Measuring Resident Perceptions of Police and Community Safety: Findings from the Local-Area Crime Survey

• NCJ Number: 300768
• Author(s): J. Michael Brick; Pamela Giambo; Pam Broene; W. Sherman Edwards; Robin Jones; Yunhee Lim, Westat; Grace Kena, Bureau of Justice Statistics
• Date Published: April 2021
• Length: 54 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2010-NV-CX-K077
• Agencies: BJS-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Third-Party Report

Abstract

The Local-Area Crime Survey (LACS) was fielded in 2015 and 2016 to collect victimization data and information on perceptions of police and community safety from residents in the 40 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. The LACS was adapted from the National Crime Victimization Survey as part of BJS’s efforts to build a program to estimate victimization at subnational levels. Westat, in collaboration with BJS, proposed a way to develop and evaluate a cost-effective survey of victimization and public perceptions as one piece of the subnational program. This report presents aggregate findings from 40 metropolitan areas on perceptions of police and community safety.