DOI: 10.3886/icpsr39078.v1
title: Local Level Victimization Survey, Detroit, Michigan, 2015-2016
title: Version 1

description: With the support of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Michigan Justice Statistics Center housed within Michigan State University's School of Criminal Justice, conducted a survey of residents of Detroit, Michigan. This was one of three editions of the Local Level Victimization Survey (LLVS), with the others being conducted in Battle Creek, Michigan, and Saginaw, Michigan. The survey's purpose was to learn about resident's victimization experiences, along with perceptions of their neighborhoods and the police. The survey also tested response rates using various modes of data collection, including whether or not responses would be increased using web-based surveys. Variables include measures of community satisfaction, perceived risk, procedural justice, fear of victimization, police legitimacy, collective efficacy, experience of fear, and incidents of violent or property crime victimization. Demographic variables include age, race, gender, and education.
description: The goal of the Local Level Victimization Survey (LLVS) is to gain an understanding of the experiences and perspectives of local residents regarding crime and justice. To this end, the Michigan Justice Statistics Center located in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University was awarded a grant by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) to conduct a survey in Detroit, Michigan.
Beyond examining patterns of victimization in Detroit, the study also set out to determine whether or not residents could be persuaded to use a web-based survey over paper and telephone options. To that end, the study sought to test if financial incentives similar to LLVS Saginaw can motivate individuals to use a web-based survey.
The Michigan Justice Statistics Center conducted similar surveys in Saginaw, Michigan and Battle Creek, Michigan. These cities were chosen for several reasons. First, the research was conducted in cities that have experienced economic decline, loss of police resources, and high rates of violent crime. Second, two of the three cities, Detroit and Saginaw, along with Flint, Michigan, represented three of the original State of Michigan's "Secure Cities". Secure Cities was a partnership between the Governor's Office, Michigan State Police, and localities to address safety in cities with high levels of crime. The surveys were intended to help inform the State's crime reduction strategies. Third, Battle Creek was a non-Secure Cities location chosen to see if there were systematic differences in response rates and patterns in a city with less crime compared to Detroit and Saginaw.
description: The surveys administered were a modified version of the American Crime Survey Incident Level Questionnaire. The decision to use this survey was suggested by BJS as an efficient way to gather data, since it could be compared with other locations who used the instrument. The survey was modified to include measures of procedural justice, police-community relations, and fear and perceived risk of victimization. The survey was administered to estimate household and individual victimization rates. Household victimization patterns were based on Detroit's 12 police precincts. Individual victimization rates were measured across sex and different racial/ethnic groups.
description: The Person-Level Dataset includes variables capturing precinct, mode of data collection, household makeup, and individual demographics including race, age, sex, and income. Modules documenting multiple violent crime incidents are included as well. Numerous weight variables relating to homeownership, age, race, area, education, and income were calculated by the PI. Demographic variables for residency, age, gender, race, and education are included.
The Household Dataset includes variables capturing the mode of data collection. Measures of community satisfaction, perceived risk, procedural justice, fear of victimization, police legitimacy, collective efficacy, and experiences of fear are captured. Modules documenting multiple violent crime and property crime incidents are included as well. Numerous weight variables relating to homeownership, age, race, area, education, and income were calculated by the PI. Demographic variables for residency, age, gender, race, and education are included.
description: The researchers agreed to utilize the weighting strategy from LLVS Saginaw. The goal of weighting the dataset was to attempt to correct for aspects of the survey design that could have biased the unweighted data. The person-level and household datasets contain person-level and household weights respectively. Population parameters for Detroit were obtained using the American Community Survey (ACS) gathered by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Three characteristics were used to obtain household weighting: geographic area based on the number of adults in each of Detroit's 12 police precincts, household occupancy status related to owner versus renter occupied, and household income data showing the number of households falling into 16 annual income categories between less than $10,000 and $200,000 or more. Person-level weighting was based on ACS population parameters for five characteristics: race, education, age, sex, and Hispanic. For additional information on the weighting strategy, please refer to the Detroit Survey Weighting Report included in this release.
description: Response Rates: A total of 5,099 surveys were distributed, with 844 completed, for a response rate of 16.55%.
description: Presence of Common Scales: American Crime Survey Incident Level Questionnaire
description: The Detroit survey used an address-based sample to select residential addresses in that city for which to try to gather data. A total of 844 Detroit households had data gathered on them. One adult per household served as the respondent their household. They were asked to report data about themselves, as well as up to four other adults in their household. In total, victimization data was gathered for 1,487 adults living in Detroit, for an average of 1.76 adults per household.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Person-Level Dataset
DS2: Household Dataset
description: Adults living in Detroit, Michigan during 2015 and 2016. Smallest Geographic Unit: precinct
description: mixed modeThis collection is related to Local Level Victimization Survey, Saginaw, Michigan, 2014-2015, ICPSR 39079 and Local Level Victimization Survey, Battle Creek, Michigan, 2016-2017, ICPSR 39077. For similar study information and characteristics, please refer to both studies.