"On Attitudes and Behaviors," in Dan A. Lewis (ed.) Reactions to Crime. Newbury
Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1981, 19-45.
This chapter examines what people think about crime and what they do in response to it. It is easy to
assume there is a simple relationship between the two, and that those perceiving more crime or experiencing
more fear are the most likely to respond to the problem. However, research indicates there is not a simple
one-to-one relationship between perception and action, even when the fear component of those perceptions
is involved. In an attempt to clarify this apparent paradox, the chapter first examines what people think about
crime. Popular perceptions of crime can be classified as “beliefs about crime,” “assessments of risk,” and
“fear of victimization.” These perceptual dimensions are related in different ways to people’s experiences and
neighborhood conditions. The next section enumerates things individuals can do to protect themselves from
victimization and to reduce crime. These include precautions against personal crime, household protection,
participation in community organizations, and flight to the suburbs. The last section of this chapter
summarizes several theories which link perceptions and behavior.
Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1981, 19-45.
This chapter examines what people think about crime and what they do in response to it. It is easy to
assume there is a simple relationship between the two, and that those perceiving more crime or experiencing
more fear are the most likely to respond to the problem. However, research indicates there is not a simple
one-to-one relationship between perception and action, even when the fear component of those perceptions
is involved. In an attempt to clarify this apparent paradox, the chapter first examines what people think about
crime. Popular perceptions of crime can be classified as “beliefs about crime,” “assessments of risk,” and
“fear of victimization.” These perceptual dimensions are related in different ways to people’s experiences and
neighborhood conditions. The next section enumerates things individuals can do to protect themselves from
victimization and to reduce crime. These include precautions against personal crime, household protection,
participation in community organizations, and flight to the suburbs. The last section of this chapter
summarizes several theories which link perceptions and behavior.
The Various Meanings of Fear," in Wolfgang Bilsky, Christian Pfeiffer and Peter
Wetzels (eds.), The Fear of Crime and Criminal Victimization. Stuttgart: Enke, 1993,
131-140.
There have been several efforts to clarify the meaning of the concept of "fear of crime". Most found it
troublesome that there is no clear consensus among researchers on what the concept fear of crime means
or how it is best measured. This chapter argues that this apparent heterogeneity of meaning simply reflects
the fact that fear of crime is a general concept. It is suited for everyday conversation (Americans frequently talk
about fear of crime and its social and political effects), but the concept needs to be refined for research
purposes. How it is best defined depends upon the purpose of the research and the theoretical framework
within which the research is being conducted. Therefore, any specific definition of fear of crime is not correct
or incorrect; rather, it is either useful or not useful, and that is revealed by the results of the research. Most
research on fear of crime seems to conceptualize fear in one of four ways. Three of these definitions are
cognitive in nature; they reflect people's concern about crime, their asessments of personal risk of
victimization, and the perceived threat of crime in their environment. The remaining approach to defining fear
is behavioral; some studies conceptualize fear entirely in how it is reflected in things that people do in
response to crime. Dissecting these variations in how fear of crime is defined is important, because they
make a great deal of difference in what researchers have found. Different definitions of fear can lead to
different substantive research conclusions. This is particularly apparent in research on the elderly, one of the
special foci of the KFN's victimization research. A large body of research suggests that for many older
persons fear of crime, rather than actual victimization, presents the biggest problem. It is often claimed the
elderly living in American cities are over-concentrated in bad neighborhoods and are concerned about
conditions and crime in their neighborhood. It is also claimed that the elderly feel hopelessly vulnerable to
crime, which can be evaluated using measures of self-diagnosed risk. Finally, it is claimed the elderly are
"prisoners of fear," traumatized by the thought of venturing out because of the risks they would face. However,
an inspection of the various meanings of fear indicates that this conclusion is highly dependent upon what
definition of fear is used. By many measures the elderly are not more fearful at all. This chapter illustrates
this, using surveys from the US, Britain, and the Western area of the Federal Republic.
Wetzels (eds.), The Fear of Crime and Criminal Victimization. Stuttgart: Enke, 1993,
131-140.
There have been several efforts to clarify the meaning of the concept of "fear of crime". Most found it
troublesome that there is no clear consensus among researchers on what the concept fear of crime means
or how it is best measured. This chapter argues that this apparent heterogeneity of meaning simply reflects
the fact that fear of crime is a general concept. It is suited for everyday conversation (Americans frequently talk
about fear of crime and its social and political effects), but the concept needs to be refined for research
purposes. How it is best defined depends upon the purpose of the research and the theoretical framework
within which the research is being conducted. Therefore, any specific definition of fear of crime is not correct
or incorrect; rather, it is either useful or not useful, and that is revealed by the results of the research. Most
research on fear of crime seems to conceptualize fear in one of four ways. Three of these definitions are
cognitive in nature; they reflect people's concern about crime, their asessments of personal risk of
victimization, and the perceived threat of crime in their environment. The remaining approach to defining fear
is behavioral; some studies conceptualize fear entirely in how it is reflected in things that people do in
response to crime. Dissecting these variations in how fear of crime is defined is important, because they
make a great deal of difference in what researchers have found. Different definitions of fear can lead to
different substantive research conclusions. This is particularly apparent in research on the elderly, one of the
special foci of the KFN's victimization research. A large body of research suggests that for many older
persons fear of crime, rather than actual victimization, presents the biggest problem. It is often claimed the
elderly living in American cities are over-concentrated in bad neighborhoods and are concerned about
conditions and crime in their neighborhood. It is also claimed that the elderly feel hopelessly vulnerable to
crime, which can be evaluated using measures of self-diagnosed risk. Finally, it is claimed the elderly are
"prisoners of fear," traumatized by the thought of venturing out because of the risks they would face. However,
an inspection of the various meanings of fear indicates that this conclusion is highly dependent upon what
definition of fear is used. By many measures the elderly are not more fearful at all. This chapter illustrates
this, using surveys from the US, Britain, and the Western area of the Federal Republic.
Measurement Abstracts
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