Fear of Crime

Question 1

What is the public’s knowledge of crime?

Answer 1

Many believed that crime rates had increased or remained unchanged but it’s actually been decreasing (for particular crimes this has been increasing)
Public perceptions about the rates of crime are often inaccurate
But it’s unrealistic to expect the public to have an accurate perception of crime rates

Question 2

What are the stages in the process of crime (Ainsworth 2000)?

Answer 2

Will the victim notice the crime? e.g. cyber crime

Will the victim report the crime? e.g. rape

Will the offender be caught by the police? e.g. stalking

Will the police record the crime? e.g. card fraud

Will the offender be prosecuted? e.g. rape

Will the perpetrator be found guilty? e.g. rape

Will the perpetrator receive an appropriate sentence? e.g. stalking

Question 3

What influences fear of crime?

Answer 3

The coverage of crime news in mass media and the coverage of fictional crime in popular entertainment

Personality and social characteristics will make us more or less afraid of crime

Our direct knowledge about crime in our immediate community

Question 4

What gender is more fearful of crime?

Answer 4

Women more so than men
Due to fear of experiencing an unpredicted attack by a stranger
These crimes tend to go under-reported
Men are more likely to be attacked in public, women at most risk of physical violence from people they know
Young men at most risk overall

Question 5

What is the victim offender overlap?

Answer 5

Perpetrators of crime are more likely to be victims of crime
The risk factors of being a victim are similar to the risk factors of being a perpetrator
e.g. men, men are usually perpetrators and also tend to be the main victims of violence

Question 6

What are the DSMV requirements for PTSD?

Answer 6

Re-experiencing
Avoidance
Hyperarousal e.g. sleep disturbance, irritability, self destructive behaviour
Severe anxiety disrupting day to day life
Negative emotions/mood
Present for at least a month
Cannot be explained as a consequence of drugs or medical conditions

Question 7

What’s the association between PTSD and re-victimisation?

Answer 7

PSTD individuals suffer from hyperarousal, so they become very vigilant, they find it difficult to tell the difference between true danger and a false alarm.
PSTD individuals are less likely to report a crime to the police
PTSD and alcohol consumption (PTSD individuals consume alcohol which makes them targets for crime, e.g. women that drink are seen as easier targets)

Question 8

How does PSTD cause offending behaviour?

Answer 8

More likely to attack violently, battlefield trauma can lead to antisocial behaviour
The person who commits the act cannot cope and develops PTSD so violent experiences may lead to PTSD

Question 9

What can support victim decision making?

Answer 9

Reward/costs driven: whether the gains of going through the reporting process is worth their loss, if the gain is better than the loss then victims will go to the police

Affect driven: the more emotionally arousing it is, the more the victim’s attention will be focused on the crime

Socially driven: the decision to report the crime is taken under the influence of others who advise the victim about what to do

Type of crime; burglary more likely than theft
Calling police most influential

Question 10

What psychological help can we offer victims?

Answer 10

Structured trauma writing
Allows for self confrontation, self disclosure and emotional disinhibition
Write in words the traumatic event

Question 11

How are burglary rates perceived across countries, how do citizens respond?

Answer 11

Across countries such as the UK, Canada, the USA the likelihood is being burgled in your home in the coming year is a lower percentage than the percentage of homes with a burglar alarm
In England: likelihood of being burgled is 35% and homes with an alarm is 42%

Question 12

Why is the fear of crime important?

Answer 12

Governments try to influence this
The less fear of crime, the better job the government is doing

Question 13

In the British public, what were the statistics for the fear of crime?

Answer 13

21% were worried about violent crime
15% worried about burglary
Women more worried than men

Question 14

What is the fear victimisation paradox?

Answer 14

No clear relationship between fear of crime and victimisation rates
Elderly report higher levels of fear of crime
Women are more fearful than men, particularly of violent crime by strangers in public

Question 15

Is fear of crime a phobia?

Answer 15

Similar to other phobias
Phobias coexist
e.g. if you have a social phobias, you may also have a blood injury phobia and agoraphobia, visa versa
If fear of crime is a phobia, those with higher levels of phobia in general would may have higher levels of fear of crime

Question 16

What is the cultivation theory?

Answer 16

Assumption that mass media, TV in particular, affect fear of crime

Question 17

Does the cultivation theory hold up?

Answer 17

Relationship between heavy viewing and a distorted perception of crime and violence is statistically weak. ​
Findings have not been replicated in other communities like the UK
In communities were people feel unsafe, local newspapers covered more crime

Question 18

What is the Availability Heuristic theory?

Answer 18

Majority of people don’t spend their days thinking about the risk of crime victimisation based on their knowledge of statistics
People might feel unsafe in specific locations e.g. women in a nightclub

Question 19

What is the cognitive theory (Winkel 1998)?

Answer 19

Fear is produced by
Risk x Seriousness
e.g. High risk of crime, low seriousness= leads to low levels of fear of crime
Subjective victimisation: belief about the likelihood or risk of being a victim
Perceived negative impact: belief about the seriousness of consequences of crime

Question 20

Does the availability heuristic theory hold up?

Answer 20

It’s the extent to which media create vivid imagery and accessible images of crime in people’s minds
In TV, crime and rape are dominant themes, viewers of these programmes answered questions about rape quicker

Question 21

Does the cognitive theory hold up?

Answer 21

Winkel 1998 Tested with a variety of crime and control groups
However, victims are affected by their victimisation, there’s no downward comparison process
More to learn about the public’s perception of fear of crime, we need to learn who is most at risk from the consequences of victimisation

Question 22

How do the CJS recommend to treat victims of crime?

Answer 22

UN Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of crime and Abuse of Power (1985)
Sympathetic treatment towards rape victims and child witnesses

Question 23

What is victimology?

Answer 23

Focus on victim characteristics to see who is likely to experience victimisation
Focus on how psychology can help victims

Question 24

What are the stressors for PTSD?

Answer 24

Can be death, threatened death, sexual violence, threatened injury

Direct exposure
Witnessing in person
Indirect exposure
Repeated or extreme indirect exposure to aversive details

Question 25

What are the intrusion symptoms of PTSD?

Answer 25

Recurrent or repetitive intrusive memories
Nightmares
Dissociative reactions
Intense, prolonged distress
Marked psychological reactions

Question 26

What is restorative justice?

Answer 26

Focuses on repairing the harm done by criminal activity through cooperation of all parties involved
All those harmed are the focus (victim, victim’s family, offender’s family, offender, community, ect)
Healing and re-integration

Question 27

What are the outcomes for restorative justice?

Answer 27

Satisfied victim
Offender feels they have had fair treatment
Meditation between offender and victim to identify the factors that led to the crime

Question 28

What are Victim Offender Meditation programmes?

Answer 28

Meeting between offender and victim aiming to resolve conflict
Construct their own approach towards justice
High satisfaction rates, high victim participation rates, high completion rates, reduced fear in victim and reduced re-offending rates

Question 29

What are conferencing programmes?

Answer 29

Same as victim offender meditation programmes but extends to the families, community support groups, police, social welfare and attorneys
Positive outcome with juvenile offenders