Public reactions to crime a greater problem than crime?

Are public reactions to crime and disorder a greater problem than crime itself?

Are public reactions to crime and disorder a greater problem than crime itself?

Introduction

Is public reaction to crime rational, based on personal experience as a criminal victim? On the other hand, is it based on something more remote, such as opposition to social change? In the face of conflicting evidence, many experts propose that this reaction should be divided into two components: fear, which tends to have some "rational" basis; and concern, which does not. The fear of crime, according to contemporary research, entails some significant opportunity costs. These discoveries have led some researchers to conclude that anxiety about crime is a problem equally as important as crime itself. Among those social scientists now studying fear of crime, this functionalist outlook is decidedly a minority view. They generally assign fear an almost entirely dysfunctional role in social systems from dyad to society. Rather than community solidarity or trust,

they believe it prompts a gritty stoicism which may "destroy the

social order. This in total contrast to the current findings about the relation between crimes and public reaction to it.

Background

Most commentators have noted an important element of irrationality in the public's fear of crime: fear of crime is far out of the proportion to the objective probability of being victimized. Further, the crimes people fear most (personal violence) are those, which occur least. It does not take many incidents of violence to make people fear the streets. Mass media, sensationalistic journalism, and the tendency to stereotype crime as invariably violent all contribute to what may be an irrational fear. However, regardless of the extent to which the widespread fear of crime is unwarranted or irrational, the fact remains that it exists and demands alleviation. What people define as real is real in its consequences. The rate of females being victimized on the street may be only twelve per thousand population). But if 60 percent of women are afraid to walk alone in their neighbourhood at night, the definition of the situation has clearly become an important social problem. As to which segments of the population are the most fearful, the evidence is very scanty. On the one hand, some survey data indicate that those least in danger are the most afraid. On the other hand, similar data suggest that residents of high crime areas also display substantial fear of victimization. Part of the reason for these seemingly contradictory findings lies in a conceptual confusion. As pointed out, most research has tended to use fear of crime, public reaction and concern for crime interchangeably. This has resulted in ambiguous findings since a person may be troubled by the problem of crime but not afraid of being personally victimized. Further reason for the ambiguity as to which segments of the population most fear crime is the lack of multivariate research in the area. For example, when simple bivariate survey findings indicate that the elderly are highly afraid ...