Crime Prevention and Community Safety

, Volume 15, Issue 2, pp 134–150 | Cite as

Fear of crime and authoritarianism: A comparison of rural and urban attitudes

Original Article
First Online:
  • 45 Downloads

Abstract

The notion of ‘fear of crime’ forms the basis of some critical discussions in criminology; however, the concept appears to show little in the way of consistency over time, location, victimisation, crime level and/or individual differences. This article reports the findings of a preliminary study designed to test the applicability of authoritarian theory to understanding the concept of fear of crime. With [normative] fear being a prominent component in authoritarian research and also featuring in contemporary criminological literature, it was hypothesised that there would be a relationship between authoritarian attitudes/predispositions and fear of crime. In accordance with the literature, it was hypothesised that fear of crime would represent itself differently according to the social environment in which it is experienced. Results indicated that more authoritarian residents from a rural area were concerned about offenders travelling into their community to offend, whereas there were no differences among urban dwellers. The findings are discussed in the context of the strong in-group/out-group bias of the authoritarian.

Keywords

fear of crime authoritarian personality rural crime threat 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Notes

Acknowledgements

This study was funded by a research grant awarded to Gareth Norris from The British Academy (Grant number: SG-47825). An earlier version of this article was presented at the International Society of Political Psychology (ISPP) – 2008 Annual Conference, Paris, 9–12 July 2008.

