The purpose of the Quality of Life (QOL) survey (a core component of the overall initiative) was to assess resident perceptions regarding quality of life in the target area of investigation. In this context, quality of life refers to those constructs and measures identified in the empirical literature to capture resident perceptions of issues related to neighborhood safety, victimization and social capital. Items addressed in the survey (a statistically valid instrument) included: 1) perceptions of crime; 2) attitudes toward law enforcement; 3) fear of crime; 4) personal victimization; 5) demographics; and 6) social organization and culture of the community context. Learn more about the University Area CDC Qualtiy of Life Summary »

Once all 500 surveys had been completed and the information they contained placed in a database, it was possible to begin analyzing the survey results. Among the several results are:

1. A report on the major community concepts tested (i.e., perceived physical and social disorder; perceptions of collective efficacy; perceived violent and property crime; neighborhood safety; attitudes toward police; and personal victimization.
2. An analysis across geographical areas (both Census blocks and police grids) to see if QOL issues vary within the targeted area.
3. A comparison of resident demographics (primarily gender and racial characteristics) relative to respondent perceptions and attitudes of selected quality of life measures.

While we cannot do justice here to the full statistical analyses conducted on survey data, it is instructive to briefly address the community based constructs that were tested (see 1) above). These concepts, and the questions and statements they entailed, have been used in the past for other community and neighborhood studies and proved to be statistically reliable in the case of the University Area.

Perceived Physical and Social Disorder. Neighborhood disorder, in its broadest definition, is incivility and threatening behaviors that disturb neighborhoods. (Kelling and Coles, 1996). Neighborhood disorder can be disaggregated into two main components: physical and social. Physical Disorder is defined as enduring day-to-day aspects of a neighborhood’s environment that signals decay; whereas, Social Disorder consists of observable behaviors in a neighborhood that signal disorganization often time involving specific events (Skogan, 1980). The concepts of physical and social disorder are measured using a total of 16 questions that asked respondents how much of a problem they perceive particular neighborhood conditions to be on a response scale ranging from 0 (not a problem), 1 (somewhat of a problem), or 2 (a big problem), with highest scores indicating that a neighborhood condition is perceived by residents to be most problematic. Physical disorder consists of six questions asking about indicators such as abandoned or deserted homes or storefronts, rundown or neglected buildings, graffiti, and broken glass and litter. Social disorder consists of ten questions asking about indicators such as prostitution, panhandling or begging, public drinking, and people using drugs in public.

Individual Perceptions of Collective Efficacy. Collective Efficacy is defined as social cohesion among neighbors combined with their willingness to intervene on behalf of the common good of a neighborhood (Sampson, Raudenbush and Earls, 1997). This construct consists of two highly correlated dimensions which include informal social control and social cohesion/trust among residents. Collective efficacy is measured using a total of 9 questions, 4 informal social control questions and 5 social cohesion and trust questions. Informal social control questions asked respondents how likely is it that their neighbors would intervene in several different situations such as if children were disrespecting an adult, if children were spray-painting graffiti, or if a fight broke out in their yard. Response options were on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree), 2 (disagree), 3 (agree), or 4 (strongly agree), with higher scores indicating more perceived informal social control. Social cohesion and trust questions, for example, asked respondents how strongly they agreed that people are willing to help their neighbors; that they live in a close-knit neighborhood; and whether or not people in the neighborhood can be trusted. Response options were on the same scale as informal social control, with higher scores indicating more perceived social cohesion and trust.

Perceived Neighborhood Crime. Perceptions of neighborhood crime were measured in two domains, violent and property crime. To measure violent crime, residents were asked, in the past six months was there a fight in your neighborhood in which a weapon was used, was there a violent argument between neighbors, was there a gang fight, was there a sexual assault or rape, and was there a robbery or mugging. To measure property crime, residents’ were asked, in the past six months, was a home broken into, a business broken into, and a car or truck stolen. Response option were on a scale of 1 (never), 2 (rarely), 3 (sometimes), or 4 (often) for violent and property crime questions.

Neighborhood Safety. Neighborhood safety was measured by a series of six questions that asked residents how safe they feel in different neighborhood situations at nighttime such as walking alone at night, waiting for public transportation at night, riding the bus at night, going to the store at night, passing people you don’t know at night, and being alone in your home at night. Each question had the following response options: 1 (very safe), 2 (safe), 3 (unsafe), or 4 (very unsafe).

Attitudes Toward Police. Residents attitudes toward the police in their neighborhoods were measured using responses to 8 statements that included such assessments as the police are fair, honest, and polite; the police do a good job dealing with problems that concern people; the police do a good job working with people to solve problems; and the police do a good job preventing crime and helping victims to name a few. Response options to these statements are 1 (strongly disagree), 2 (disagree), 3 (agree), or 4 (strongly agree).

