Skip to main content
University of Nebraska Omaha logo University of Nebraska Omaha
APPLY MY UNO DIRECTORY

Students Faculty Staff Community
APPLY MY UNO DIRECTORY
Students Faculty Staff Community
  • About
    About UNO
    • Leadership
    • Mission and Strategic Plan
    • Accreditation
    • Our City: Omaha
    • Facts & Figures
    • News
    • Events
    • Organizational Units
    • Campus Safety
    • Buildings and Maps
    Get Started
    • Apply
    • Campus Visit
    • Contact Us
    Front view of UNO's ASH building
    Get Started Today

    Apply Now
  • Academics
    Majors and Programs
    • Undergraduate Programs
    • Master's Programs
    • Doctoral Programs
    • International Programs
    • Online Programs
    • Class Search
    Colleges
    • College of Arts and Sciences
    • College of Business Administration
    • College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media
    • College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences
    • College of Information Science & Technology
    • College of Public Affairs and Community Service
    • Graduate Studies
    Resources
    • Catalogs
    • Academic Calendar
    • Library
    • Advising
    • Academic Affairs
    • Registrar
    • Academic Support
    • Request Transcript
    Top view glance of calendar showing August 2024
    Deadlines Are Approaching

    View year-at-a-glance calendars that include term start and end dates, and school holidays.

    Academic Calendar
  • Cost & Aid Backback to Main menu
    • Undergraduate Tuition
    • Graduate Tuition
    • Financial Support
    • Cost of Attendance
    • Undergraduate Scholarships
    • All Scholarship Information
    • Military and Veterans Benefits
    • Consumer Information
  • Admissions
    Get Started
    • Apply
    • Complete Your FAFSA
    • Schedule a Campus Visit
    • Request Info
    Admitted Students
    • Orientation
    • Enrollment Deposit
    • Transcripts
    • UNO 101
    • New Student & Family Events
    Cost & Aid
    • Undergraduate Tuition
    • Graduate Tuition
    • Financial Aid
    • Cost of Attendance
    • Scholarships
    • Military and Veterans Benefits
    • Consumer Information
    Admissions
    • Undergraduate Admissions
    • Transfer Students
    • Graduate Admissions
    Students walking together on campus for a tour
    Visit UNO's Campus

    Schedule a Tour
  • Student Life
    Campus Life
    • Event Calendar
    • Athletics
    • Campus Dining
    • Student Housing
    • Campus Recreation
    • Milo Bail Student Center
    • Parking and Transportation
    • Campus Safety
    Involvement and Leadership
    • Student Organizations
    • Student Government
    • Career Services and Internships
    • Spirit and Tradition
    • Student Leadership, Involvement, and Inclusion
    Support
    • Academic Support
    • Maverick Advising Center
    • Accessibility
    • Durango's Advancement & Support Hub (DASH)
    • Student Service
    • Student Safety
    Resources
    • Health Services
    • Military-Connected Resources
    • Student Conduct and Community Standards
    • Division of Student Life and Wellbeing
    Students participating in a beading craft activity
    Get Involved on Campus

    See Events Calendar
  • Engagement
    Students
    • Student Service and Leadership Collaborative
    • Find Volunteer Opportunities
    • Maverick Food Pantry
    • Voter Information
    • Internship Opportunities
    • Career Services
    • Student Resources
    • Become an Engaged Scholar
    Faculty and Staff
    • Faculty Senate
    • Center for Faculty Excellence
    • Staff Advisory Council
    • Faculty Resources
    • Engaged Research
    • Service Learning Academy
    • Community-Based Learning Courses
    Community
    • Campus Resources
    • Service Learning Academy
    • Samuel Bak Museum: The Learning Center
    • Promote Volunteer Opportunities
    • Promote Internship Opportunities
    • Rent Office Space
    • Senior Passport Program
    • Community Engagement Partnership Initiative
    Office of Engagement
    • Connect to Campus
    • Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center
    • Service Learning Academy
    • Rent Office Space
    • Samuel Bak Museum: The Learning Center
    • Partner With Us
    • Senior Passport Program
    • Nebraska Business Development Center
    • Community Partners on Campus
    Student volunteering with a food bank
    Connect with Us

