims in New York and Texas. The primary objectives of the survey were to find out, from victims who had contact with law enforcement officers in the pre-training period and/or in the post-training period, what their experiences and evaluations of law enforcement services were, how police interventions had changed over time, and how the quality of services and changes related to the police training funded under the FVPSA. Following the conclusion of training, victims of domestic assault in New York and Texas were surveyed through victim service programs across each state. Similar, but not identical, instruments were used at the two sites. Service providers were asked to distribute the questionnaires to victims of physical or sexual abuse who had contact with law enforcement officers. The survey instruments were developed to obtain information and victim perceptions of the following key subject areas: history of abuse, characteristics of the victim-abuser relationship, demographic characteristics of the abuser and the victim, history of law enforcement contacts, services received from law enforcement officers, and victims' evaluations of these services. Variables on history of abuse include types of abuse experienced, first and last time physically or sexually abused, and frequency of abuse. Characteristics of the victim-abuser relationship include length of involvement with the abuser, living arrangement and relationship status at time of last abuse, number of children the victim had, and number of children at home at the time of last abuse. Demographic variables provide age, race/ethnicity, employment status, and education level of the abuser and the victim. Variables on the history of law enforcement contacts and services received include number of times law enforcement officers were called because of assaults on the victim, number of times law enforcement officers actually came to the scene, first and last time officers came to the scene, number of times officers were involved because of assaults on the victim, number of times officers were involved in the last 12 months, and type of law enforcement agencies the officers were from. Data are also included on city size by population, city median household income, county population density, county crime rate, and region of state of the responding law enforcement agencies. Over 30 variables record the victims' evaluations of the officers' responsiveness, helpfulness, and attitudes.
Curated
Evaluation of the Weed and Seed Initiative in the United States, 1994 (ICPSR 6789)
Released/updated on: 2005-11-04
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1994-01-01--1994-12-31
The Department of Justice launched Operation Weed and Seed in 1991 as a means of mobilizing a large and varied array of resources in a comprehensive, coordinated effort to control crime and drug problems and improve the quality of life in targeted high-crime neighborhoods. In the long term, Weed and Seed programs are intended to reduce levels of crime, violence, drug trafficking, and fear of crime, and to create new jobs, improve housing, enhance the quality of neighborhood life, and reduce alcohol and drug use. This baseline data collection effort is the initial step toward assessing the achievement of the long-term objectives. The evaluation was conducted using a quasi-experimental design, matching households in comparison neighborhoods with the Weed and Seed target neighborhoods. Comparison neighborhoods were chosen to match Weed and Seed target neighborhoods on the basis of crime rates, population demographics, housing characteristics, and size and density. Neighborhoods in eight sites were selected: Akron, OH, Bradenton (North Manatee), FL, Hartford, CT, Las Vegas, NV, Pittsburgh, PA, Salt Lake City, UT, Seattle, WA, and Shreveport, LA. The "neighborhood" in Hartford, CT, was actually a public housing development, which is part of the reason for the smaller number of interviews at this site. Baseline data collection tasks included the completion of in-person surveys with residents in the target and matched comparison neighborhoods, and the provision of guidance to the sites in the collection of important process data on a routine uniform basis. The survey questions can be broadly divided into these areas: (1) respondent demographics, (2) household size and income, (3) perceptions of the neighborhood, and (4) perceptions of city services. Questions addressed in the course of gathering the baseline data include: Are the target and comparison areas sufficiently well-matched that analytic contrasts between the areas over time are valid? Is there evidence that the survey measures are accurate and valid measures of the dependent variables of interest -- fear of crime, victimization, etc.? Are the sample sizes and response rates sufficient to provide ample statistical power for later analyses? Variables cover respondents' perceptions of the neighborhood, safety and observed security measures, police effectiveness, and city services, as well as their ratings of neighborhood crime, disorder, and other problems. Other items included respondents' experiences with victimization, calls/contacts with police and satisfaction with police response, and involvement in community meetings and events. Demographic information on respondents includes year of birth, gender, ethnicity, household income, and employment status.
