Crime in College Park: understanding crime levels, perceptions, and environmental design in an off-campus student-occupied neighborhood

Abstract

Despite recently decreasing crime rates in College Park, fear of crime remains high. Additionally, while the crime rate on the University of Maryland campus is relatively low compared to the national average, crime in off-campus areas continues to be a problem. Crime mapping using spatial analysis techniques allowed the researchers to identify Old Town College Park as a student-occupied, off-campus residential area with a relatively high rate of larcenies, burglaries, and robberies. Through a longitudinal case study, quantitative and qualitative data about crime and students' perceptions of crime in the target were collected. These data were used to identify trends in how the rate of crime and perception changed in response to the implementation of CCTV cameras in Old Town. These data were also used to identify the correlation between crime level and the existing environmental design of the neighborhood's housing properties.