TY - JOUR
AU - Maxfield, Michael G.
AB - Residents in four Chicago neighborhoods were surveyed to determine the relationship between fear of crime and official crime rates. Several anomalies werefound. Citizens' perceptions of dangerous areas in their neighborhoods match, forthe most part, official records of crimes committed there. However, assessments ofneighborhoods' specific crime problems and personal risks do not consistently correspond with official statistics. The authors argue that citizens' perceptions of crimeare shaped not so much by the neighborhood conditions reflected in the crimestatistics, but rather by the level of incivility in their communities. Indicators ofincivility are conditions, more frequently confronted, indicating that communitysocial control is weak. These include abandoned buildings, vandalism, drug use,and loitering teenagers. The authors demonstrate the correspondence betweenlevels of fear and concern about incivility. They suggest that fear of crime is triggered by a broad range of neighborhood conditions, and argue that attempts tounderstand and control that fear should look beyond serious crime incidents as thesole source of the problem.
TI - Fear in the Neighborhoods: an Investigation of the Impact of Crime
JF - Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency
DO - 10.1177/002242788001700203
DA - 1980-07-01
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/sage/fear-in-the-neighborhoods-an-investigation-of-the-impact-of-crime-A9By0cXvLL
SP - 160
EP - 189
VL - 17
IS - 2
DP - DeepDyve
ER -