1

ABSTRACT

Title: PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS OF CRIME AND CRIME RATE
ANALYSIS IN DANAO CITY.
Researchers: Fatima V. Capelllan
Kimberly P. Laurel
Degree: Bachelor in Elementary Education
Adviser: Emily C. Costan
College: Cebu Technological University Danao City Campus

Year Completed: 2014 No. of Pages:

The study determined the perception of the respondents to the level of crime and
fear of crime in their community as well as to compare the crime rate for the year
2012-2013. The study employed the descriptive method as it gathered
information through a research questionnaire modified and adopted from
http://www.surveyshare.com/template/368/Community-Crime-Perception and the
Reported crime data was extracted from the Danao City Police Station Crime
Reporting Information System for Police database. Results showed that the
respondents perception to the crime level in their community is not too serious
but the comparative crime volume for 2012-2013 results showed that there is a
high increase in the rate of crime in the community.



2

CHAPTER 1
THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE

Rationale
The concept of perception, according to Goodall (1987), refers to the
psychological process by which people acquire information resulting from
sensory contacts with the environment and then, according to their experiences
and attitudes, constructs subjective assessments of reality.

There are two distinct measures of public perceptions of crime: fear of
crime and concern about crime. According to Yin (1980) and Skogan (1984) in
Smith and Torstensson (1997), fear of crime comprises three components: an
assessment of the risk of victimisation (ie. vulnerability); a reaction to the threat
of a crime; and an assessment of the seriousness of the feared offence and the
injuries or losses which they could sustain from being victimised. Lunney (1995)
refers to two types of fear associated with crime: formless fear, which is a vague
uneasiness about ones safety in the community, evidenced for example, by fear
of being home alone; and concrete fear, which is based on actual experiences
with crime, either as a victim or by knowing a victim, and which is evidenced by
fear of specific offences, such as sexual assault. Concern about crime, on the
other hand, is defined as an individuals perception or estimation of the
seriousness of the crime problem both within their community and within society
(Clarke and Lewis (1982); Furstenburg (1971) in Gray and OConnor (1990)).


3

The concept of fear of crime is a response to external stimuli visualised
and conceptualised as a major concern to the safety of an individual. These fears
lead to an emotional response that creates perceptions of crime within a
community (Yin, 1980).

Peoples perceptions of crime are shaped by numerous factors in todays
society. While the perceptions held by some individuals may be well-founded,
others may be at less personal risk than they actually believe (Grabosky, 1995).
It is often this perceived vulnerability that leads to serious long-term effects on
quality of life and social and economic well-being (Grabosky, 1995). According to
Liska, Lawrence and Sanchirico (1982), fear of crime can lead to deleterious
psychological effects, which include feelings of anxiety, mistrust, alienation,
isolation, and dissatisfaction with life.

Fear of crime also results in people making attempts to counteract their
fear by consuming drugs and alcohol; trying to avoid victimisation by evading
certain places and strangers, staying off the streets and curtailing social
activities; or protecting themselves by having watch dogs, firearms and
barricades in their homes. Clemente and Kleiman (1977) point out that as fear
becomes manifest in avoidance and antisocial patterns of behaviour, sociability;
mutual trust; a willingness to help others; and a sense of belonging and
satisfaction in ones neighbourhood and community eventually disappears.


4

Numerous factors that contribute to perceptions of crime have been
identified in the literature (Reppetto, 1974; Hale, Pack and Salked, 1994), with
three of the major contributors being vulnerability factors (eg. age; gender);
environmental cues and conditions (eg. household characteristics;
neighbourhood factors; reported crime rates); and personal knowledge of crime
and victimisation (eg.previous victimisation experience; media exposure).

This research study, based in the Danao City, region of Cebu , utilised two
major sources of data a descriptive survey in a form of quetionnaire and a
detailed unpublished reported crime data - in order to examine and identify the
factors which influence crime perceptions.

Reported crime data, in the form of Offences Against the Person and
Offences Against Property for all residential dwellings and units in the Danao City
Division was extracted from the Danao City Police Station Crime Reporting
Information System for Police database. Further details on the reported crime
data and the exact study locations cannot be revealed due to the confidentiality
rules of the Danao City Police Station.