    Contact the Office of Engagement
  • Research
    Student
    • Research and Creative Activity Fair
    • Graduate Research (GRACA)
    • Student Conference Travel Fund
    • Undergraduate Scholarly Experience (FUSE) Fund
    Faculty
    • Grant Databases
    • External Funding
    • Awards and Committees
    • Office of Sponsored Programs
    Research at UNO
    • Office of Research and Creative Activity
    • Research News
    • Centers and Institutes
    Students giving presentations on research projects
    UNO Pushes Innovation Forward

    Read UNO Research News
  • Athletics
    Men's Teams
    • Baseball
    • Basketball
    • Golf
    • Hockey
    • Soccer
    • Swimming & Diving
    • Tennis
    Women's Teams
    • Basketball
    • Cross Country
    • Golf
    • Soccer
    • Softball
    • Swimming & Diving
    • Tennis
    • Track & Field
    • Volleyball
    Game Day Resources
    • Purchase Tickets
    • Team Schedules
    • Buy Maverick Gear
    Baxter Arena
    • Calendar
    • Tickets
    • Directions & Parking
    • Clear Bag Policy
    • Public Skating
    Hockey player walking out on the ice arena
    Cheer on our Mavericks!

    Buy Tickets
  • Alumni Backback to Main menu
    • Alumni
    • Transcripts
    • Thompson Center
  1. UNO
  2. News
  3. 2015
  4. July
  5. UNO Report Details NE Metro Crime Concerns

UNO Report Details NE Metro Crime Concerns

  • contact: Charley Reed - University Communications
  • phone: 402.554.2129
  • email: unonews@unomaha.edu
  • search keywords:
  • report
  • research
  • CPAR
  • CPACS
  • crime
UNO logo

OMAHA - A new report from the University of Nebraska at Omaha's (UNO) Center for Public Affairs Research has identified a number of key statistics regarding the level of safety felt by Nebraska's metro residents.

Findings show that residential location and personal demographic characteristics are major factors shaping perceptions on crime and personal safety among the residents of Nebraska's most populous counties.

The analysis, which is based on responses to the 2014 Nebraska Metro Poll, not only indicates that Douglas, Sarpy and Lancaster County residents are more concerned about crime, but that residents from the eastern half of Douglas County, including Omaha, are by far the most concerned.

"The focus on crime in metropolitan areas is significant because metro areas in Nebraska are more affected by crime than rural parts of the state," explained David Drozd, Research Coordinator for CPAR. "Given these localized areas of relatively higher crime, the Metro Poll sought to understand how metropolitan Nebraskans view their personal safety."

Several key findings in the analysis included:

1) While Sarpy and Lancaster County residents responded at a rate of 90 percent that they were satisfied with their day-to-day personal safety, only 74 percent of Douglas County residents indicated they felt satisfied.

When that number was divided geographically, 85 percent of respondents from western Douglas County felt positively about personal safety while just 47 percent of residents from eastern Douglas County reported positive views.

2) Of all Douglas County respondents, less than one third indicated they worried about personally being a victim of crime, but that number jumped to near 50 percent among residents in the eastern part of Douglas County, compared to 25 percent in other parts of the county.

3) Nearly 40 percent of all metro residents indicated being the victim of at least one crime in the past 6 months, with 20 percent reporting two or more recent crime victimizations. That figure was higher at 25 percent among Douglas County residents, which is nearly double the percentage in Sarpy County.

4) Those more likely than their counterparts to report being a victim of two or more crimes were respondents who were renters (31 percent), were making under $40,000 a year (29 percent), had only high school or less education (28 percent), were unmarried (28 percent), were minorities (25 percent) and were under the age of 40 (22 percent).

5) Respondents in Douglas County reported the highest likelihood of doing something about their safety concerns with 40 percent indicating they had taken four or more actions such as installing a home security system or leaving lights on at night. Comparatively, only 28 percent of Sarpy County respondents and 21 percent of Lancaster County residents had taken extensive actions to improve their sense of safety.

6) When responding about changes in safety over time, only 18 percent of respondents in metro areas felt safer than they did five years ago. Surprisingly, the figure was higher among those with only a high school education (28 percent), minorities (27 percent) and renters (24 percent), groups that reported relatively high levels of crime victimization.

