NEED DONE ?Interview at least three (3)?different people from separate socio-economic backgrounds.?Write a?minimum of?a thr

Aleida J. Paredes Lopez

Professor Mark Brooks

Community Oriented Policing – CJ3510

August 27th, 2020

Project 3: Crime Interview

For this project I interviewed three people of different socio-economic backgrounds.

There were nine questions asked about crime in their community. All three subjects were asked

the same nine questions. The questions were generic and asked about personal opinions of crime

in their communities. The persons interviewed were the following:

1. Melinda Tull- Melinda is a middle age, white woman, homeowner who lives in a higher-

class neighborhood located in Avon, IN.

2. Trey Jefferson- Trey is a middle age, black man, homeowner who lives in a middle-class

neighborhood located in the south side of Indianapolis.

3. Rosa Lopez- Rosa is a senior, Hispanic woman, homeowner who lives in a lower-class

neighborhood located in the east side of Indianapolis.

All three of the subjects have stable jobs and have never been in trouble with the law.

They all had different concerns about crime. Starting with Rosa, who lives in the lower-class

neighborhood in Indianapolis. She was the only person who mentioned witnessing crimes before.

She was most concerned with the fact that police was only seen around in case of emergencies.

After conducting an investigation about local crime reports on Indy.gov, I found the

following information: The types of crimes reported in Rosa’s neighborhood were: assault, theft,

public disturbance and burglary. See image below.

https://cityprotect.com/map/list/agencies

In contrast to Rosa’s neighborhood, Trey’s neighborhood showed that the majority of the

crimes reported in the area had to do with traffic stops and suspicious vehicle stops. See image

below.

https://cityprotect.com/map/list/agencies

And finally, when a search for Melinda’s neighborhood was completed, there was a great

difference in the levels and the types of crimes found. Only a couple of quality of life complaints

and one vehicle theft showed up. See image below.

https://cityprotect.com/map/list/agencies

Crimes in all three neighborhoods seem so different. The lower class neighborhoods definitely

experience the most crime. But why? After conducting investigation about the relationship

between crimes and separate socio-economic backgrounds, I found a publication made by the

NCJRS that explains why crime is higher in lower- class neighborhoods. The publication states

that “The presence of homeowners and their greater investment in the neighborhood is what

leads to more involvement in crime-prevention behaviors” (Hipp, 2017). So, according to the

NCJRS, people who own their homes is more likely to be involved in community-oriented

policing.

To verify the information obtained from the NCJRS about renters vs owners. I went to

stats.in.edu and found the following information. See images below.

Rosa’s neighborhood:

https://www.

stats.indiana.edu/profiles/profiles.asp

Trey’s Neighborhood:

https://www.stats.indiana.edu/profiles/profiles.asp?scope_choice=a&county_changer=18081

Melinda’s neighborhood:

https://www.stats.indiana.edu/profiles/profiles.asp?scope_choice=a&county_changer=18063

As we can see in the images above, the higher the socio-economical class, the less renters

there is. Which makes sense to me. Poor people cannot afford to buy a home. More renters

means less homeowners and less homeowners mean less community-oriented policing.

The difference in crimes in all three of the subject’s neighborhoods is very clear. People

who lives in different neighborhoods face different types of crimes and therefore, their concerns

are also very different. Lower- class neighborhoods have more crimes and therefore, more police

officers are occupied attending emergency calls. The officers have little time to make bonds with

the community because they are always busy. However, police officers are not to blame, they do

everything in their power to keep the neighborhood safe. But there is a need for more officers in

the lower- class neighborhoods. The solution sounds impossible considering all of the budget

cuts.

I then begin to wonder, who pays for law enforcement? According to the Indiana.Gov

website, property taxes pay for law enforcement. See image below.

https://faqs.in.gov/hc/en-us/articles/115005068547-What-do-my-property-taxes-pay-for-

In conclusion, it all comes down to money. Lower-class neighborhoods pay less property

taxes because property value goes down with crime rate, and therefore, less police officers can be

afforded. Higher-class neighborhood pay very high property taxes so they can afford more

officers. The sad part about this truth is that all three of my subjects were willing to participate in

community- oriented policing. They all liked the idea of helping the police fight crime, the only

difference in their answers was the types of concerns they had. The higher class people are more

worried about heath related/health care issues while the lower class worry about violent crimes

and the availability of public services. Socio-economical class differences reflect on people’s

concerns about crime and quality of life’s issues.

