NCJ Number
108500
Journal
International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice Volume: 11 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1987) Pages: 33-45
Date Published
1987
Length
13 pages
Annotation
A predesigned comparative victimological survey was carried out in the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany.
Abstract
One of the central purposes of this research to address the issue of whether the same factors are operative in both societies as predictors of fear of crime. Two questions predicated on the standard fear of crime indicator were employed as dependent variables: fear of walking alone within 1 mile (1 kilometer) of one's home at night, and fear of walking alone within 1 block (100 meters) of one's home at night. Regarding the first dependent variable, four independent variables were found to be operative in both societies, in the same order of significance: sex, community size, perception of the crime problem, and, perceived effectiveness of local police. These four variables accounted for 20.2 percent of the variation in the United States and 24.4 percent of the variation in the Federal Republic of Germany. Moreover, they served to correctly classify 70.72 percent of the cases in the United States sample and 71.65 percent of the cases in the Federal Republic of Germany sample. The same variables were operative with respect to the second dependent variable, plus the one additional independent variable of family income. These five variables accounted for 16.1 percent of the variation in the United States and 10.8 percent of the variation in the Federal Republic of Germany. These variables served to correctly classify 69.41 percent and 62.49 percent of the cases, respectively. (Publisher abstract)