Crime Needs

CRIME REDUCTION AND PREVENTION INDICATORS

Crime has the potential to significantly impact the lives of residents in neighborhoods. Its negative outcomes range from graffiti to major assaults and sometimes homicide. These impacts can produce unhealthy lifestyles (drugs, stress, assault), reduce educational success, and drive businesses from the community.

The goal of neighborhood leaders and residents should be to encourage and help maintain coordinated services to youth, families, and neighborhoods that reduce and ultimately prevent criminal behavior and activities through coordinating alternative positive and productive resources and programs (click a link below) that include:

These resources and programs should positively impact the following indicators:

Commercial Sex-Prostitution - The unlawful promotion of or participation in sexual activities for profit, including attempts. To solicit customers or transport persons for prostitution purposes; to own, manage, or operate a dwelling or other establishment for the purpose of providing a place where prostitution is performed; or to otherwise assist or promote prostitution. (Source: TPD)

Prostitution had a profound impact on the women's personal health and that of their children. There also are the added burdens to welfare, child welfare, and neighborhoods and communities, which experience more costs and deterioration in quality of life (Nelson, 2004).

Criminal Vandalism-Graffiti - To willfully or maliciously destroy, injure, disfigure, or deface any public or private property, real or personal, without the consent of the owner or person having custody or control by cutting, tearing, breaking, marking, painting, drawing, covering with filth, or any other such means as may be specified by local law. Attempts are included. (Source: TPD)

The presence of graffiti discourages citizens from shopping or living in affected areas. As established businesses relocate or close, new businesses might be reluctant to move into areas where customers would feel unsafe. As property values decline and law-abiding citizens with resources move, once thriving neighborhoods can quickly degrade into dangerous places. Thus, the seemingly trivial offense of graffiti ultimately can have devastating consequences for a community (Slahor, 1994). 

Graffiti was found to be one of the most prevalent types of physical disorder (Doran, 2005).

Curfew - In Tucson, Arizona curfew is 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. for youth under the age of 16. For those between 16 and 17 years of age the curfew is midnight to 5 a.m. In South Tucson, youths fewer than 18 must be off the streets from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Further, youths younger than 16 cannot remain, loiter or cruise in any vehicle' in the county or its unincorporated areas between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. The same law applies to 16- and 17-year-olds, between midnight and 5 a.m. (Source: TPD)

Youth who are out during night hours (between 10pm and 6am) have a higher risk of engaging in negative behaviors. Statistics from Phoenix, Arizona, revealed that 21% of all curfew violators were gang members. Furthermore, a 10% decrease in juvenile arrests for violent crimes occurred following implementation of an aggressive curfew program decreases in various other juvenile crimes occurred in several other metropolitan areas (Chicago, Denver, Jacksonville, New Orleans, and North Little Rock) that employed curfew programs (Fritsch, 1999).

Juvenile Drug Related Offenses - Juvenile Drug Offenses for Pima County areas. (Source: PCJCC)

The association between early onset substance use and violent behavior is especially worrying as it appears to be associated with problem substance use, greater frequency of substance use, continued substance use during adolescence and beyond, as well as increased risk for later substance abuse and dependence (Anthony and Petronis 1995; Fergusson and Horwood 1997; DeWit et al. 2000; Grant et al. 2001; Babor et al. 2002; Lynskey et al. 2003; Sung et al. 2004).

It is also associated with a number of other problems during adolescence, such as school dropout, unemployment and engaging in a variety of health risk behaviors (Fergusson and Horwood 1997; DuRant et al. 1999).

Educational Attainment - Persons aged 25 years and over who have completed less than 4 years of high school and lack a degree. (Source: Census 2000)

It is widely perceived that the effects of education spread beyond direct economic effects to include “social benefits” for individuals and society at large. Such benefits include a better way of taking care of us and consequently creating a better society in which to live in. These social benefits include a more educated and better informed electorate, lower rates of crime and violence, lower rates of poverty, better health and nutrition, and generally a more smooth running society. In terms of the effect of education on crime, models incorporating state dependence suggest that those who stay in school are less likely to become delinquent than those who drop out (Behrman, 1997).

Juvenile Offenses-Graffiti - To willfully or maliciously destroy, injure, disfigure, or deface any public or private property, real or personal, without the consent of the owner or person having custody or control by cutting, tearing, breaking, marking, painting, drawing, covering with filth, or any other such means as may be specified by local law. Attempts are included. Only accounts for Juvenile Offenses. (Source: PCJCC)

The crude wall writings of prehistoric times and the highly stylized street art of today's inner-city youths share one common feature: Each stems from a basic human need to communicate with others. For youths who may not be able to express themselves through other media, such as prose or music, graffiti represents an easily accessible and effective way to communicate with a large audience (Wain, 1976).