Personal Victimization. The seven question index of personal victimization consists of both property and violent incidents that respondents had experienced within the last six months prior to the survey. For instance, property victimization questions include, in the past six months did anyone break into your home, did anyone break into your car, and did anyone steal something from your home. Violent victimization questions include: in the past six months did anyone try to or actually rob you, beat you up, or knife or shoot at you. Response options to all victimization questions were (0) no or (1) yes.

• View a map showing Personal Victimization counts for the past 6 months

Since it is hypothesized that collective efficacy (or social cohesion among neighbors combined with their willingness to intervene on behalf of the common good) is linked to reduced violence (Sampson, Raudenbush and Earls, 1997), this concept is often cross-tabulated with other perceptions of respondents. These maps below relate collective efficacy to physical disorder, social disorder, total crime and violent crime.

• View a map of Average Collective Efficacy with Average Perceived PHysical Disorder
• View a map of Average Collective Efficacy with Average Perceived Social Disorder
• View a map of UCR Total Crime and Collective Efficacy
• View a map of UCR Violent Crime and Collective Efficacy

In summary, the survey provides a very rich source of information about the University Area that will continue to be mined. For example, these analyses show possible variation in many of the measures that related to crime based on the census block in which people live. The data demonstrate that of those surveyed, the perception of crime seems to vary by where people live. Moreover, the average perception of crime is greater among residents in lower collective efficacy areas compared to residents living in higher collective efficacy areas.

The practical utilization of this information can be in planning intervention strategies. Knowing the specific neighborhoods that have more negative outcomes can allow for targeting of efforts and resources to address site specific problems. This could include a variety of strategies, from addressing signs of physical deterioration to holding a block party to improve the social relations within the block. For more detailed information on the Quality of Life Survey, contact the University Area CDC.

Crime statistics present the yearly rates for reported crimes within Hillsborough County. The information presented are part of the Uniform Crime Report, Part 1, which includes particular types of crimes in order to track fluctuations in crime nationwide. The Total Crime Index is the sum of the offenses that are part of the Uniform Crime Report, Part 1. Learn more about Crime Statistics »

Data Provider: Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Data Updated: February 2010

Data Provider: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
Data Updated: February 2010

Data Provider: Tampa Police Department
Data Updated: February 2010

• Federal Bureau of Investigation – Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Frequently Asked Questions
• View a map of Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department crime grids showing 2008 Total Part 1 Crimes

The intent of this indicator is to provide localized data that will raise public awareness and aid in the reduction of juvenile crime and delinquency in Hillsborough County. Statistics provided on the Community Atlas are from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). The DJJ mission is to protect the public by reducing juvenile crime and delinquency in Florida. The agency emphasizes prevention and intervention as a means to reduce crime, and tries to provide a balanced approach that includes rehabilitation, education and incarceration, as a last resort.

The latest DJJ data available is for 2008, with additional years of data going back to the 1980s. The Community Atlas displays three years of recent data (2006-2008) to allow comparison and trending. Data and research materials are available from the Office of Research and Planning.

Community Atlas data emphasizes the number of youths referred rather than the number of juvenile offenses committed since this type of information makes more sense to teachers, citizens and others in the community, and can be useful for prevention and assessment of community programs. Learn more about Juvenile Justice »

Data Provider: Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ)
Data Updated: October 2009

Assessing juvenile delinquency by age group can be valuable to designing specific programs for youthful offenders. The Florida DJJ works with a variety of partners to provide strong prevention and early intervention services for at-risk youth and minor offenders. Community Atlas data can be used by communities to be part of the solution of safer neighborhoods while helping our troubled youth become successful, productive adults.

Juvenile justice data is highly sensitive information that must be properly used and protected. Accordingly, age group data is provided for the communities in Hillsborough County, but is not shown for neighborhoods in order to protect the privacy of youth and their families. This is because the smaller areas encompassed by neighborhoods often result in a limited number of offenders.

Data Provider: Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ)
Data Updated: October 2009

Data Provider: Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ)
Data Updated: October 2009

• View a map showing the number of 2008 - 2009 juvenile justice referrals by Census blockgroup

Domestic violence is a pattern of behaviors that adults or adolescents use against their intimate partners or former partners to establish power and control. The effects of this violence are seen in the burdens placed on our health care, educational, social service, child welfare, and criminal justice systems, and in the workplace. (Florida Department of Children and Families)

The following table displays the number of domestic violence offenses in Hillsborough County, and the municipalities, communities or neighborhoods it contains. The community or neighborhood's rank among all others in Hillsborough County is provided in parentheses next to the number of offenses in a given year. There are 24 established communities in Hillsborough County and 222 neighborhoods within the City of Tampa. Learn more about Domestic Violence »

NOTE: Data for 2007 and beyond reflect the transition to a new data collection system by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and may not be fully comparable to prior years.

