Do you worry about your
safety or your family's safety at school? In
your neighborhood? In
public parks?
 Concerns about personal and family safety
are heightened when the subject of school, or neighborhoods and public
parks are evaluated.
Twenty-one percent of those surveyed said
they do worry about safety at school.
Those most likely to express concern about school safety are
under the age of 40, and therefore more likely to have children, and
those with lesser education.
Among the major ethnic groups, Hispanics
are more than twice as likely to express concern about safety at school
than their white counterparts (38% to 16%). Among Black respondents, 23%
expressed concern about safety at school.
Similar patterns occur when the topic of
discussion is switched to the neighborhood, although concern expressed
by Black respondents goes up considerably. When the subject is
neighborhood safety, 35% of Blacks and
33% of Hispanics expressed fear about safety.
At shopping areas, concerns about safety
go up once again. Over one-third of Hall County respondents (36%) say
they worry about safety in these locations. Those expressing the most
concern are younger respondents--46% of those age 18-30, 39% of those
31-40, and 42% of those 41-50 express concerns about safety at the mall
and in shopping areas. Among
those with children, 43% are concerned about safety while shopping.
In addition, 48% of Hispanics, compared with 32% of Whites and
Blacks worry about safety at shopping locations.
Worry is less at public parks.
One-third (28%) worry about safety at public parks, with younger
Hall Countians most likely to express concern.
Among those 18-30, 43% say they worry about safety at public
parks.
Black and Latino respondents are more
likely to express concerns; 45% of Latino respondents and 35% of black
respondents said they worry about safety at public parks.
Are you aware of any gang
activity in your neighborhood?
While most Hall Countians are not aware of
gang activity, 14% are. These are most likely to be younger respondents,
those under the age of 50, and those who are either separated, divorced
or living with an unmarried partner.
Among racial groups, 23% of black
respondents said they were aware of gang activity in their neighborhood,
compared to 18% Hispanics and 12% of Whites.
Interestingly, those earning more than $90,000 a year and those
earning less than $15,000 a year express about the same level of
awareness of gang activity (11% and 12% respectively).
Do you feel that your
child/children are safe when they go out of the home to play or to visit
friends?
While most parents feel that their
children are safe when they go out to play, many do not.
Four in 10 Black parents (40%) and 24% of Latino parents say they
do not feel their children are safe.
Economic status, indicating lower income neighborhoods, is a
factor here. Thirty-eight
percent of those earning between $15,000 and $25,000 annually feel their
kids are not safe compared to just 12% of those at the highest income
levels.
According
to Gainesville/Hall County SAFE KIDS, childhood injuries in Hall County
declined 11% from 2002 to 2003.
Has your child/children
ever been bullied by another child?
Almost one in three parents (28%) report a
child of theirs has been bullied.
There is a potentially interesting pattern
here related to education level. Those
with some college education are more likely to report bullying than
those with degrees and those who did not finish high school.
For example, 54% of those with associates degrees and 43.5% of
those with some college report that a child has been bullied. This
compares to only 20% of those with college degrees and 16% of those who
did not finish high school.
Black parents are more likely to report
bullying (40%), than Whites (30%) and Latinos (22%).
 Do you worry that your
children are using drugs or alcohol? Do you worry that your children are
using tobacco products?
Substantially fewer parents worry that
their children are using drugs, alcohol or tobacco than worry about
issues of safety. Only 7.5% of parents in the survey worry that their
children are using drugs and alcohol, and only 6% worry that their
children are using tobacco.
Upper income parents seem to be most
confident that their children are free of drugs and alcohol. It is
interesting to note, however, that there is somewhat less confidence
about these issues among parents with graduate degrees versus those with
bachelors or associates degrees. It should be noted that these better
educated groups are more likely to report alcohol use
themselves.
Have you ever talked to
your child/children about your views of drugs and alcohol?
Two thirds (66%) of parents in the study
said that yes, they have talked with their children about their views of
drugs and alcohol. Of the 29% who have not talked to their children, the
highest percentages are younger parents, 30% of those aged 31 to 40 say
they have not talked to their children about their views of drugs and
alcohol.
Those who report that they are not active
in the community are almost three times as likely to have not talked to
their children about their views of drugs organizations.
 Have you ever talked to your child/children about your
views of sexual
morality?
A slightly smaller
percentage of parents (60%) have talked to their children about their
views of sexual morality. Those who have not talked to their children are more likely
to be those who are not active in the community (41%) versus those who
are active in the community (only 20%).
Do you believe the police
do a good job of protecting you and your family?
Most Hall Countians (86%) believe their
police do a good job. Only 10% registered a negative opinion of police.
Those most likely to endorse the police in
their work are those with graduate degrees (98%) and those age 61-70
(98%). Those with the more negative view of police include those who are
living with an unmarried partner (37.5%). Further, 26.5% of Black
respondents report a negative response, compared with 10% of Latino
respondents and 8% of White respondents.
How confident are you that
you would be treated fairly by police if you were stopped on the street
or suspected of a crime?
When asked how confident they are that
they would be treated fairly by police if stopped on the street or
suspected of a crime, 48% said that they would be totally confident and
an additional 33% said they would be somewhat confident. Just less than
10% (9.4%) said they would be somewhat lacking in confidence and an
additional 5% said they would be totally lacking in confidence.
Those most likely to express complete
confidence are older, over age 61, who have lived in the county for more
than 20 years. Those most likely to express a lack of confidence are
males, those under the age of 30, those living with an unmarried
partner.
A significant percentage of Blacks and
Latinos responding (38% and 22% respectively) said they would be
somewhat or totally lacking in confidence if police stopped them. This
compares with 10% of Whites in the survey.
Confidence In Police
& Court System By Race
|
Believe Police Do A Good Job Protecting
-
WHITE 90%
-
BLACK 65%
-
LATINO 82%
|
|
Total Confidence In Fair Treatment By
Police
-
WHITE 57%
-
BLACK 18%
-
LATINO 30%
|
|
Total Confidence In Fair Treatment By
Courts
-
WHITE 39%
-
BLACK 18%
-
LATINO 23%
|
|
How confident are you that
you would be treated fairly by the court system if you were accused of a
crime?
Similar levels of confidence and patterns
of responses are applied to views of the court system.
Exactly one third (33.3%) said they would be totally confident
and an additional 40.5% said somewhat confident. On the negative
side, 12% said they would be somewhat lacking confidence and an
additional 5% said they would be totally lacking confidence.
Blacks and Latinos express similar levels
of distrust in the court system, with 26.5% of each group expressing a
partial or total lack of confidence.
This compares to 13% of whites responding.
 Do you believe it is a
good idea to keep a loaded gun in your home?
While there is nothing illegal or sinister
about keeping a loaded gun, a positive response to this question does
indicate a concern about safety and the need to defend one's self.
More than one third of Hall Countians (35.5%) believe it is a
good idea to keep a loaded gun in the home. Those most likely to express
this belief are male (49%), those who have never been married (47%), and
those who live alone (45%).
In addition, those with children at home
are somewhat more likely than those without to think it is a good idea
to have a loaded gun at home (41% compared to 27%).
|
One fourth of respondents (25%) do worry
about personal safety or their family's safety while at home.