A key idea in the communities and crime literature is that residents need to take ownership and intervene as a strategy to solve community problems including crime. This process is part of a larger concept called community social organization, which refers to the ability of a neighborhood to achieve collective goals like public safety. It is important to understand what predicts intervention at the micro-level as individuals will likely not react the same to similar neighborhood characteristics. How do individual perceptions of neighborhood characteristics influence a resident to intervene during a neighborhood problem? Furthermore, do perceptions of these characteristics motivate individuals to intervene informally or formally to neighborhood problems? I use a survey of Oakland, CA residents and employ logistic regression to test how perceptions of disorder, attitudes toward the legal system, and neighborhood satisfaction influence individuals willingness to intervene during neighborhood problems. I find that these perceptions influence the likelihood that individuals will intervene during a neighborhood problem and that they work differently for informal and formal intervention
