There is no doubt that crime is a significant concern among Newark residents, particularly for those in the Central Ward and Corinthian’s study area. The study area is defined as the area of Newark bounded by South Orange Avenue to the north, Bergen Street to the east, Springfield Avenue to the south, and South 20^th Street (the Newark-Irvington border) to the west. As easy as it may be to identify crime as a concern, adequately addressing potential solutions presents a more formidable challenge. The overarching question put forward to the researchers was how crime could be reduced to make the neighborhood a more attractive place in which to live. Discussion in this report will focus primarily upon crime as it relates to West Side Park and the housing (both Corinthian’s and other) in the immediate vicinity.

Two approaches were selected to determine the nature and severity of the crime problem in the study area and in the vicinity of West Side Park. The first approach was to seek specific crime data from the Newark Police Department and other sources as a means of determining frequencies of certain types of crime, as well as incident locations if possible. The second approach was to survey local residents and solicit their perceptions of crime in their area, and identify trends among these responses. This survey was conducted in conjunction with the West Side Park survey included in this report.

While data gleaned from incident reports can prove useful in identifying problem areas and frequently committed crimes, surveys of residents’ perceptions of crimes will enable us to target those crimes and concerns that have the greatest impact on the community and its members’ daily lives. Surveys were administered to residents in several locations surrounding West Side Park, including tenants in Corinthian’s housing units, residents within nearby Tri-City Peoples Corporation’s focus area, West Side Village, and passers-by at local schools and within the park itself.

The principal focus of the surveys was to identify crime and safety issues among residents, such as which crimes they were most concerned about, what time of day they felt most at risk, and the locations of particularly problematic areas in the neighborhoods surrounding West Side Park. Respondents also were asked whether they had been a victim of a crime within the study area, and, if so, to indicate the type of crime and where the incident occurred.

Finally, those surveyed were polled regarding their involvement in neighborhood watch programs. Respondents who were not involved in a watch were asked whether they would be interesting in joining such a program, and whether or not this would in fact make them feel safer. Residents who expressed interest in the program were asked to provide their names and addresses for future outreach.

Results from these surveys, as well as from other available supporting data, are depicted in both tabular and cartographic form, summarized in the Data Analysis and Findings section of the report. Each question from the survey (excluding those which asked for a free response of either a crime location or concern) carries responses both in absolute numbers of positive responses, as well as this number as a percentage of the total survey population.

Generally, the problems encountered throughout the research project have related to the community safety element. The fundamental challenge we faced in examining the crime problem in the study area stems from the simple fact that crime is a pervasive concern in urban areas such as Newark. The problem is decades old, and is rooted in economic and social issues that transcend physical conditions and the standard litany of improvements consistently put forth as solutions.

We set about examining crime and community safety in the study area, specifically in the area surrounding West Side Park, with the goal of learning more about the nature of the crime problem both statistically and from the perceptions of local residents. We learned fairly quickly that obtaining crime data is in itself a considerable challenge. Requests made to the Newark Police Department are proving successful, though the time required to complete the process has impeded progress.

We were able to review selected Newark police data, provided by the Center for Social and Community Development (CSCD) at Rutgers University, however the opportunity was limited. The data, which permitted point analyses of crimes in the summer months of 1994, was not available for use in our report due to a prior arrangement between CSCD and a client for whom the data was obtained. While the data did support our findings made through the two surveys pertaining to particular crime concerns (e.g. car theft and assault) and locations, the nearly uniform geographic distribution of the various crimes (as well as the limited time frame) did not present discernible trends.