CRIME ANALYSIS WAS BASED ON POLICE RECORDS OF REPORTED OFFENSES IN DETROIT'S FIRST PRECINCT. INFORMATION ON PUBLIC ATTITUDES WAS COMPILED FROM TELEPHONE SURVEYS AND STREET INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED BY AN INDEPENDENT RESEARCH ORGANIZATION. OVER THE 10-YEAR PERIOD THE PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF THE AREA DETERIORATED, THE RESIDENT POPULATION DECLINED, AND THE NUMBERS OF BLACKS AND OVER-60 RESIDENTS INCREASED. MEDIAN INCOME IN 1977 WAS ESTIMATED AT $5,000. HOWEVER, SURVEYS INDICATE THAT THERE IS CONSIDERABLE INTEREST IN DOWNTOWN HOUSING AMONG A YOUNGER, MORE AFFLUENT SEGMENT OF THE METROPOLITAN POPULATION. SERIOUS CRIME ROSE TO ITS HIGHEST PEAK IN 1970, THEN DECLINED SLIGHTLY ONLY TO RISE AGAIN IN 1975. BETWEEN 1976, AND 1978, HOWEVER, CRIME DECREASED BY 40 PERCENT AND WAS AT AN 11 YEAR RECORD LOW IN 1978. APPROXIMATELY THREE-FOURTHS OF THE PRECINT'S SERIOUS CRIMES WERE AGAINST PROPERTY AND ONE-FOURTH AGAINST PERSONS. DETAILED STATISTICS ON CRIME INCIDENCES AND PATTERNS ARE PROVIDED. THE DECREASE IN CRIME HAS BEEN ATTRIBUTED TO SEVERAL FACTORS: INCREASED POLICE MANPOWER AND PATROLS, CURFEW ENFORCEMENT, EFFORTS OF THE PROSECUTOR TO INSTITUTIONALIZE REPEAT OFFENDERS, MANDATORY 2-PRISON TERMS FOR ARMED FELONIES, AND A SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM TO REDUCE THE COURTS' BACKLOG OF CRIMINAL CASES. POLLS SHOWED THAT MOST RESPONDENTS FELT SAFE IN THE CITY DURING THE DAY, BUT CONFIDENCE IN THE AREA DIMINISHED AMONG RESIDENTS LIVING FAR FROM DOWNTOWN. INFORMATION IS PROVIDED ON THE USE OF DOWNTOWN FACILITIES, SUCH AS TRANSPORTATION, SHOPS, ENTERTAINMENT, AND OFFICE SPACE. THE STUDY BRIEFLY EXAMINES LAFAYETTE PARK-ELMWOOD PARK, A RELATIVELY STABLE RESIDENTIAL AREA EAST OF THE FIRST PRECINCT, AND NOTES SIMILAR TRENDS AND ATTITUDES. TABLES, MAPS, AND GRAPHS ARE USED THROUGHOUT THE TEXT. APPENDIXES CONTAIN MATERIAL ON CATEGORIES USED IN REPORTING CRIMES, A PROFILE OF SURVEY RESPONDENTS, AND A LIST OF SPECIAL EVENTS IN WHICH ATTITUDE SURVEYS WERE CONDUCTED. (MJM)