Citation

Starrett RA, Connolly MP, Decker JT, Araujo A. J. Crim. Justice 1988; 16(5): 413-423.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1988, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/0047-2352(88)90066-9

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study examined the reporting of victimization to the police by a group of older Hispanics who had experienced at least one criminal act in the last year. The study developed and tested a causal model of crime reporting behavior. The findings indicated that three of the twenty-three predictive variables (amount of experienced crime, contact with children, and church attendance) accounted for forty-three percent of the variance in crimes reported. The results suggested that the informal support system available to the older Hispanics moderated their crime reporting behavior. Additionally, the results support the contention that the more vulnerable and isolated elderly reported more victimization.