Juvenile Offenses-Trespassing - A wrongful entry upon the lands of another that may cause injury to the person, property, or rights of another, committed with force or violence, actual or implied. (Source: PCJCC)

Graffiti writers work mostly at night and in so doing use the cover of darkness to evade curfew restrictions and urban surveillance. In that they gain sub cultural status from tagging over as large an area as possible, they also wander widely throughout the city: mobility and trespassare essential. Because further status derives from the difficulty of a tag’s placement writers also regularly jump razor wire fences, climb free way standards or skyscrapers and otherwise violate the city’s spatial sorting (Progrebin, 2004).

Juvenile Violations - Violations by Juveniles in Tucson that are not related to curfew, health, welfare, or morals.  Also does not include runaways. (Source> TPD)

Liquor Laws - The violation of state or local laws or ordinances prohibiting the manufacture, sale, purchase, transportation, possession, or use of alcoholic beverages, not including driving under the influence and drunkenness. Federal violations are excluded. (Source> TPD)

Taverns and liquor stores represent a type of semi-public place that allows relevantly unquestioned behavior. Strangers are often thrown together in a proximate setting and standards of behavior and surveillance may be limited (Eck, 1995).

Raising the legal age for drinking to 21 years had substantial benefits in terms of reduced drinking and reduced automobile crashes among youths, despite low level of enforcement. Potential benefits of active enforcement of minimum drinking age statutes are substantial, particularly if efforts are focused on those who provide alcohol to youth (Wagenaar, 1995).

Median Household Income - The median income divides the income distribution into two equal groups, one having incomes above the median, and other having incomes below the median. (Source: Census 2000)

Offenses Against Family and Children-Neglect - Unlawful nonviolent acts by a family member (or legal guardian) that threaten the physical, mental, or economic well-being or morals of another family member and that are not classifiable as other offenses, such as Assault or Sex Offenses. Attempts are included .If injury is serious is categorized as aggravated assault. (Sources: TPD)

Studies that examine the differential effects of various types of child maltreatment on delinquency find that neglected children have higher rates of violence, property crime, and general delinquency than physically abused children or have similar rates of delinquency compared to physically abused children (Zingraff, 1993).

Juvenile Probation Violations - Probation Violations for Juveniles in Pima County. (Source: PCJCC)

Robbery - The taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.(Commercial House, Service Station, Convenience Store, Bank) (Source: TPD)

Theoretical and empirical arguments suggest that fear of violence will cause consumers, employees and entrepreneurs to alter their routine activities in areas that experience a surge in violent activity. Controlling for pre-existing levels of violence, it is found that increased violence has the greatest consequences for service-related establishments in low-crime neighborhoods. This finding is consistent with the notion that the fear of victimization imposes additional indirect costs to society through its negative impact on local business establishments (Greenbaum, 2004).

This is a factor deterring business creation in certain areas.

Weapons Violations - Weapons Violations include concealed weapons offenses, giving to a minor offense, and other. (Source: TPD)

Motor Vehicle Theft - Stolen Vehicles in Tucson. (Source: TPD)

School Disciplines Incidents - Total number of incidents that occurred on school grounds in 2005-06 that required local, state, or federal law enforcement. (Source: Arizona Department of Education)

Using longitudinal data from elementary and secondary schools, analyses indicate that regardless of schools’ prior rates of discipline, the more family and community involvement activities were implemented, the fewer students were disciplined by being sent to principals’ offices or given detention or in-school suspension. Schools that improved the quality of their partnership programs reported fewer students in need of discipline (Sheldon, 2002).

Truancy - Juveniles who were charged with ditching school or having an intentional unauthorized absence from school. (Source: PCJCC) 

Truancy has been linked to a variety of negative consequences for youths (e.g., drug use, delinquency, unemployment) and for society (i.e., daytime crime, auto theft, vandalism).Truancy may also be the beginning of a lifetime of problems for students who routinely skip school. Because these students fall behind in their school work, many drop out of school. Dropping out is easier than catching up (Garry, 1997).

Through a mentoring relationship, adult volunteers and participating youth make a significant commitment of time and energy to develop relationships devoted to personal, academic, or career development and social, athletic, or artistic growth. The youth are actively encouraged to stay in school and meet the goals in their individualized case plans (Grossman, 1997).

Vacant Housing - Vacant buildings that are zoned for residential use or empty lots. (Source: Census 2000)

Many impoverished urban inner-city neighborhoods in the United States suffer from physical signs of decay such as abandoned buildings, litter, and graffiti. In a series of studies, investigators discovered that a neighborhood’s level of physical disorder as rated by outside observers is linked to fear of crime. Researchers have also linked fear of crime to neighborhood level social disorder such as loitering, public drunkenness, litter, vandalism, and the number of vacant houses (Latkin, 2003).