5

THE PROBLEM
Statement of the problem

Perceptions of Crime and Crime rate can affect the quality of life of the people
and the community. This study specifically aims to answer the following
questions:
1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of:
1.1 Age
1.2 Sex
1.3 Total household income
1.4 Level of Education
2. What is the level of police protection over the past three years as
perceived by the respondents?
3. What is the level of awareness of the respondents on the
neighborhood crime watch program in their community?
4. Is there a significant relationship between age of the respondents and
the percent of victimization?
5. Is there a significant difference on the perceived level of safety in the
community in terms of sex?
6. Is there an increase or decrease rate of the crime volume in the year
2012 - 2013?
7. What is the residents perception on the seriousness of crime in their
community?

6

Statement of the Hypothesis
1. There is no significant difference on the perceived level of safety in the
community in terms of sex.
2. There is no significant relationship between the age of the respondents
and the percent of victimasation.

Significance of the Study
The result of this study is beneficial to the following:
To the community
This study gives information to the community on the current crime
trend as well as the real crime rate and not just hearsays they hear about the
crimes their community.

To the Police Department
This study makes the Police Department be aware of the perception
of a chunk of people living in Danao City, how they perceive the safety of its
community and how they are able to make certain measures to decrease the
crime rate and make the people live without the fear of being victimized.

To the Future Researchers
The researchers can have a comparative analysis and basis for future study
regarding the communitys perception to crime and crime rate analysis.


7

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Instrument
The study used the descriptive survey method adopted from http:// www. Survey
share.com/template/368/Community-Crime-Perception .

Respondents
The respondents for this research were residents in Danao City, 30 respondents
were randomly selected in random places . They were the focus of the study
since they were identified as the variable.

Environment
All information acquired on the crime volume of 2012 2013 was gathered from
the Danao City Police Station situated along the National Road. Through the
approval of Chief Elmer S. Lim, Chief of Danao City Police Station we were able
to record and analyze datas on the reported crimes.




Location of the Study
Figure 1. Location of the Study. Modified from Google Maps

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Chapter 2
PRESENTATION, ANALYSES, AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

This chapter includes the presentation, analysis and interpretation of data
gathered by the researchers in connection to the questions in the statement of
the problem.
PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS
Age
The age of the respondents is presented in Table 1.
Table 1
Age







It can be gleaned in Table 1, 77% of the respondents age ranges from 18 to 24
while 17 % of the respondents age ranges from 25-35 years old, followed by
three percent of the respondents with the age 36-45 and three percent with the
age of 46-45.

Age Frequency Percentage %
18-24 23 77
25-35 5 17
36-45 1 3
46-55 1 3
56-65 0 0
66-older 0
0
Total 30 100

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Sex
The sex of the respondents is presented in Table 2.
Table 2
Sex





It can be gleaned in Table 2 that out of 30 respondents, there are a lot
more of female respondents (23) than male (7).

Total Household Income
The total household income of the respondents is presented in
Table 3.
Table 3
Total Household Income

Sex Frequency Percentage %
Male 7 23.33
Female 23 76.67
Total 30 100
Total household income /month Frequency Percentage %
less than 10,000 13 43
10,000-19,999 9 30
20,000-29,999 4 13
30,000-39,999 3 10
40,000-49,999 1 3
50,000-above 0
0
Total 30 100

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As shown in table 3 Majority (43 %) of the respondents total household
income per month is less than 10,000 , followed by 10,000-19,999 / month with
30%, and 20,000-29,999 / month with 13%, 10% of the respondents income
ranges from 30,000 39,999 and minority (3%) of the respondents total income
range from 40,000-49,999.

Level of Education
The Level of Education attained by the respondents is presented in
Table 4.
Table 4
Level of Education

As shown in table 4, 23% of the respondents are in College level, three
percen are Degree Graduates, two percent are High School Undergraduate and
two percent are High School Graduate.



Level of Education Frequency Percentage %
High School Undergraduate 2 7
High School Graduate 2 7
College Level 23 77
Degree Graduate 3 10
Total 30 100

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Level of Police Protection
The Level of Police protection for the past two years as perceived
by the respondents is presented in Table 5.
Table 5
Level of Police Protection
Level of Police
Protection

Male Female Total
N % N % N %
Increased 0 0 2 8.70 2 7
Stayed about the same 7 100 15 65.22 22 73
Decreased 0 0 6 26.09 6 20
Total 7 100 23 100 30 100

As shown in table 5, 100% of the male respondents perceived that the
level of police protection stayed about the same for the past three years while
8.70% of the female respondents said that it had increased, 65.22% said that
it had stayed about the same and 26.09% said that the level of police
protection had decreased.