Additionally, only 6 percent of metro Nebraskans said the crime situation in their community had changed for the better in the last few years, versus 39 percent who said it had worsened. Within Douglas County, residents from the eastern part of the county, which had the highest rates of concern for safety, were three times more likely than their western counterparts (11.1 percent to 3.7 percent) to indicate that the crime situation had improved in recent years.

"Nearly half of respondents to our survey identified crime as one of the top three issues facing metro Nebraska, so clearly crime is an important issue on the minds of metro residents," said Abby Heithoff, a researcher on the project and the report's lead author.

The survey also asked whether respondents agreed that people would move away from urban areas to more rural areas in response to crime.

"We found that those in outlying metro counties were twice more likely than those in more populated metro areas to agree that people will move because rural areas are safer," Drozd said. "This points to crime being one reason people choose to move to outlying, less densely populated metro areas."

The full report can be found online at CPAR's website at www.unomaha.edu/cpar.

For questions about the report's findings, please contact Drozd at 402.554.2132 or ddrozd@unomaha.edu.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Charley Reed, UNO Associate Director of Media Relations
402.554.2129 or unonews@unomaha.edu

Sam Petto, UNO Media Relations Coordinator
402.554.2704 or unonews@unomaha.edu

NOTE: The seven Nebraska counties in the Omaha and Lincoln metro areas and covered in the Metro Poll are Cass, Douglas, Lancaster, Sarpy, Saunders, Seward, and Washington.


Related Links
Nebraska Metro Poll: Residents Optimistic About Future
2015 Data Users Conference
UNO Study Finds Rising Rates of Poverty in Omaha


About the University of Nebraska at Omaha
Located in one of America's best cities to live, work and learn, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is Nebraska's premier metropolitan university. With more than 15,000 students enrolled in 200-plus programs of study, UNO is recognized nationally for its online education, graduate education, military friendliness and community engagement efforts. Founded in 1908, UNO has served learners of all backgrounds for more than 100 years and is dedicated to another century of excellence both in the classroom and in the community.

Become a fan of UNO on Facebook: www.facebook.com/unomaha and follow UNO's Twitter updates at http://twitter.com/unomaha.

  • News Sections:
  • UNO News Center
  • Maverick Daily
  • The Bullseye
  • Campus Events

News Sections

  • News Center
  • Maverick Daily
  • The Bullseye
  • Campus Events

Featured Stories

  • UNO and the College World Series
  • UNO Statistician Who Predicted the 2024 Men’s CWS Champion Releases 2025 Forecast
  • 10 Things to Know About UNO During the College World Series
  • Durango Steps Up to the Plate for UNO, CWS Partnership

Contact Us

If you have a story idea, news tip, or other question, please email the UNO News team at unonews@unomaha.edu.

About the Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications (MarComm)

Next Steps

  • Visit UNO
  • Request Information
  • Apply for Admission
  • The UNO Advantage
  • Our City (Omaha)

Just For You

  • Future Students
  • Current Students
  • Work at UNO
  • Faculty and Staff
  • A-Z List

Popular Services and Resources

  • my.unomaha.edu
  • Academic Calendar
  • Campus Buildings & Maps
  • Library
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Course Catalogs
  • Internships & Career Development
  • The Maverick Store
  • MavCARD Services
  • Military-Connected Resource Center
  • Speech Center
  • Writing Center
  • Human Resources
  • Center for Faculty Excellence

Affiliates

  • University of Nebraska System
  • NU Foundation
  • Buffett Early Childhood Institute
  • Daugherty Water for Food Institute
  • National Strategic Research Institute
  • Peter Kiewit Institute
  • Rural Prosperity Nebraska
  1. University Policies
  2. Privacy Statement
  3. Accessibility
  1. 402.554.2800

University of Nebraska Omaha
University of Nebraska Omaha, 6001 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE, 68182
  • ©  
  • Emergency Information Alert
  • MavsReport

Social Media


Omaha Skyline

Our Campus. Otherwise Known as Omaha.

The University of Nebraska does not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and/or political affiliation in its education programs or activities, including admissions and employment. The University prohibits any form of retaliation taken against anyone for reporting discrimination, harassment, or retaliation for otherwise engaging in protected activity. Read the full statement.