pop & fear of crime gary cordner eastern kentucky university
TRANSCRIPT
POP & Fear of Crime
Gary Cordner
Eastern Kentucky University
Why Fear of Crime?
Widely accepted part of the police mission Recognized as semi-independent of crime
itself An important component of quality of life Did not go down during the crime drop of
the 1990s
Fear: What Do We Know?
Hundreds and perhaps thousands of studies of fear of crime
Fear of crime is multi-dimensional:– Affective fear– Generalized fear vs. fear of certain places– Fear for self vs. fear for family/dependents– Perceived likelihood of victimization– Behavioral effects of fear
Cont.
Young people, old people, and women often report the greatest fear
Women’s fear is strongly tied to assault and rape
Most people feel safer in and near their home than in other parts of town
Most people feel safer walking in the daytime than at night
Cont.
Parents typically express fear for their children’s safety
Most people recognize that their chances of property crime victimization are greater than their chances of personal crime victimization
Many people report that they limit their activities due to fear of crime
Policing to Reduce Fear: Prevailing Theories Reducing Crime Reduces Fear Professional Policing Reduces Fear Reducing Disorder Reduces Fear
(Broken Windows) COP Reduces Fear
National Survey (n=160)
Strategies or programs specifically designed to reduce fear of crime? – 46%
Systematically measure fear?– 10%
Generalized COP Crime prevention & public education Traditional crime fighting Not much else
What’s Missing? POP
Targeted, tailored responses Based on careful analysis Aimed directly at reducing fear Followed up with assessment
Some POP Tools & Issues
SARA Crime Triangle Fear of Crime Matrix Signal Crimes Media
SARA
Scanning – to identify pockets of fear and/or new fear issues
Analysis – to determine who is most fearful, why, when, where, etc.
Response – after considering a range of responses, implementing one or more that are tailored to the specific problem
Assessment – determining whether fear was reduced, if not why not, etc.
Crime Triangle
Locations – places where fear is greatest, or most out of proportion to risk
Offenders – people and behaviors most responsible for fear
Victims – people most affected by fear of crime
Guardians – people who have a stake in reducing fear and/or have some responsibility for offenders/locations
Fear of Crime Matrix
High Crime, Low Fear
Learning Zone
High Crime, High Fear
Crime Reduction
Low Crime, Low Fear
Ideal
Low Crime, High Fear
Fear Reduction
Signal Crimes
A particular event or type of crime, incident, or disorder
Interpreted by the public as a warning about their level of security
May have a disproportionate impact on fear of crime
Impact of the Media
Real World Thesis – fear shaped by objective conditions
Cultivation Thesis – fear shaped by media messages that the world is a scary place
Substitution Thesis – media messages substitute for lack of personal experience
Resonance Thesis – media messages reinforce personal experience
Research on Media Effects
Individuals’ fear of crime affected by real world conditions and experiences as well as by the media
Local TV news and tabloids seem to have the biggest media impact on fear of crime
Has more impact on residents of high-crime neighborhoods than low-crime ones (more resonance than substitution)
Fundamental Considerations
Fear is multi-faceted Fear varies among places Fear varies among groups of people Fear varies over time
Fear Varies -- Concord, CA
Dana Estates
High-lands
Canter-bury
Not safe walking at night near home
18% 11% 28%
More afraid than ever 24% 17% 12%
Good chance of personal crime
12% 0% 0%
Fear Varies Widely
Fear of crime is high in my neighborhood:– Dana Estates – 14.7%– Highlands – 5.6%– Canterbury – 12.0%– PRA055 (Jefferson County, KY) – 51.2%
San Francisco unsafe walking at night in my neighborhood:– City-wide – 28%– Supervisory District 10 – 64%
Residents vs. Businesses in PRA055 Residents agreed more strongly that:
– There is a good chance they will be the victim of a property crime in the next year
– They had seriously thought about moving away because of crime
Businesses agreed more strongly that:– Their fear was high
– Fear was high in the neighborhood
– Most of the crime problems were caused by drugs
– Many of the people in the neighborhood abuse drugs
Sources of Fear Can Be Surprising (Jefferson County)What makes me worried around here is:
PRA055 residents
PRA055 business
Norfolk neigh-
borhood
The possibility of being physically attacked
5th of 6 4th of 4 5th of 6
The possibility of having my property stolen
#1 #1 #1
Sources of Fear Can Vary (Lexington, KY) Three public housing sites The primary cause of crime around here is:
– Bluegrass-Aspendale – drugs– Charlotte Court – unsupervised kids– Pimlico Park – outsiders
Fear of Crime Matrix – San Francisco
High Crime, Low Fear
Learning Zone
District 2
High Crime, High Fear
Crime Reduction
Districts 6 & 9
Low Crime, Low Fear
Ideal
Districts 1, 3, 4
Low Crime, High Fear
Fear Reduction
Districts 10 & 11
Groups of People
San Francisco – less safe walking alone in my neighborhood at night:– Women– People over 60 years old– Lower income residents– Less educated residents– Unemployed and under-employed residents– Latino-Hispanic and African-American
residents
Change Over Time
San Francisco 1997-2003– Safe walking alone during the day: 73%
79%– Safe walking alone at night: 40% 45%
Chicago 1994-2003– Afraid to go out at night: 40% 25%– Gap between men and women cut in half– Gap between young and old eliminated– Hispanics remained the most fearful
COPE
Baltimore County in the early 1980s Came to the conclusion that they had a fear
of crime problem Special units created Evolution:
saturation crime prevention POP
Assessment: POP worked best in reducing fear and improving public opinion
COPE examples
Garden Village Krone Drive Senior high-rise Neighborhood bullies Hate crimes
Policing to Reduce Fear
Generalized COP Targeted POP Identify and address signal crimes Develop a media strategy designed to
moderate media effects on fear of crime
Key Issues and Considerations
Need to measure and analyze fear (direct and indirect methods)
Competing priorities and methods of crime-control vs. fear-reduction
Pernicious effects of moral panics and phony crime waves
Ethical issues related to fear reduction Fear of terrorism
Contact Information
If you know of agencies that we should contact, please let me know
859-622-2344