NCJ Number
140025
Journal
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 29 Issue: 3 Dated: (August 1992) Pages: 311-334
Date Published
1992
Length
24 pages
Annotation
Data from telephone interviews with 1,101 randomly selected adults in 1990 were used to determine the influence of visible signs of community disorder on fear of crime and citizen perceptions of risk of crime.
Abstract
The analysis examined the common research finding that neighborhood incivilities such as abandoned storefronts, littler, noise, and public drunks are often as powerful in generating of fear as is crime itself. The implication is that by removing these signs of disorder, feelings of fear will be reduced and the quality of life will improve. The study findings revealed significant relationships between social and physical incivility and perceptions of victimization risk. Incivility was also related to fear, but less strongly so. Results indicated that to the extent that incivility is predictive of fear, its causal effect is mediated almost entirely through perceptions of risk of crime. Tables, appended methodological information, notes, and 39 references