NCJ Number
216205
Journal
International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice Volume: 30 Issue: 1 Dated: Spring 2006 Pages: 1-23
Date Published
2006
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This study examined the effects of routine activities, victimization, and media exposure on fear of crime among residents of Lisbon, Portugal.
Abstract
Although Lisbon's 1999 victimization survey found that only 7 in 100 persons surveyed had been a victim of personal crime, over 60 percent expressed concern for their safety. Most of this fear stemmed from signs of social disorder in their surroundings. Residents may view this disorder as evidence of the behaviors of anonymous people who have the potential to do them harm. As predicted, measures of routine activities were significantly related to fear of crime. Survey respondents who practiced more protective behaviors had a greater degree of fear of crime; for example, those who mostly stayed at home at night had a greater fear of crime. Residential disorder significantly increased respondents' fear of crime--seeing drug addicts, panhandlers, vandalism, and rowdy teens in one's neighborhood increased respondents' fear of crime. Media exposure apparently had a mediating effect on fear of crime. Those who had actually been victims of crime experienced somewhat more fear of crime, but the increase did not reach statistical significance. Being female was the only control variable that contributed positively and significantly to fear of crime. Women had more fear of crime than men, even though men were victimized most often. The Lisbon residential victimization survey produced responses from 3,505 households. Dependent variables pertained to respondents' feelings of safety. The independent variables measured respondents' routine activities, media exposure, and victimization. Control variables were gender, race, and age. 3 tables, 9 notes, 49 references, and appended correlation matrix of the independent variables