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Linking Fear of Violent Crime for Oneself and Loved Ones to Satisfaction with Local Area Characteristics

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Abstract

Given the theoretical link between fear of crime and broader quality of life indicators, fear of violent crime is examined within the context of residents’ satisfaction with characteristics of their local area. Fear of violent crime is assessed in terms of worry for personal violent victimization as well as worry for the violent victimization of loved ones. We measure satisfaction with nine local area characteristics: utilities, transit, employment, first responders, shopping, housing, leisure, education, and amenities for special populations. Findings from analyses suggest that those who are less satisfied with first responders or leisure activities are more concerned with personal violent victimization. Those who report being less satisfied with housing or leisure activities are more concerned for the victimization of loved ones. The implications of these findings are discussed.

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Notes

  1. Ideally, we would ask participants whether they have been a victim of a broader range of crimes as research suggests that the type of victimization one has experienced (e.g., property, violent) influences reported fear of crime (Smith and Hill 1991). Unfortunately, our only measure of previous victimization captures experiences with property crime victimization.

  2. Bivariate correlations were conducted between all study measures. These results are presented in Table 6 in the Appendix.

  3. We also conducted partial correlation analyses with weighted data to account for over/under representation in our sample. The results of these analyses were similar to the unweighted results. Thus, we present the unweighted results.

  4. Please note that there is a mismatch in sample size across analyses. This is due, in part, to survey attrition. The survey was designed to assess citizens’ perceptions of the area. Thus, to garner as much data as possible questions pertaining to the area were asked first, then participants were asked demographic questions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 6001 Dodge Street, CPACS 218, Omaha, NE, 68182, USA

    Sarah A. Steele, Julie D. Garman & Lisa L. Sample

  2. Department of Law and Justice, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA, USA

    Sara N. Toto

  3. Center for Public Affairs Research, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE, USA

    David J. Drozd

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  1. Sarah A. Steele
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Table 6 Pairwise correlations between all indicators
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Steele, S.A., Garman, J.D., Toto, S.N. et al. Linking Fear of Violent Crime for Oneself and Loved Ones to Satisfaction with Local Area Characteristics. Am J Crim Just 47, 306–329 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-021-09646-5

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