Date of Award

Fall 2003

Type

Thesis

Major

Master of Public Administration

Department

Political Science and Public Administration

First Advisor

Terry D. Norris

Second Advisor

William L. Chappell

Abstract

To determine if individuals feel safe in their communities, a self- administered questionnaire was distributed to six hundred residents of Clayton County, Georgia. In addition to overall safety, the survey sought to measure how being a victim of a burglary or rape and the level of income impacts the individuals' feeling of safety. The survey also sought to measure how safe those same individuals believed the community was for their children and how likely a terrorist attack was in the county. Non- probability sampling, specifically the accidental sample, was used for conducting the research. The results of the survey show that half of the respondents feel extremely safe or safe most of the time in their community and as high as, 90% feel at least reasonably safe. The survey also indicated that approximately 85% of rape victims felt at least reasonably safe, while a slightly higher number, 87% of the victims of burglaries felt at least reasonably safe in their community. Nearly 72% of parents believed that the community is not as safe for their children as compared to five years ago and half, 51%, of the community is at least somewhat worried about a terrorist attack.

Download
DAISY

Share

COinS