References

  1. Adorno, T.W., Frenkel-Brunswick, E., Levinson, D.J. and Sanford, R.N. (1950) The Authoritarian Personality. New York: Harper.Google Scholar
  2. Altemeyer, B. (1981) The Right-wing Authoritarianism. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press.Google Scholar
  3. Altemeyer, B. (1996) The Authoritarian Specter. Cambridge, MA: Harvard.Google Scholar
  4. Aust, R. and Simmons, J. (2002) Rural crime: England and Wales. Home Office Statistical Bulletin 01/02. London: Home Office.Google Scholar
  5. Barclay, E. and Donnermeyer, J.F. (2012) Property rights and hunting rights on private rural lands. In: C. Jones, E. Barclay and R. Mawby (eds.) The Problem of Pleasure: Leisure, Tourism and Crime. Cullompton, UK: Willan.Google Scholar
  6. Barclay, E., Donnermeyer, J.F. and Jobes, P.C. (2004) The dark side of Gemeinshaft: Criminality within rural communities. Crime Prevention and Community Safety: An International Journal 6 (3): 7–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Barclay, E., Donnermeyer, J., Scott, J. and Hogg, R. (2007) Crime in Rural Australia. Sydney: Federation Press.Google Scholar
  8. Beirne, P. (2007) Animal rights, animal abuse and green criminology. In: P. Beirne and N. South (eds.) Issues in Green Criminology: Confronting Harms against Environments, Humanity and Other Animals. Cullompton, UK: Willan.Google Scholar
  9. Benton, T. (2007) Ecology, community and justice: The meaning of green. In: P. Beirne and N. South (eds.) Issues in Green Criminology: Confronting Harms against Environments, Humanity and Other Animals. Cullompton, UK: Willan.Google Scholar
  10. Brunton-Smith, I. (2011) Untangling the relationship between fear of crime and perceived disorder: Evidence from a longitudinal study of young people in England and Wales. British Journal of Criminology 51 (6): 885–899.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Brunton-Smith, I. and Sturgis, P. (2011) Do neighborhoods generate fear of crime?: An empirical test using the British crime survey. Criminology 49 (2): 331–369.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Buttle, J.W. and Rogers, J. (2012) ‘There can be no orcs in New Zealand’: Do media representations of crime tarnish tourism? In: C. Jones, E. Barclay and R. Mawby (eds.) The Problem of Pleasure: Leisure, Tourism and Crime. Cullompton, UK: Willan.Google Scholar
  13. Chadee, D.A., Virgil, N.J. and Ditton, J. (2008) State-trait anxiety and fear of crime: A social psychological perspective. In: M. Lee and S. Farrall (eds.) Fear of Crime: Critical Voices in an Age of Anxiety. London: Routledge-Cavendish, pp. 168–187.Google Scholar
  14. Ditton, J. and Farrall, S. (2000) The Fear of Crime. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.Google Scholar
  15. Doty, R.M., Peterson, B.E. and Winter, D.G. (1991) Threat and authoritarianism in the United States, 1978–1987. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 61 (4): 629–640.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  16. Dowds, L. and Ahrent, D. (1995) Fear of crime. In: R. Jowell, J. Curtice, A. Park, L. Brook and D. Ahrendt (eds.) British Social Attitudes: The 12th Report. London: Dartmouth.Google Scholar
  17. Duckitt, J. (1989) Authoritarianism and group identification: A new view of an old construct. Political Psychology 10 (1): 63–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. Duckitt, J. and Fisher, K. (2003) The impact of social threat on worldview and ideological attitudes. Political Psychology 24 (1): 199–222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  19. Duffy, B., Wake, R., Burrows, T. and Bremner, P. (2008) Closing the Gaps – Crime and Public Perceptions. London: IPSOS MORI.Google Scholar
  20. Farrall, S. and Gadd, D. (2004) The frequency of the fear of crime. British Journal of Criminology 44 (1): 127–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. Farrall, S., Jackson, J. and Gray, E. (2009) Social Order and the Fear of Crime in Contemporary Times. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Feldman, S. (2003) Enforcing social conformity: A theory of authoritarianism. Political Psychology 24 (1): 41–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. Feldman, S. and Stenner, K. (1997) Perceived threat and authoritarianism. Political Psychology 18 (4): 741–770.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. Garland, D. (2001) The Culture of Control: Crime and Social Order in Contemporary Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  25. Hale, C. (1996) Fear of crime: A review of the literature. International Review of Victimology 4 (2): 79–150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  26. Hastings, B.M. and Shaffer, B. (2005) Authoritarianism and sociopolitical attitudes in response to threats of terror. Psychological Reports 97 (2): 623–630.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. Innes, M. (2004) Signal crimes and signal disorders: Notes on deviancy as communicative action. The British Journal of Sociology 55 (3): 335–355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  28. Innes, M. and Fielding, N. (2002) From community to communicative policing: ‘Signal crimes’ and the problem of public reassurance. Sociological Research Online, 7/2 http://www.socresonline.org.uk, accessed 2 June 2008.
  29. Jackson, J. (2004) Experience and expression: Social and cultural significance in the fear of crime. British Journal of Criminology 44 (6): 946–966.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. Kraut, R., Olson, J., Banaji, M., Bruckman, A., Cohen, J. and Couper, M. (2004) Psychological research online. American Psychologist 59 (2): 105–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. Lee, M.J. (2007) Inventing Fear of Crime: Criminology and the Politics of Anxiety. Cullompton, UK: Willan.Google Scholar
  32. Mawby, R.I. (2004) Myth and reality in rural policing: Perceptions of the police in a rural county in England. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategy and Management 27 (3): 431–446.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  33. Mawby, R.I. (2007a) Alternative measures of ‘fear of crime’: Results from crime audits in a rural county of England. International Review of Victimology 14 (3): 299–320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  34. Mawby, R.I. (2007b) Crime, place and explaining rural hotspots. International Journal of Rural Crime 1: 21–43, http://www.ruralfutures.une.edu.au/rurcrime/resources/IJRC/vol1/IJRCV1_3.pdf, accessed 5 December 2012.Google Scholar
  35. Mayhew, P. and Hough, M. (1988) The British crime survey: Origins and impact. In: M. Maguire and J. Ponting (eds.) Victims of Crime: A New Deal? Milton Keynes, UK: Open University Press.Google Scholar
  36. Rokeach, M. (1960) The Open and Closed Mind. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
  37. Sales, S.M. (1972) Economic threat as a determinant of conversion rates in authoritarian and non-authoritarian churches. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 23 (3): 420–428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  38. Sales, S.M. (1973) Threat as a factor in authoritarianism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 28 (1): 44–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  39. Sparks, R. (1992) Reason and unreason in ‘left realism’: Some problems in the constitution in the fear of crime. In: J. Young and R. Mathews (eds.) Issues in Realist Criminology. London: Sage Publications, pp. 119–135.Google Scholar
  40. Stafford, M., Chandola, T. and Marmot, M. (2007) Association between fear of crime and mental health and physical functioning. American Journal of Public Health 97 (11): 2076–2081.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  41. Stanko, E. (1990) Everyday Violence: How Women and Men Experience Sexual and Physical Danger. London: Pandora.Google Scholar
  42. Stenner, K. (2005) The Authoritarian Dynamic. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  43. Weisheit, R.A. and Wells, L.E. (1996) Rural crime and justice: Implications for theory and research. Crime & Delinquency 42 (3): 379–397.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Law and CriminologyAberystwyth UniversityCeredigionUK

Personalised recommendations