Our request for crime data from the Newark Police Department has been initially approved. The data has been compiled by the Newark Office of Research and Planning and it is now awaiting final approval for release by the Police Director. One set of data is composed of printouts of Index offenses crimes (primary violent crimes) for the first five months of both 1995 and 1996 for all sectors in the West District, which includes our study area around West Side Park.

Another set of data is a breakdown of the total number of incidents in the West Side Park area that were handled by the Newark Police Department in 1996. This will include arrests, incidents reported to police, police actions and inquiries, and police dispatches. These data are not part of this report and will be turned over to Corinthian when they become available.

We collected 75 surveys from residents of the West Side Park area. These surveys were designed to gauge the community’s perceptions about crime in the Central Ward. The questions were divided into both qualitative and quantitative answers. Specifically, we wanted to know which violent and quality of life crimes residents are most concerned about, the time of day they are most concerned about crime, and the places they feel are the most crime-ridden. In addition, we wanted to know whether they have been the victim of a crime in the project area (plus type and location of crime); whether they are involved in a neighborhood watch program (and if not, whether they would participate in such a program); and whether a neighborhood watch program would make them feel safer. The following tables are divided into four different survey groups: residents of Corinthian Housing, neighborhood residents of Tri-City Peoples Corporation (a community-based organization), residents of West Side Village (a subsidized housing complex), and miscellaneous surveys gathered from residents at West Side Park and the South 17^th Street School. We have included the raw number of responses as well as the percentage score for each question answered affirmatively. A sample copy of the survey is available in the Appendix 1.

Table 1. Number of Residents Surveyed in Target Community Study Area

	Corinthian	Tri-City	West Side Village	Miscellaneous	Total
Number Surveyed	22	32	12	9	75

Residents of the West Side Park neighborhoods were asked which violent crimes they are most concerned about in their neighborhood. Table 2 discloses the results. What is most striking about the answers to our first survey question is that so many residents are directly affected by a variety of Index offenses (rape, murder, robbery, domestic violence, drugs, assault, car jacking, and gang-related crimes) within their neighborhoods. Six of these crimes had a 50 percent affirmative response rate or better and the other two, domestic violence and gang-related crimes, received a one-quarter and one-third response rate. It is not just one or two of these violent crimes that affect the West Side Park study area but the entire gamut of violent crime.

Table 2. Violent Crimes that Study Area Residents are Most Concerned About

	Corinthian		Tri-City		West Side Village		Miscellaneous		Totals
	Total	Percent	Total	Percent	Total	Percent	Total	Percent	Total	Percent
Rape	13	59%	17	53%	4	33%	4	44%	38	51%
Murder	12	55%	20	63%	6	50%	5	56%	43	57%
Robbery	16	73%	17	53%	7	58%	4	44%	44	59%
Domestic Violence	6	27%	5	16%	4	33%	3	33%	18	24%
Drugs	19	86%	18	57%	11	92%	5	56%	53	71%
Assault	13	59%	16	50%	7	58%	4	44%	40	53%
Car Jacking	16	73%	11	34%	10	83%	4	44%	41	55%
Gang-Related	12	55%	7	22%	4	33%	3	33%	26	35%

Among the Index offenses, the overwhelming concern among all surveyed residents is drugs. Drugs are an obvious source of apprehension because of the common (and well-founded) belief among residents that the drug problem is correlated with other Index offenses and quality of life crimes. According to the Newark Police Department, the drug problem in the Central Ward is pervasive. Drugs are sold on street corners, out of abandoned buildings, from porches, in the park, and in the schools. Addiction leads to crimes such as burglaries, robberies, domestic violence, and prostitution. Turf wars between drug dealers lead to shootings and assaults. As noted by survey responses, the result of this activity is a greatly reduced quality of life for all residents.

