Public assistance of police during criminal investigations: Russian experience

Fear is associated with several adverse health behaviors and outcomes. Fear of crime is associated with less exercise and outdoor activity, worse self-rated health status, and increased BMI. Fear of crime is also associated with more anxiety, depression, and psychological distress. Yet little is known about the predictors of fear of specific types of crime. The objectives of this study are to (1) determine the prevalence of fear of violent victimization and fear of property crime among university students, (2) assess the association between sociodemographic predictors and (a) fear of violent victimization and (b) property crimes. A cross-sectional study was conducted among university students (n = 1415). Data on sociodemographics, fear of a variety of types of violent crime (physical assault, sexual assault, robbery/burglary, murder, and verbal threats), and property crime (arson, theft, and vandalism) were collected using online surveys. Summary variables for fear of violent crime and fear of property crime were created. Wilcoxen rank-sum and Kruskal–Wallis tests, and multivariate negative binomial regression models were used to assess relationships between sociodemographic predictors and fear variables. Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students had the highest mean fear scores of physical assault, robbery/burglary, arson, and theft, while fear of verbal threats and vandalism were highest among Middle Eastern students. Muslim students reported the highest fear of verbal threats, arson, and vandalism. In multivariate models, fear of violent crime was significantly higher among Black (ME: 5.59), Hispanic (ME: 5.16), Asian (ME: 3.07), female (ME: 8.19), transgender/gender non-conforming (ME: 9.82), gay (ME: 12.16), and bisexual (ME: 3.74) students while fear of property crime was significantly higher among Black (ME: 2.81), Hispanic (ME: 2.10), Asian (ME: 1.84), female (ME: 2.49), and gay (ME: 3.11) students. Minority students have higher levels of fear than their peers. Universities must consider the issue of fear among minority students in an effort to prevent this public health issue.

Contents: Part 1 An Overview of the Field: Public reaction to crime in the streets, Frank F. Furstenberg A cross-national comparison of victims of crime: victim surveys of 12 countries, Richard Block. Part 2 The Causes of Vulnerability: Safe conduct: women, crime and self in public places, Carol Brooks Gardner Boys don't cry: masculinities, fear of crime and fearlessness, Jo Goodey The elderly's fear of crime: a critical examination of the research, Randy L. LaGrange and Kenneth F. Ferraro Fear of criminal victimisation: the effect of neighborhood racial composition, Gertrude L. Moeller The effects of building size on personal crime and fear of crime, Oscar Newman and Karen A. Franck The impact of victimisation on fear, Wesley G. Skogan. Part 3 The Sources of Information on Victimisation: The impact of a crime wave: perceptions, fear and confidence in the police, Mary Holland Baker, Barbara C. Neinstedt, Ronald S. Everett and Richard McCleary Living with television: the violence profile, George Gerbner and Larry Gross Television viewing and fear of victimisation: is the relationship causal?, Anthony N. Doob and Glenn E. Macdonald Television viewing and the fear of crime: where is the mean world?, Linda Heath and John Petraitis Feeling safe by comparison: crime in the newspapers, Allen E. Liska and Paul Baccaglini Fear of crime: read all about it? The relationship between newspaper crime reporting and fear of crime, Paul Williams and Julie Dickinson. Part 4 The Methods of Surveying: The measurement of the fear of crime, Kenneth F. Ferraro and Randy LaGrange Methodological problems in the study of fears, James W. Croake and Dennis E. Hinkle New methodological perspectives for victimisation surveys: the potentials of computer-assisted telephone surveys and some related innovations, Martin Killias Methodological problems in victim surveys and their implications for research in victimology, Anne L. Schneider. Part 5 Theoretical Models of Explanation: Criminology: testing alternative models of fear of crime, Ralph B. Taylor and Margaret Hale Fear of crime in residential environments: testing a social psychological model, Adri van der Wurff, Leendert van Staalduinen and Peter Stringer Vulnerability, locus of control and worry about crime, Vincent F. Sacco and William Glackman Block crime and fear: defensible space, local social ties and territorial functioning, Ralph B. Taylor, Stephen D. Gottfredson and Sidney Brower. Part 6 Policies to Reduce Fear: Fear of crime: the effect of improved residential security on a difficult to let estate, Patricia Allatt The effectiveness of a police-initiated fear reducing strategy, Trevor Bennett Reducing fear of crime: strategies for intervention, Jeffrey Hennig and Michael G. Maxfield Community crime prevention: an analysis of a developing strategy, Dan A. Lewis and Greta Salem Environmental improvements and the fear of crime: the sad case of the 'Pond' area in Glasgow, Gwyneth Nair, Jason Ditton and Samuel Phillips Afraid or angry? Recalibrating the 'fear' of crime, Jason Ditton, Jon Bannister, Elizabeth Gilchrist and Steven Farrell Name index.