Data Provider: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
Data Updated: July 2009

Data Provider: Tampa Police Department
Data Updated: July 2009

• View a map showing 2008 domestic violence offenses

A significant subset of overall domestic violence is those cases where children under 18 are present, and as a result may be subject to child abuse in the forms of physical injury, psychological harm or interference with the parenting a child receives. DCF refers to this as the "intersection of domestic violence and child abuse" and notes it often occurs in the same family, with serious consequences for the safety of children. It is important for us all to understand there is a connection between domestic violence and child abuse and that responding to only one of these issues, when both are involved, will not benefit the individuals needing help or the community (Institute for Family Violence Studies, FSU College of Social Work). The table that follows depicts the number of domestic violence offenses involving children in Hillsborough County, and the relative rank of communities and neighborhoods that results. Learn more about Domestic Violence with Children Involved »

Data Provider: Florida Department of Children and Families
Data Updated: September 2008

• View a map showing combined 2005 and 2006 domestic violence offenses involving children

The advanced mapping application was created using the new ESRI ArcGIS Server technology. The purpose of this mapping application is to provide access to many of the datasets utilized as part of the multi-year University Area Community Development Corporation (UACDC) Crime Prevention Project. This new version of the mapping application is limited in functionality and should be considered a trial (or Beta) version. In the future, we anticipate building upon this framework to incorporate additional functionality such user-defined data summary tools, data export tools, and incorporation of additional map layers. Improving the usability of online mapping applications is a notoriously difficult task as we try to balance functionality with usability. Please let us know if you have any suggestions.

• Click here to launch the University Area CDC Mapping Application (BETA)

The following police or sheriff stations are located in University Area CDC.

Data Provider: Multiple Data Providers (Compiled by Florida Center for Community Design and Research)
Data Updated: April 2009

• Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
• View a map of law enforcement stations and departments

The following fire stations are located in University Area CDC.

Data Provider: Multiple Data Providers (Compiled by Florida Center for Community Design and Research)
Data Updated: April 2009

• View a map of fire station locations

This section includes information that can assist you in preparing for a hurricane. Please note that this section only presents links to information about hurricane preparedness.

Use the Hurricane Evacuation Assessment Tool (HEAT) maintained by Hillsborough County to determine what evacuation zone an address is in and the location of shelters.

This section focuses on the available public safety resources in your community. Please click one of the following links to access the information maintained about the available resources and programs.

2-1-1 Tampa Bay Services

The 2-1-1 Tampa Bay program provides immediate and confidential crisis intervention, and information and referral services for a variety of community resources.

If you would like more information about educational resources in Hillsborough County, call 211 or choose one of the resources from the dropdown list below to view the 2-1-1 Tampa Bay website .

If you would like to add a program to or update program information for the 2-1-1 Tampa Bay database, please fill out the 2-1-1 Tampa Bay update form .

Hillsborough County Citizen Action Center

The Hillsborough County Citizen Action Center is countywide call center is open seven days a week.

If you would like more information about education resources in Hillsborough County, call the InfoLine at 272-5900 or click the Community Link . The Hillsborough County Directory of Services is also available on-line.

This section provides links to websites and documents related to the communities from sources both within and outside your community. These links can provide you further information about the topics presented on this page.

• Community Tampa Bay - Promotes dialogue among all cultures, religions & races through education, advocacy & conflict mediation.
• Current Traffic Accidents
• Domestic Violence Forms - On this page, click on Domestic Violence to view forms for Petitions of Injunctions for Protection Against the following: domestic violence with children, domestic violence without children, repeat violence, dating violence & sexual violence.
• Domestic Violence: The Facts
• Emergency Email & Wireless Network, The - Provides notification to citizens of local, regional, national & international emergencies utilizing the Internet & electronic mail (email) in a secure & expedient manner.
• Extended Measures of Well-Being: Living Conditions in the United States, 2003 - Covers five basic areas: appliances & electronic goods, housing conditions, neighborhood & community conditions, basic needs met & the expectation of help should there be a need.
• Florida Offender Alert System - Use this website to subscribe for email alerts in the event that an offender or predator moves close to any address in Florida you choose to monitor. For example, your home, workplace, school, daycare, etc.
• Florida Sexual Offenders & Predators - Frequently Asked Questions - Information includes difference between sexual predator & sexual offender, notification about sexual offenders, how to protect your family/neighborhood, etc.
• Hillsborough Water Safety Team
• Statewide Sexual Predator/Offender Search - Public record information database on offenders classified as sexual predators & sexual offenders under Florida law. Includes searching by neighborhood & by registered email addresses registered to offenders.
• The Effects of Domestic Violence on Children
• U.S. Department of Justice