Among secondary or "quality of life" crimes, surveyed residents, especially Corinthian and West Side Village residents, felt that car theft was the biggest problem in the study area. One resident of Corinthian had her car stolen twice from the parking lot located ten feet away from the back of her home. Residents point out that many stolen cars are driven through West Side Park, endangering anyone who happens to be using the park. In 1995, the county police recovered 26 stolen vehicles from the park, a rate of one every other week (Essex County, 1995).

Table 3. Quality of Life Crimes Study Area Residents are Most Concerned About

	Corinthian		Tri-City			West Side Village			Miscellaneous			Totals
	Total	Percent	Total	Percent		Total	Percent		Total	Percent		Total	Percent
Prostitution	4	18%	4	13%		1	8%		2	22%		11	15%
Loitering	9	41%	8	25%		8	67%		3	33%		28	37%
Public Intox.	3	14%	4	13%		2	17%		2	22%		11	15%
Noise	10	45%	3	9%		4	33%		3	33%		20	27%
Vandalism	11	50%	12	38%		4	33%		3	33%		30	40%
Burglary	12	55%	12	38%		4	33%		4	44%		32	43%
Car Theft	16	73%	18	56%		10	83%		3	33%		47	63%

Another finding was that in West Side Village 66 percent of residents surveyed perceived loitering as a problem in their community. These citizens pointed to the 13^th Street of West Side Park, mostly by the basketball courts, as a primary source of this problem. This is a hang-out spot for local youths and thus is often noisy and disturbing to residents within earshot of the cursing and "boom boxes."

The fear of crime in our study area was most prevalent in the later hours with night garnering a 71 percent score. This figure came as no surprise to us, as this is the time of day most people feel vulnerable to crime. However, many of our respondents reported that they were fearful of crime all day long. It is evident from our fieldwork that the importance of the constant fear of crime pervading these neighborhoods cannot be understated.

Table 4. Time Residents Are Most Concerned with Crime

	Corinthian		Tri-City		West Side Village		Miscellaneous		Totals
	Total	Percent	Total	Percent	Total	Percent	Total	Percent	Total	Percent
Morning	7	32%	10	31%	5	42%	2	22%	24	32%
Afternoon	7	32%	13	41%	6	50%	1	11%	27	36%
Evening	8	36%	12	38%	7	58%	5	56%	32	43%
Night	19	86%	20	63%	10	83%	4	44%	53	71%

One quarter of the respondents said that they had been the victim of a crime within the confines of the study area. These crimes consisted of robberies, burglaries, car theft, and assault. Each occurred in a variety of places within the area. We suspect that some residents have been a victim of crime within the area, but in the interests of anonymity did not want to divulge this information. Many of the respondents were female heads of households and perhaps did not feel comfortable in giving this information to strangers, especially when it may have involved rape or domestic violence.

Table 5. Number of Residents Who Have Been the Victim of a Crime in the Central Ward

	Corinthian		Tri-City		West Side Village		Miscellaneous		Totals
	Total	Percent	Total	Percent	Total	Percent	Total	Percent	Total	Percent
Yes	5	23%	7	27%	2	17%	3	38%	17	25%
No	17	77%	19	73%	10	83%	5	63%	51	75%

Table 6. The Type of Crime Committed Against Those Who Answered Yes to Above Question

	Corinthian		Tri-City		West Side Village		Miscellaneous		Totals
	Total	Percent	Total	Percent	Total	Percent	Total	Percent	Total	Percent
Rape	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Robbery	1	20%	2	29%	1	50%	1	33%	5	29%
Burglary	0	0%	3	43%	0	0%	0	0%	3	18%
Gang-Related	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Car Theft	3	60%	0	0%	0	0%	1	33%	4	24%
Assault	1	20%	2	29%	1	50%	1	33%	5	29%
Domestic Violence	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%

Fewer than 10 percent of surveyed residents were involved in a neighborhood watch program. Three-quarters of those residents not involved said that they would like to be involved in such a program and almost 80 percent of all residents surveyed felt that a neighborhood watch program would make them feel safer. From these results and the results of the West Side Park survey it is clear that the residents would welcome any added security.