Curated
Characteristics of High and Low Crime Neighborhoods in Atlanta, 1980 (ICPSR 7951)
Released/updated on: 2005-11-04
Geographic coverage: United States, Atlanta, Georgia
Time period: 1980-08-01--1980-10-31
This study examines the question of how some urban neighborhoods maintain a low crime rate despite their proximity and similarity to relatively high crime areas. The purpose of the study is to investigate differences in various dimensions of the concept of territoriality (spatial identity, local ties, social cohesion, informal social control) and physical characteristics (land use, housing, street type, boundary characteristics) in three pairs of neighborhoods in Atlanta, Georgia. The study neighborhoods were selected by locating pairs of adjacent neighborhoods with distinctly different crime levels. The criteria for selection, other than the difference in crime rates and physical adjacency, were comparable racial composition and comparable economic status. This data collection is divided into two files. Part 1, Atlanta Plan File, contains information on every parcel of land within the six neighborhoods in the study. The variables include ownership, type of land use, physical characteristics, characteristics of structures, and assessed value of each parcel of land within the six neighborhoods. This file was used in the data analysis to measure a number of physical characteristics of parcels and blocks in the study neighborhoods, and as the sampling frame for the household survey. The original data were collected by the City of Atlanta Planning Bureau. Part 2, Atlanta Survey File, contains the results of a household survey administered to a stratified random sample of households within each of the study neighborhoods. Variables cover respondents' attitudes and behavior related to the neighborhood, fear of crime, avoidance and protective measures, and victimization experiences. Crime rates, land use, and housing characteristics of the block in which the respondent resided were coded onto each case record.
Curated
Police and Child Abuse: Policies and Practices in the United States, 1987-1988 (ICPSR 6338)
Released/updated on: 2005-11-04
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1987-01-01--1988-12-31
This study was conducted by the Police Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute to document municipal and county law enforcement agencies' policies for dealing with child abuse, neglect, and sexual assault and exploitation, and to identify emerging police practices. The researchers investigated promising approaches for dealing with child abuse and also probed for areas of weakness that are in need of improvement. Data were collected from 122 law enforcement agencies on topics including interagency reporting and case screening procedures, the existence and organizational location of specialized units for conducting child abuse investigations, actual procedures for investigating various types of child abuse cases, factors that affect the decision to arrest in physical and sexual abuse cases, the scope and nature of interagency cooperative agreements practices and relations, the amount of training received by agency personnel, and ways to improve agency responses to child abuse and neglect cases.
Curated
Evaluation of the Impact of Innovative Policing Programs on Social Disorder in Seven Cities in the United States, 1983-1990 (ICPSR 6215)
Released/updated on: 2005-11-04
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1983-01-01--1990-12-31
This study was designed to permit a "meta-evaluation" of the impact of alternative policing programs on social disorder. Examples of social disorder include bands of teenagers deserting school and congregating on street corners, solicitation by prostitutes and panhandlers, public drinking, vandalism, verbal harassment of women on the street, street violence, and open gambling and drug use. The data used in this study were taken from studies conducted between 1983 and 1990 in seven cities. For this collection, a common set of questions was identified and recoded into a consistent format across studies. The studies were conducted using similar sampling and interviewing procedures, and in almost every case used a quasi-experimental research design. For each target area studied, a different, matched area was designated as a comparison area where no new policing programs were begun. Surveys of residents were conducted in the target and comparison areas before the programs began (Wave I) and again after they had been in operation for a period ranging from ten months to two-and-a-half years (Wave II). The data contain information regarding police visibility and contact, encounters with police, victimization, fear and worry about crime, household protection and personal precautions, neighborhood conditions and problems, and demographic characteristics of respondents including race, marital status, employment status, education, sex, age, and income. The policing methods researched included community-oriented policing and traditional intensive enforcement programs.
Curated
Juvenile Delinquency and Adult Crime, 1948-1977 [Racine, Wisconsin]: Three Birth Cohorts (ICPSR 8163)
Released/updated on: 2005-11-04
Geographic coverage: United States, Wisconsin, Racine
Time period: 1948-01-01--1977-12-31
This data collection contains information on juvenile delinquency and adult crime for three birth cohorts born in 1942, 1949, and 1955 in Racine, Wisconsin. These individual-level data are organized into three basic types: police contact data for the three cohorts, interview and contact data for the 1942 and 1949 cohorts, and contact data classified by age for all three cohorts. The police contact data include information on the type and frequency of police contacts by individual as well as the location, date, and number of the first contact. The interview datasets contain information on police contacts and a number of variables measured during personal interviews with the 1942 and 1949 cohorts. The interview variables include retrospective measures of the respondents' attitudes toward the police and a variety of other variables such as socioeconomic status and age at marriage. The age-by-age datasets provide juvenile court and police contact data classified by age.