The fear of crime has been both theoretically and empirically connected to a complex relationship of situational context (e.g., time of day, location) and personal characteristics (e.g., age, race, gender, personal and vicarious victimization). Building off of routine activities and lifestyle-exposure theory, this research extends the understanding of these relationships by examining the impact of lifestyle activities (e.g., consumption of alcohol, illicit drugs, and time away from residence) and personal characteristics (e.g., direct and vicarious victimization) on the fear of various crimes across temporal situations, among a sample of college and university students. The results indicate that fear of crime varies by crime type and that certain demographic and lifestyle characteristics and experiences with victimization affect students’ fear of crime. Although no evidence was found to suggest that fear of theft varies by temporal context (i.e., during the day or at night), certain characteristics, such as gender, perceived risk, and avoidance behaviors, have varying relationships with fear of violent crimes when considering time of day. The findings suggest that future research should examine more critically the relationship that lifestyles, personality, gender, and time of day have with the fear of crime.

Theories about fear of crime may offer insights about the use of public shelters in disaster situations. This study focuses on fear of victimization and gendered explanations of fear of crime in public shelters during hurricane events. From surveys of 424 North Carolina residents, 179 respondents described safety concerns with staying in a public shelter. Fear of victimization was the most commonly identified safety concern in connection to anticipated shelter use, significantly more so than concerns related to sanitation or structural integrity. Female respondents more often described fear of violent and sexual crimes in public shelters, which could be explained through the sexual assault hypothesis. We draw into our analysis literature examining the relationship between fear of crime and gender as we explore the implications of the results on planning for evacuation and sheltering in disaster events. By directly addressing perceived security in public shelters, we hope to expand our understanding of an important U.S. disaster setting by bridging research between fear of crime and disaster studies.

This study constructed a structural model which consists of social demographic factors, experience of victimization, opportunity factors, and social context factors to explain the public’s fear of crime on social networking sites (SNS). The model is based on the risk interpretation model, which predicts that these factors influence users’ fear of crime victimization. Using data from 486 university students in South Korea, an empirically-tested model suggests that sex and age have direct and significant effects on fear of victimization, supporting the vulnerability hypothesis. Among opportunity factors, the level of personal information and the number of offending peers have significant effects on fear of victimization through the medium of the perceived victimization risk, although the effect of SNS usage time is not significant. In addition, it was revealed that experience of victimization has a direct effect on fear of victimization. Furthermore, findings indicate that bridging social network has a direct and indirect positive effect on fear of victimization, and collective efficacy has an indirect effect on fear of victimization. Results show that incidents in SNS have the strongest effect on fear of victimization among various factors in this model without being mediated by the perceived victimization risk. Overall, this study supports a structural model for the fear of victimization.

Research on fear of crime has evolved to suggest the existence of a complex relationship between individual, lifestyle, and contextual factors. Past work generally focuses on predominantly heterosexual populations; this study examines correlates of fear of crime and perceptions of risk among a sample of 272 self-identified lesbians and gay men. Higher levels of perceived risk and fear of victimization were found among females, persons in neighborhoods characterized by incivility, and persons who had experienced previous victimization. Perceived risks of personal and property victimization were similar for males and females. Contrary to past research, women did not seem to view all types of potential victimization as opportunities for sexual assault. Instead, fear of victimization was offense specific--past personal victimization predicted fear of future personal victimization, and past property victimization predicted fear of future property victimization. Similarities and differences between current findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Psychological determinants of fear of crime: A comparison of general and situational prediction models