References

Hipp, J. R. (2017, August). PUBLICATIONS: Crime Causes Theory. Retrieved August 27, 2020,

from https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=242128

(n.d.). Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://cityprotect.com/map/list/agencies

(n.d.). What do my property taxes pay for? Retrieved August 27, 2020, from

https://faqs.in.gov/hc/en-us/articles/115005068547-What-do-my-property-taxes-pay-for-

Stats Indiana. (n.d.). Retrieved August 27, 2020, from

https://www.stats.indiana.edu/profiles/profiles.asp?scope_choice=a

Interviews

Rosa Lopez (317) 991-6587

1. What are the "quality of life" issues that are a concern to you?

Answer: Public schools providing students with equal resources to all children. I want to

see every school having enough money to provide all children with quality education, not

just the rich neighborhood kids but all kids. Public roads need to be improved in my

neighborhood. The Poth holes are unbelievable in the east side.

2. Do you fear crime?

Answer: Yes, as a matter of fact, I witnessed a robbery in the gas station next to my

house. This gas station has lots of robberies, shootings, drug activity. The police is there

all the time. The Gas station is CONOCO in the corner of 16th st and N. Gladstone Ave.

3. If so, which crimes do you fear?

Answer: I fear house break-ins, robbery, shootings.

4. What are your impressions of Community-Oriented Policing?

Answer: I have never had a police officer ask me anything. They often park in front of

my driveway when they come to that gas station. They never talk to me.

5. Do you believe it will work?

Answer: Community policing will be possible if the police did some outreach. I have

never seen an officer in my area just riding around saying hi to people. They are always

attending emergencies.

6. Are you willing to try it?

Answer: Yes, I am willing to help them find these criminals.

7. Would you participate?

Answer: Yes, I sure will. Anything to keep my neighborhood safe.

8. Do you think people in your neighborhood participate?

Answer: I am not sure that everyone will but I can tell you at least 3 close by neighbors

will be willing to help the police.

9. What change would you like to see in your neighborhood?

Answer: I will like to see more patrolling around. Not just when the emergencies happen

but just to establish more police presence.

Trey Jefferson (317) 997-1683

1. What are the "quality of life" issues that are a concern to you?

Answer: One of the quality of life issues that concern me is the availability of health care

to all of society in America. Canada has a free health care system while in America, it is

limited to only those who qualify. One other issue is affordable living. With the changing

of the economy, the cost of living goes up. It is now where minimum wage doesn’t even

cut it anymore. People are working 2 and 3 jobs just to stay afloat.

2. Do you fear crime?

Answer: I fear that crime is and will get worse if we don’t take the time to look into our

legislative personnel. We must take an initiative responsibility to VOTE and ELECT

those who will benefit us as a nation.

3. If so, which crimes do you fear?

Answer: What I fear the most is the robbing and killing of our stay at home senior

citizens. I feel that lately, those are the ones that are most vulnerable in today’s society.

4. What are your impressions of Community-Oriented Policing?

Answer: I feel that Community-Oriented Policing is a good thing. I feel that it will take a

whole community to ensure that safety of our neighborhoods.

5. Do you believe it will work?

Answer: I believe this would work because it will be a happening of the whole

community coming together to support public safety.

6. Are you willing to try it?

Answer: I would be willing to try it for sure. I feel that a personal interest in community

safety is important.

7. Would you participate?

Answer: I would participate only if I knew that my safety was not in jeopardy.

8. Do you think people in your neighborhood participate?

Answer: I believe that it depends on the neighborhood and where it is located.

9. What change would you like to see in your neighborhood?

Answer: In my neighborhood, I would like to see more attentiveness from the

community. It seems that it’s only the older generations that care about community safety.

I`m sure that`s because back in there day, it wasn’t an issue if you left your door open or

unlocked while you were asleep or away. Times have changed so much as of today.

Melinda Tull (317) 563-2680

1. What are the "quality of life" issues that are a concern to you?

Answer: Health, mental and physical problems.

2. Do you fear crime?

Answer: Absolutely.

3. If so, which crimes do you fear?

Answer: Carjacking. I mostly fear for my grown daughters.

4. What are your impressions of Community-Oriented Policing?

Answer: I think applying community oriented policing would develop better relationships

between local police and the people they police.

5. Do you believe it will work?

Answer: Yes

6. Are you willing to try it?

Answer: Yes, In fact, I always call the police and make reports if I see suspicious

behavior.

7. Would you participate?

Answer: Yes, absolutely.

8. Do you think people in your neighborhood participate?

Answer: Absolutely

9. What change would you like to see in your neighborhood?

Answer: Crime has increased in the past year or so. I would like to see carjacking

stopped- or at least decreased.