Level of Awareness
The Level of awareness of the respondents on the neighborhood
crime watch program is presented in Table 5.
Table 6
Level of awareness on Neighborhood Crime Watch Program



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Level of Awareness

Male Female Total
N % N % N %
Aware 1 20 2 8.70 2 7
Less Aware 3 60 12 52.17 22 73
Unaware 3 60 9 39.13 6 20
Total 7 100 23 100 30 100

As shown in table 6, 20% of the male respondents are aware of the
neighborhood crime watch program, 60% are less aware and 60% are totally
unaware of the program while 8.70% of the female respondents said that they
are aware, 52.17% are less aware.
Table 7
Chi-Square Test on the Respondents Response to the Question Have you
been a victim of crime in your community?
Age
Have you been a
victim of crime in
your community?
Chi-Square
Test
Statistic
P value Decision
Yes No Total
18-24
2 21 23
0.652174

0.884391

Expected
Assumption is
met.
25-35
0 5 5
36-above
0 2 2
Total
2 28 30

HO1: There is no significant relationship between the age of the respondents and
the percent of victimization.

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Table 8
Chi-Square Test on the Respondents Response to the Question Do you
feel safe going out at night in your community?
Sex
Do you feel safe
going out at night in
your community?
Chi-Square
Test
Statistic
P value Decision
Yes No Total
Male
5 2 7
0.093168

0.760188

Expected
Assumption is
met.
Female
15 8 23
Total
13 17 30

HO2: There is no significant difference between the sex of the respondents and
there perceived level of safety in their community.
Table 9
Comparative Crime Volume
January- December (C Y 2012-2013)
Year

Index crime Non-index crime Total Crime Volume
N % N % N %
2012 406 33.33 192 19 598 26.84
2013 812 66.66 818 80.99 1630 73.15
Total 1218 100 101 100 2228 100

As shown in Table 9, in the year 2012 the reported index crime volume is
33.33% while the Non-index crime volume is only 19% resulting to a total of

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26.84%, in the year 2013 the reported Index crime volume is 66.66% while the
non-index crime volume is 80.99% with a total of 73.15%. here is a 173%
increase of crime volume from 2012-2013, this is because in the year 2012
Barangay crime reports were not included, and by 2013 all reports including
Barangay reported crimes were included.
Table 10
Index Crime Volume
Year
Types of Index Crime
Total Crime
MUR HOM PHY INJ RAPE ROB THEFT CAR CAT RUST
2012 21 5 62 10 156 125 26 1 406
2012 20 7 257 2 129 354 29 14 812
Total 41 12 319 12 510 479 55 15 1218

As shown in table 10, in the year 2012 there are 10 reported crime on murder,
5 on homicide, 62 reported physical injury, 10 rape reports, 156 on robbery, 125
on theft , 26 reports on car napping and 1 reported crime on cattle rust a total of
406 reported crime while for the year 2013, there are 20 murder reports, 7
homicide, 257 physical injury, 2 rape reports, 129 robbery reports, 354 theft, 29
carnapping and 14 reported cattle rust crime. It can be gleaned that the most
reported type of crime in 2013 is robbery (156) while the least is cattle rust (1), in
the year 2013 the most reported crime is theft (354) while the least is rape.



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Table 11
Non-Index Crime Volume
Year
Types of Non-Index Crime
Total Crime
Special Laws Others
2012 141 51 192
2013 262 556 818
Total 403 607 1010

As shown in table 11, in the year 2012 ) there are 141 reported cases on
special laws (e.g drugs, child abuse,prostitution, gambling, while there are 51
reported cases for the others (e.g attempted rape, fraud, embezzlement,
perjury).In the year 2013 there are 262 cases agaisnt special law while for the
otheres there are 556 cases.
PERCEPTION OF THE RESPONDENTS TO THE LEVEL OF CRIME
AND FEAR OF CRIME IN THEIR COMMUNITY

Figure 2. How serious is the crime level in you community?