In victimology, fear of crime is understood as an emotional response to the perceived threat of crime. Fear of crime has been found to be affected by several variables besides local crime rates and personal experiences with victimization. This study examines the relationship between religion and fear of crime, an underexplored topic in the criminological literature. This gap is rather surprising given the central role religion has been found to play in shaping the attitudes and perceptions of congregants. In particular, religion has been found to foster generalized trust, which should engender lower levels of distrust or misanthropy, including that which is directed towards a general fear of crime. OLS regression was performed using data from the West Georgia Area Survey (n = 380). Controlling for demographic, community involvement, and political ideology variables, frequency of religious attendance was significantly and negatively associated with fear of property crime. This relationship remained even after a perceived neighborhood safety variable was introduced to the model. However, religious attendance was not significantly related to fear of violent crime, and religious orientation was unrelated to fear of property and violent crime. These results suggest that religious involvement conditionally reduces fear of crime, and the authors recommend that future research explore relationships between religion and fear of crime.

Schools were known to everyone as a second home, a place not just for learning but a sanctuary of friendship, leadership, and social responsiveness. This is where students learn to write, draw, dance, sing, laugh, and make friends. School officials and administrators must put the students' welfare as a top priority at all costs because this is the place where the hope and future of every country will be honed and prepared. Like other sectors of society, schools have their problems and weaknesses; one is the level of security and safety of the young people and its faculty and staff within the school premises. The study aimed to determine the Predictors of Fear of Criminal Victimization at School among selected criminology students at Saint Michael College of Caraga. In addition, this study anchored on the Victim Precipitation Theory by Siegel (2006). The result shows that out of 366 respondents, 206 or 67.21% are Male with the Age bracket of 17-20 years old, and most of them are in second-year level. As to the level of a predictor of fear of criminal victimization, Fear of crime has a Mild Fear of Victimization, same with the Perception of Risk has and Violent Crime Victimization Experiences that have a small amount of fear of victimization. Further, this study proves that students' demographic profile has no significant relationship between the level of predictors of fear of criminal victimization at school. The researchers recommend taking immediate action about the student's concerns regarding their safety and creating a safe and supportive school climate.

Fear of crime is one of many quality of life issues that community crime prevention strategies have attempted to identify and address. Little is known, however, about the perceptions of fear of criminal victimization among citizens who volunteer in community crime prevention programs. This study assesses fear of violent crime and property crime victimization among 192 police volunteers and 421 general citizens, controlling for known correlates of fear of crime in the comparison. Multivariate regression analyses show that police volunteers fear violent crime victimization substantially more than general citizens. Likewise, police volunteers fear property victimization more than general citizens, however, the effect on fear of violent crime was markedly more robust than for property crime. The findings drawn from this study lend support to Pepinski's (1989) cautions concerning community crime prevention programs. Directions for future research are discussed.

The reasons why previous studies of fear of crime yield different conclusions regarding age differences are examined. Data from a national survey of adults are used to assess whether older adults manifest the highest levels of fear of crime. No significant relationship was found between age and the commonly used indicators of fear of crime in many previous studies when controlling for relevant factors. Using an alternative strategy for measuring fear of crime--based upon rating fear for 10 different victimizations--reveals that younger persons are more likely than older persons to be afraid of most types of crime. Women score higher on fear for all victimizations considered. A LISREL analysis indicates that the 10 victimizations are best characterized as either personal or property crime and that older adults' scores on these dimensions are below the grand mean; persons 75 years or older have the lowest scores on fear of property crime. These results question the existence of the "victimization/fear paradox."

Prior research indicates that fear of crime may lessen a person’s quality of life by leading them to avoid participating in social activities. The current study explores the relationship between fear of online victimization and participants’ levels of engagement with social networking services (SNS). Using data from a survey of 1,000 adolescents and adults aged 14 to 59 years, the direct relationship between the level of engagement on SNS and fear of online victimization and the indirect relationship through prior victimization were assessed. Findings show that the direct effect of the level of engagement on SNS on victimization experience was significant. In addition, the relationship between the level of engagement and the fear of victimization on SNS was significantly mediated through prior victimization experiences on SNS. These findings support the hypothesis that greater exposure on SNS increases online victimization, leading to a greater fear of victimization on SNS. Considering the large role SNS play in social activities and relationships, the findings are important for understanding how victimization impacts fear and may help inform policymakers how to help people stay engaged freely in socializing in a safer online environment.

