NCJ Number
239522
Journal
Crime Prevention & Community Safety Volume: 14 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2012 Pages: 196-211
Date Published
August 2012
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study investigated whether fear of crime in a local community was influenced by the actual level of crime occurring within the community.
Abstract
This study was initiated at the request of city police department officials to determine if fear of crime is influenced by actual crime occurring within communities. Police officials were interested in understanding community members' perceptions of crime in the locality in order to effectively focus police efforts and services. Findings suggest residents' fear of drug crimes and burglary are in line with levels of actual crime in the city, while low levels of fear of auto-related crimes are not consistent with actual crime in this locality. The fear of crime/risk paradox does not appear to be strongly evident in this locality. Interestingly, men reported higher levels of fear than women. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed. (Published Abstract)