NCJ Number
212048
Journal
Crime Prevention and Community Safety: An International Journal Volume: 7 Issue: 4 Dated: 2005 Pages: 47-58
Date Published
2005
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study evaluated a local level initiative in England aimed at reducing fear of crime by improving the surrounding environment.
Abstract
In recent years, fear of crime has assumed a growing importance in criminology. Fear of crime relates to how people think and feel about crime and their perceived likelihood of personal victimization. For this reason, the reduction of fear of crime is seen as an important issue by local agencies in England’s County Durham. Durham’s response to fear of crime is their local policy stating that 80 percent of community service hours are committed to community safety projects. The philosophy behind this policy is two-fold: first, offenders must make reparation to the community in which their crime was committed and second, through seeing offenders working in the community, under the supervision of the National Probation Service, the public is assured that crime is being managed at the local level. This study evaluated this local level initiative in Durham which was aimed at reducing fear of crime by improving the surrounding environment. Members of the general public were interviewed before and after the completion of a project where the Durham bus station was cleaned and redecorated by offenders. The results indicate that the project achieved a degree of success in improving the public’s perceptions of the Durham bus station with regard to crime and antisocial behavior. The respondents had positive views about the idea of some categories of offenders serving part of their sentence in the community. Overall, the results show a reduction in the perceived levels of overall crime in the vicinity of the bus station, a decrease in the perceived likelihood of seeing crime, and a decrease in the perceived likelihood of being a victim of crime. Tables and references