Although the West District of Newark’s police department does have a community policing program for the West Side Park area, there seems to be a general dissatisfaction with the performance of the police department, which could be due to the Newark Police Department’s unwillingness to actively engage the communities they serve. The West District Police Department relies on community groups or block associations to come to them to organize neighborhood watches and lectures in crime prevention (Leon Herbert, 1997). Residents report rarely seeing police cars patrolling their neighborhoods and almost never see an officer walking the neighborhood. As a resident of Tri-City’s local neighborhood indicates: "when police do show up, it’s usually because they’re after someone."

Table 7. Number of Residents Involved in a Neighborhood Watch Program

	Corinthian		Tri-City		West Side Village		Miscellaneous		Totals
	Total	Percent	Total	Percent	Total	Percent	Total	Percent	Total	Percent
Yes	2	9%	3	11%	0	0%	1	17%	6	9%
No	20	91%	24	89%	12	100%	6	86%	62	91%

Table 7a. Of Those Who Answered No to the Above Question, the Number Who Would Like to be Involved in Such a Program

	Corinthian		Tri-City		West Side Village		Miscellaneous		Totals
	Total	Percent	Total	Percent	Total	Percent	Total	Percent	Total	Percent
Yes	15	75%	18	69%	11	92%	4	67%	48	75%
No	5	25%	8	31%	1	8%	2	33%	16	25%

Table 7b. Number of Residents Who Feel that Such a Program Would Make Them Feel Safer

	Corinthian		Tri-City		West Side Village		Miscellaneous		Totals
	Total	Percent	Total	Percent	Total	Percent	Total	Percent	Total	Percent
Yes	19	86%	18	69%	11	92%	4	67%	52	79%
No	3	14%	8	31%	1	8%	2	33%	14	22%

Despite this uneasy relationship between the police and residents, some positive initiatives are coming from the Newark Police Department. One strategy that the Newark Police Department is presently engaging in is a collaborative effort with the Irvington Police Department Newark officers are riding with Irvington officers and vice-versa. In addition, Newark officers can arrest individuals in Irvington who have fled Newark and Irvington officers can arrest individuals in Newark who have fled Irvington. The program is designed to focus on car theft and drugs, which our surveys indicate are among the highest concerns of area residents. The Newark boundaries include the Irvington border on the west, South Orange Avenue on the north, Springfield Avenue on the south, and South 17 Street on the east, part of which borders West Side Park. This operation is very new so its effectiveness is not yet known (Karen Hilliard, 1997).

Safety in the West Side Park Area: A Geographical Look

While data on crime incidents within our study area shows a random distribution of criminal activity, our surveys have provided a different look at community safety in the study area within the Central Ward. Results from our qualitative questions have indicated the community feels that West Side Park, 16^th Avenue, and the area between 18^th Avenue and Springfield Avenue represent the most dangerous and crime-ridden areas. These results are depicted on Map #1.

The results of this survey question point to West Side Park as a haven for criminal activities. This largely unused and uncared-for park makes for a dangerous place to play. The open and people-free space gives car thieves an unimpeded joy-ride through the park. At night residents report the park is home to a variety of crimes: drugs, public drinking, fights, and the occasional shooting. Surrounded mainly by abandoned buildings (see Figure 3) and vacant lots, the lack of neighborhood supervision can make using West Side Park a very dangerous proposition.

Residents frequently identified 16^th Avenue as a location of drug activity and a location of many shootings. Sixteenth Avenue is located on the north side of the park. There are vacant structures lining this street and there are three different liquor stores between 12^th Street and 16^th Street.

The area between 18^th Avenue and Springfield Avenue can be described as a drug infested neighborhood. During our survey of the residents living in the neighborhood of Tri-City People’s Corp., we were told by many residents that the area below 18^th Avenue was a particularly dangerous section of the Central Ward. Our guide indicated that the drug traffickers there suspected most outsiders as police informants and that he could not guarantee our safety. Needless to say, we did not venture down 19^th Avenue.