Fear of crime

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The fear of crime refers to the fear of being a victim of crime as opposed to the actual probability of being a victim of crime. Studies of the fear of crime occur in criminology. The fear of crime, along with fear of the streets and the fear of youth, is said to have been in Western culture for "time immemorial".[1]

Contents

[edit] Cognitive

Probably, the best way to explain fear of crime, is to look at the different ways researchers have tried to apply it in their studies. Some researchers focus mainly on the cognitive side of fear of crime: they try to assess the size of the crime problem according to respondents. An example of a question that could be asked is whether crime has increased, decreased or stayed the same in a certain period (and/or in a certain area, for instance the respondents own neighborhood). Between 1972 and 2001, the Gallup Poll, show that American respondents think crime has decreased [2] Other ways to measure the cognitive side of fear of crime, is to ask people their perception of the risk to become a victim of crime, to ask them for an estimation of the seriousness of the consequences of crime or how vulnerable they feel.

[edit] Affective

Another way to look at fear of crime, is to make a distinction between fear, worries and concern. This makes it possible, among other things, to take into account the altruistic side of fear of crime: the fear that others might become a victim of crime. Another advantage of this approach is, that it distinguishes fear of crime on a personal level (the neighborhood, for example) and more general concerns for the state of affairs in a specific county or even the whole world.

[edit] Behavior

A third way to measure fear of crime, is to ask people whether they ever avoid certain areas, protect certain objects or take preventive measures. This way, measuring fear of crime can become a relatively straightforward thing, because the questions asked tap into actual behavior and 'objective' facts, such as the amount of money spent on a burglar-alarm or extra locks.

[edit] Media

The relationship between fear of crime and Media is unclear. To put the dilemma in simple terms: do people fear crime because a lot of crime is being shown on television or does television just provide footage about crimes because people fear crime and want to see what's going on? The complex nature of crime could allow the media to exploit social naivety, covering crime not only selective, but also distorting the everyday world of crime.[3] Some say the media contribute to the climate of fear that is created, because the actual frequency of victimisation is a tiny fraction of potential crime.[ 2 ]

With crime accounting for up to 25 per cent[4] of news coverage, the quality and angle of the coverage becomes an issue. The media displays violent crime disproportionately, whilst neglecting minor crimes. The profile of offenders in the media is distorted, causing misunderstanding of criminal offending.

[edit] Elders

The elderly have a dominant role in ‘fear of crime’ research and societal understanding of the fear of crime. Once the dispassionate domain of academics and government researchers, the ‘fear of crime’ has become a currency of political competition and a cultural preoccupation.[5] Before the 60’s in a time before adequate crime victim surveys, it was assumed that the elderly were the category of people at the highest risk of victimization. The myth of great elderly victimization included elderly suffering greater financial and physical harm as a result of victimization, a greater amount psychological trauma as a result of crime and the highest fear of crime in comparison to other members of the community. However with the publication of survey data results in the 1980’s, higher crime rates and more severe consequences for elders were no longer valid assumptions.[6] Although the evidence details the myths surrounding elderly victimization, the elderly still have a fear of crime problem. Studies have continually found that persons over the age of 65 have the lowest victimization rates of any age group, yet they have the greatest fear of crime, in addition the elderly are likely to encounter crime that is motivated by economic gain such as burglary and theft, and least likely to suffer violent crimes.

The media are disproportionately concerned about crime against the elderly. This distortion has been presented as the norm or as commonplace[7] The media's continual presentation of daily criminal acts has elevated people's misunderstanding of crime. The elderly are now increasingly intimate with crime, which has contributed to the fear of crime. The more colorful and scandalous the crime, the more likely it is to make the news media.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Pearson, G. (1983) Hooligan: A History of Respectable Fears. Palgrave Macmillan. p 236.
  2. ^ Vanderveen, G. (2006). Interpreting Fear, Crime, Risk and Unsafety. BJU Legal Publishers, The Netherlands.
  3. ^ Ferraro, K. (1995). Fear of Crime, Interpreting Victimisation Risk. State University of New York press, Albany.
  4. ^ Maguire, M. Morgan, R. and Reiner, R. (1997). Oxford Handbook of Criminology. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
  5. ^ Hope, T., and Sparks, R., (eds). (2000). Crime, Risk and Insecurity. Routledge, London.
  6. ^ Wolf, R., (2000). Elders as victims of crime, abuse, neglect and exploitation. Elders, Crime and the Criminal Justice System. Rothman. M., Dunlop, B., and Entzel, P. (eds). Springer Publishing Company, New York
  7. ^ Craig, M., (2000). Fear of crime among the elderly. Garland Publishing, New York.