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Social Problems, Victmization, and Fear of Crime

NCJ Number
139118
Author(s)
P H Wikstrom
Date Published
1991
Length
77 pages
Annotation
Interview surveys of random samples of residents in eight Stockholm (Sweden) suburbs were conducted to assess the residents' views of the occurrence of crime in their neighborhoods, victimization of crime, and fear of crime.
Abstract
The findings revealed that these problems occurred most frequently in suburbs characterized by higher proportions of socially and economically disadvantaged residents and low levels of residential stability and social integration. Variations in the respondents' perception of the occurrence of crimes including littering, vandalism, juvenile gangs, drunkenness, disorderly conduct, drug abuse, and child abuse were largely explained by the individual's neighborhood. The risk of personal victimization from theft or vandalism was less strongly correlated to neighborhood. Individual social category, the occurrence of problems in the area, and personal victimization of crime accounted for 26 percent of individual variation in fear of going out at night in one's own locality.