A survey released by the UVA Center for Survey Research (www.virginia.edu/surveys) asked a pool of Charlottesville residents to rate how safe they feel in city neighborhoods. Police Chief Timothy J. Longo says he’s “not at all surprised” by the survey’s results.
People feel less safe in all areas of the city at night. And, when a neighborhood isn’t safe, people rate their sense of security lower at all times of the day. Longo confirmed that the areas where people feel they are the most in danger are areas that have had crime problems where police are focusing efforts.
People feel safest in the northern and eastern sectors at all times of the day, with 99 to 100 percent saying they feel at least “somewhat safe” during the daytime. People feel least safe in south-central neighborhoods, with 65 percent feeling at least “somewhat safe” at night.
But, Longo says, the crime table overall has declined since 2000, and police are building trust in neighborhoods, such as lower Fifeville and 10th and Page, that have been crime-ridden in the past. “I think we’ve seen a change in the crime patterns,” Longo says.
Citizens were also surveyed about safety as a neighborhood issue. Overall, they rated safety as their fifth most important neighborhood goal, a figure that worries Longo, who fears complacency about safety. “Meth markets and gang activity—we’re seeing some of those same trends around us. It’s dangerous to sit back on your laurels,” Longo says. “It has to be the most important thing all the time.”
According to the survey, African-American respondents were significantly more likely than whites to rate crime as an important problem in their neighborhood.
Perceptions of Neighborhood Safety
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The recent survey conducted for the City divided Charlottesville into sectors: The east sector encompasses Locust Grove, Martha Jefferson, North Downtown, Starr Hill and Woolen Mills; the north sector, Barracks/Rugby/Kellytown/Greenleaf, Greenbrier, Meadows and Rose Hill; the south sector, Belmont; the south-central sector, Fifeville, Johnson Village and Ridge Street; and the west sector, Fry’s Spring, Jefferson Park Avenue, Lewis Mountain, Venable and 10th and Page/WCEH. Percentages are based on respondents who said they felt “very safe” or “somewhat safe.”
Source: UVA Center for Survey Research