POP amp; Fear of Crime.ppt

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