Understanding Crime Victimization Among College Students in the United States, 1993-1994

This study was designed to collect college student
victimization data to satisfy four primary objectives: (1) to
determine the prevalence and nature of campus crime, (2) to help the
campus community more fully assess crime, perceived risk, fear of
victimization, and security problems, (3) to aid in the development
and evaluation of location-specific and campus-wide security policies
and crime prevention measures, and (4) to make a contribution to the
theoretical study of campus crime and security. Data for Part 1,
Student-Level Data, and Part 2, Incident-Level Data, were collected
from a random sample of college students in the United States using a
structured telephone interview modeled after the redesigned National
Crime Victimization Survey administered by the Bureau of Justice
Statistics. Using stratified random sampling, over 3,000 college
students from 12 schools were interviewed. Researchers collected
detailed information about the incident and the victimization, and
demographic characteristics of victims and nonvictims, as well as data
on self-protection, fear of crime, perceptions of crime on campus, and
campus security measures. For Part 3, School Data, the researchers
surveyed campus officials at the sampled schools and gathered official
data to supplement institution-level crime prevention information
obtained from the students. Mail-back surveys were sent to directors
of campus security or campus police at the 12 sampled schools,
addressing various aspects of campus security, crime prevention
programs, and crime prevention services available on the
campuses. Additionally, mail-back surveys were sent to directors of
campus planning, facilities management, or related offices at the same
12 schools to obtain information on the extent and type of planning
and design actions taken by the campus for crime prevention. Part 3
also contains data on the characteristics of the 12 schools obtained
from PETERSON'S GUIDE TO FOUR-YEAR COLLEGES (1994). Part 4, Census
Data, is comprised of 1990 Census data describing the census tracts in
which the 12 schools were located and all tracts adjacent to the
schools. Demographic variables in Part 1 include year of birth, sex,
race, marital status, current enrollment status, employment status,
residency status, and parents' education. Victimization variables
include whether the student had ever been a victim of theft, burglary,
robbery, motor vehicle theft, assault, sexual assault, vandalism, or
harassment. Students who had been victimized were also asked the
number of times victimization incidents occurred, how often the police
were called, and if they knew the perpetrator. All students were asked
about measures of self-protection, fear of crime, perceptions of crime
on campus, and campus security measures. For Part 2, questions were
asked about the location of each incident, whether the offender had a
weapon, a description of the offense and the victim's response,
injuries incurred, characteristics of the offender, and whether the
incident was reported to the police. For Part 3, respondents were
asked about how general campus security needs were met, the nature and
extent of crime prevention programs and services available at the
school (including when the program or service was first implemented),
and recent crime prevention activities. Campus planners were asked if
specific types of campus security features (e.g., emergency telephone,
territorial markers, perimeter barriers, key-card access, surveillance
cameras, crime safety audits, design review for safety features,
trimming shrubs and underbrush to reduce hiding places, etc.) were
present during the 1993-1994 academic year and if yes, how many or how
often. Additionally, data were collected on total full-time
enrollment, type of institution, percent of undergraduate female
students enrolled, percent of African-American students enrolled,
acreage, total fraternities, total sororities, crime rate of
city/county where the school was located, and the school's Carnegie
classification. For Part 4, Census data were compiled on percent
unemployed, percent having a high school degree or higher, percent of
all persons below the poverty level, and percent of the population
that was Black.