7 20 13
47
13
100
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Very
serious
Somewhat
serious
Serious Not too
serious
Not at all
serious
Total
Frequency
Percentage %

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As shown in figure 2 , Majority (47%) of the respondents perceived that the
crime level in the community is no too serious, 20% said that the crime is
somewhat serious, 13% said that it is serious and not at all serious, while
minority seven percent said that the level of crime is very serious.

Figure 3. In the past two years what have you observed of the crime in your
community?

As shown in figure 3 , 40% of the respondents perceived that the crime
level had increased and 40% of the respondents think it had stayed about the
same while 20% of them says that the crime level had decreased.
Figure 4. Who committed most of the crimes in your community?

40 40
20
100
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Increased Stayed about the
same
Decreased Total
40
53
7
100
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Juvenile Adults Old people Total

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As shown in figure 4, 53% of the respondents said that most of the offenders
in the community are adults, 40% perceived that is was the juveniles and 7%
said that it was the old people

Figure 4. As perceived by the respondents,they ranked the causes of
crimes, with 1 being the least to cause crime and 5 being the most likely
to cause crime .

As shown in figure 4, the respondents ranked the lack of supervision of
minors as the least to cause crime, followed by light sentencing of criminals,
followed by unemployment , poeverty and the most likely to cause crime is
drugs.




0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1 2 3 4 5
Lack of Supervision of
minors
Light Sentencing of
criminals
Drugs
Poverty
Unemployment

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Chapter 3
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATION
This chapter presents the summary of findings, conclusion and
recommendations based on data analyzed in the previous chapter.
FINDINGS
Based on the data gathered the researchers found out:
1. The total number of respondents for this study is 30. There are 7 male
respondents and 23 female respondents.
2. There are 23 respondents that ranges from 18-24 year old, 5 are 25-
35 year old, 1 respondents age range from 36-45 and 1 from the age
46-55 year old.
3. Majority (43 %) of the respondents total household income per month
is less than 10,000, 30% of the respondents have 10,000 - 20,000, while
minority (3%) of the respondents total household income range from
40,000-49,999.
4. In the level of Education, there are 77% of respondents who are in
college level, 10% of them are degree graduates, 7% are highschool
graduates and 7% are highschool undergraduate.

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5. In the past two years, 100% of the male respondents perceived that
the level of police protection stayed about the same as well as majority
of the female respondents 65.22% said that it had stayed about the
same.
6. Majority 50 % of the respondents are less aware of the implemented
neighborhood crime watch program in their community, 10% said that
they are aware and 40% are totally unaware.
7. The computed value of 0.65 is lesser than the table value of 0.88,
which means that there is no significant relationship between the age of
the respondents and the percent of victimization.
8. The computed value of 0.09 is lesser than the table value of 0.76
which means that there is no significant relationship between the sex of
the respondents and there perceived level of safety in their community.
9.There is an increase in the rate of crime for the past two years, the
crimes that was reported most are theft and robbery.
10. The residents perceived that the seriousness of crime level in their
community is not too serious.




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CONCLUSION
The following conclusions were drawn, based on the findings of the study:
1. The crime rate of Danao City had increased for the past two years, is
in coordinate with the publics perception.
2.The respondents believed that for the past two years crime continues
to increase while the level of police protection had stayed about the
same.
3. Many of the respondents have little knowledge on the implemented
neighborhood crime watch in their community.
4.The residents of the Danao City although perceived that the crime
rate had increased said that the seriousness of crime in their community
is not too serious.
5.Crimes like theft ,robbery and physical injury were rampant cases that
continously increased for the past two years.
6. Adults were peceived as the fequent offenders in Danao City, and the
use of drugs is the most likely to cause crime in the community.
7. Factors like the sex, age , level of Education and income can affect
the respondents perception of crime in their community.

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RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the findings and conclusions, the researchers formulated the following
recommendations :
1. The police prevention program should be visible to the residents in
the community so that the feeling of safety is more widespread.
2. Residents should coopearate in promoting respect and importance to
the life of every person in the community.
3.Parents should be responsible enough to guide their children
especially in the age of curiosity so that juvenile deliquency could be
prevented.
4. Residents should cooperate with the Police department in aiding
them with information on the distribution of drugs and illegal activities
since this is the perceived top causes of crime in the community.
5.Future researchers who will conduct the same study should consider
questioning more respondents so that the results would reflect the
perception of a larger population in the community.



