Blacks’ Fear of Crime Jumps, Study Says

Fear of neighborhood crime has risen almost twice as much among blacks as whites, reflecting the fact that violent crime strikes African Americans more frequently, the Justice Department reported Sunday.

The department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics said that from 1985 to 1991, the percentage of white households that believed crime in their neighborhoods was a serious problem grew from 4% of all white households to 6%.

During the same period, the number of black households expressing serious concern about neighborhood crime almost doubled--from 9% of all black households to almost 17%.

A total of 60,000 households were surveyed.

In central cities, black households viewing neighborhood crime as serious rose from 12% to 23% over the period.

Among white inner-city households, the percentage citing neighborhood crime as serious rose from 8% in 1985 to 13% in 1991. It was not the most frequently mentioned neighborhood problem.

Among all urban households, 15% cited crime as a neighborhood problem, compared with 5% of suburban and 2% of rural households.