This study examines how community members respond to collective and personal crime after unexpected violent, mass tragedies. Our main interest is in whether or not responses to personal and collective crime are similar in two local communities. Furthermore, we assess how socio-demographic and experiential factors and social solidarity associate with the fear of crime. Empirical analysis is based on cross-sectional data. Postal surveys were collected from the Finnish localities of Jokela (n = 330) and Kauhajoki (n = 319) 6 months after the respective school shooting tragedies. Descriptive analysis and multiple linear regressions are used as analysis techniques. The results indicate that the fear of collective crime was associated with a low level of social solidarity in Jokela. In Kauhajoki, socio-demographic and experiential factors were associated with the fear of collective crime, but social solidarity was not. In particular, female respondents and those who knew a victim reported higher levels of fear of collective crime. As with personal crime, responses between Jokela and Kauhajoki were relatively similar. The results confirm findings of previous criminological studies demonstrating the association between weak social solidarity and fear of personal victimization.

Crime is a tangible threat that anyone in modern society may face, and the fear of crime victimization has wide-ranging impacts across society. The growing interest in research on fear of crime victimization is largely due to the recognition that such fear extends beyond mere psychological anxiety, significantly affecting individuals' lifestyles, social interactions, and even the collective efficacy of communities. While early research on fear of crime focused predominantly on women and the elderly, recent studies have expanded to include a broader range of populations, such as adolescents and individuals with disabilities. However, there is a relative paucity of research that compares the impact of vulnerability factors on fear of crime between disabled and non-disabled groups. Fear of crime is influenced not only by individual characteristics but also by environmental factors surrounding the individual. This study aims to examine whether collective efficacy and perceptions of crime vulnerability influence fear of crime victimization and further seeks to compare the relative influence of these factors between disabled and non-disabled groups. The results of the analysis are as follows: First, perceptions of crime vulnerability were found to have a positive impact on fear of crime victimization in both groups. Second, neighborhood relations were found to have a significant positive effect on the fear of crime victimization in the non-disabled group. Lastly, neighborhood participation did not have a substantial effect on either group. These findings suggest that irrespective of disability status, perceptions of crime vulnerability significantly influence fear of crime victimization. At the same time, neighborhood relations are a significant factor only for the non-disabled group. Policy implications related to these findings are discussed.

The widespread fear of crime and its detrimental consequences have propelled various research studies on the correlates of fear of crime. An impressive body of knowledge has accumulated, which informs both scholars and policymakers of the correlates of fear of crime. However, very little is known about the fear of crime among immigrant populations. Fear of crime associated with immigrants remains a global phenomenon, which drives political rhetoric, media discourse, policymaking, criminal justice, and immigration control and enforcement. The perceived association between immigrants and criminality is a phenomenon with deep historical roots that transcends any particular culture. It is linked to ethnocentrism and othering, wherein dominant groups react to their exposure to alien cultural practices by criminalizing those practices and dehumanizing the immigrants who practice them. The study aims to explore the level of fear of crime among illicit immigrants. Literature analysis was adopted as a methodology to explore the factors impacting the level of fear and the places where illicit immigrants are likely to be victimised are further discussed. The study contributes significantly to the finding that higher crime levels in countries increase the fear of crime; however, they do not affect feelings of unsafety. Social protection expenditure proves to be an important determinant of both fears of crime and feelings of unsafety. Moreover, distrust in the police, generalized social distrust, and perceived ethnic threat induce fear of crime as well as feelings of unsafety. When considered in the context of social harm, immigrants’ relationship to crime and criminality becomes more complex. The study recommends that protective factors, such as neighborhood informal social control, social networks, cultural norms, and expectations about migration and life overall, may contribute to the lower rates of crime and violence among illicit immigrant groups.