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BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. UNPUBLISHED THESIS

Anthea, Tainthom , (November 2010) , A COMMUNITIES PERCEPTIONS AND
ATTITUDES TOWARDS NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICING , Nottingham Trent
University.
Available :www.internetjournalofcriminology.com

Frith, Hatfield., et al , (August 2001)THE IMPACT OF CRIME:FEAR AND
CONCERN IN A REGIONAL CONTEXT A STUDY OF THE TOWNSVILLE-
THURINGOWA REGION , Australian Institute of Criminology, Townsville

B. INTERNET

Community crime perception template
Available: http://www.surveyshare.com/template/368/Community-
Crime-Perception



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APPENDIX A
TRANSMITTAL LETTER
Republic of the Philippines
CEBU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
CTU-Danao City Campus
Address: Sabang Danao City
www.ctu-danao.blogspot.com email:ctudanao@yahoo.com
Tel.No (032) 200-361 Fax no. (032) 200- 3614

Chief Elmer Salado Lim
Chief of Police
Danao City Police Station
National Road, Danao City

Dear Sir,
We are fourth year college students of the Cebu Technological University Danao City campus
and we are conducting a research study entitled Public Perceptions of Crime and Crime Rate
Analysis in Danao City In this connection, we respectfully request that we may be allowed to
gather data of the reported crimes for the last three years in Danao city.
We are hoping for your kind consideration. Thank you very much for this and for the past favors.

Respectfully yours,
LAUREL , KIMBERLY P.
CAPELLAN, FATIMA V.

Noted by:
EMILY COSTAN
Adviser

AQUILINO M. ENRIQUEZ Ph.D
Campus Director
CTU Danao Campus

Approved by:
Elmer Salado Lim
Chief of Police

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APPENDIX B
REASEARCH INSTRUMENT
1.Sex
Male
Female
2.Age
18-24
25-35
36-45
46-45
56-65
66 or older
3. Total household income
less than 10,000
10,000-19,999
20,000-29,999
30,000-39,999
40,000-49,999
50,000 or above
4. Highest level of education completed
High School Undergraduate
High School Graduate
College level
Degree Graduate
5. How serious is the crime level in your community?
Very serious
Somewhat serious
Serious

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Not too serious
Not at all serious
6. In the past three years what have you observed of the crime in your community?
Increased
Stayed about the same
Decreased
7.What can you say about the level of police protection in your community over the past
three years?
Increased
Stayed about the same
Decreased
8. Do you feel the need for more police patrols in your community?
More police patrols
About the same number of Police Patrols
Less police patrols
9. Does your community have a neighborhood crime watch program?
yes
no
I dont know
10.Do you belong to a neighborhood crime watch?
yes
no
we do not have a neighborhood crime watch

11.How safe are you in your community?
Very unsafe
Unsafe
Safe
Very safe

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12.In the past three years have you been a victim of crime in your community?
yes
no
13.Have you purchased a gun for protection from crime?
yes
no
14. Do you own a dog for protection from crime?
yes
no
15.How safe do you feel about going out at night in your community?
Very unsafe
Unsafe
Safe
Very Safe
16.Who commited most of the crimes in your community?
juvenile
adults
Old people
















17. Please rank what you feel are the most important causes of crime with 1 being least likely to
cause crime and 5 being most likely to cause crime.

Unemployment
Poverty
Drugs
Light Sentencing of criminals
Lack of supervision of minors
1 2 3 4 5






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18. Please rank the following crime reducing measures based on how effectively you
feel each would be with 1 being least likely and 5 being most effective at reducing
crime.







19. Please rank the following crime based on how severe the problem is in your
community with 1 being least likely and 5 being most severe problem.










20. what do you feel could be done to decrease crime in your community? (optional)

________________________________________________________________________
________
Increasing police patrols
Legalizing drugs
Stronger prosecution and
sentencing
Supervised activities for juveniles
Enforced curfew for juveniles
1 2 3 4 5





Property crimes (vandalism,theft)
Violent crimes(assault,armed
robbery)
Rape
Ramdom killing
Drug related crime
1 2 3 4 5