The Relative Importance of Institutional Trust in Countering Feelings of Unsafety in Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods

Monika Persson

doi:10.2478/esrp-2013-0004

Authors

Monika Persson Research School of Public Affairs, Centre for Urban and Regional Studies, Örebro University, 70182 Örebro, Fakultetsgatan 1, Sweden

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2478/esrp-2013-0004

Keywords:

feelings of unsafety, trust, moderation, segregation

Abstract

The segregated nature of urban areas reflects an uneven exposure to risk and unsafety. This article analyzes the relevance of place to people’s feelings of unsafety by comparing questionnaire responses from people living in a segregated, disadvantaged neighbourhood to a random sample of people living in the same city. The results suggest that the central factors explaining the individual’s feelings of unsafety differ in this particular neighbourhood compared to the broader population. The article shows that place has a moderating effect on feelings of unsafety. Trust in public institutions is argued to be particularly important in segregated, disadvantaged neighbourhoods because of its potential to prevent feelings of unsafety.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Austin, M. D., Furr , A. L. and SPINE, M. (2002), ‘The Effects of Neighborhood Conditions on Perceptions of Safety’, Journal of Criminal Justice, 30, pp. 417–427.
Google Scholar

Bauman, Z. (2001), Community: Seeking Safety in an Insecure World, Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
Google Scholar

Beauvoir, S. de (1986), Det andra könet (Le Deuxième Sexe), 4th Ed., Stockholm: AWE/Geber.
Google Scholar

Beck, U. (1992), Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity, London: Sage.
Google Scholar

Björkemarken, M. (2009), Medborgarskap otrygghet brottslighet, Göteborg: Göteborgstryckeriet.
Google Scholar

Borg, E. and WESTERLUND, J. (2006), Statistik för beteendevetare, 2nd Ed., Stockholm: Liber.
Google Scholar

Brunton-Smith , I. and Jackson , J. (2012), ‘Neighbourhoods Matter: Spatial Spill-over Effects in the Fear of Crime’, [in:] Ceccato , V. (ed.), Urban Fabric of Crime and Fear, New York–Berlin: Springer.
Google Scholar

Castells , M. (1997), The Power of Identity, Oxford: Blackwell.
Google Scholar

Cops, D. (2010), ‘Socializing into Fear: The Impact of Socializing Institutions on Adolescents’ Fear of Crime’, Young, 18 (4), pp. 385–402.
Google Scholar

Crawford, A. E. (2009), ‘Situating Crime Prevention Policies in Comparative Perspective: Policy Travels, Transfer and Translation’, [in:] Crawford , A. E. (ed.), Crime Prevention Policies in Comparative Perspective, Devon, UK: Willan Publishing, pp. 1–37.
Google Scholar

De Donder, L., De Witte, N., Buffel , T., Durey , S. and Verté, D. (2012), ‘Social Capital and Freelings of Unsafety in Later Life: A Study on the Influence of Social Networks, Place Attachment, and Civic Participation on Perceived Safety in Belgium’, Research on Aging, 34 (4), pp. 425–448.
Google Scholar

Ditton, J. and Farral , S. (2000), Fear of Crime, Aldershot: Ashgate.
Google Scholar

Doran, B. J. and LEES, B. G. (2005), ‘Investing the Spatiotemporal Links between Disorder, Crime and Fear of Crime’, The Professional Geographer, 57 (1), pp. 1–12.
Google Scholar

Elchardus, M., De Groof, S. and Smits , W. (2008), ‘Rational Fear or Represented Malaise: A Crucial Test of Two Paradigms Explaining Fear of Crime’, Sociological Perspectives, 51 (3), pp. 453–471.
Google Scholar

Esping-Andersen, G. (1990), The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
Google Scholar

Farrall, S. and Gadd, D. (2004), ‘Research Note - The Frequency of the Fear of Crime’, British Journal of Criminology, 44, pp. 127–132.
Google Scholar

Forrester, R. and Kearns, A. (2001), ‘Social Cohesion, Social Capital and the Neighbourhood’, Urban Studies, 38 (12), pp. 2125–2143.
Google Scholar

Gabriel, U. and Greve , W. (2003), ‘The Psychology of Fear of Crime: Conceptual and Methodological Perspectives’, British Journal of Criminology, 43, pp. 600–614.
Google Scholar

Garson, G. D. (2011), ‘Correlation’, [in:] Statnotes: Topics in Multivariate Analysis, http://faculty.chass.ncsu.edu/garson/pa765/statnote.htm (4.11.2011).
Google Scholar

Garson, G. D. (2011), ‘Univariate GLM, ANOVA, and ANCOVA’, [in:] Statnotes: Topics in Multivariate Analysis, http://faculty.chass.ncsu.edu/garson/pa765/statnote.htm (5.02.2011).
Google Scholar

Giddens, A. (1991), Modernity and Self Identity, Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
Google Scholar

Gilling, D. (2001), ‘Community Safety and Social Policy’, European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 9 (4), pp. 381–400.
Google Scholar

Goldsmith, A. (2005), ‘Police Reform and the Problem of Trust’, Theoretical Criminology, 9 (4), pp. 443–470.
Google Scholar

Hale, C. (1996), ‘Fear of Crime: A Review of the Literature’, International Review of Victimology, 4, pp. 79–150.
Google Scholar

Hartmann, F. G. H. and MOERS, F. (1999), ‘Testing Contingency Hypotheses in Budgetary Research: An Evaluation of the Use of Moderated Regression Analysis’, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 24, pp. 291–315.
Google Scholar

Holloway, W. and JEFFERSON, T. (1997), ‘The Risk Society in an Age of Anxiety: Situating Fear of Crime’, The British Journal of Sociology, 48 (2), pp. 255–266.
Google Scholar

Hough, M. (2004), ‘Worry about Crime? Mental Events or Mental States?’, International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 7, pp. 173–176.
Google Scholar

Hummelsheim , D., Hirtenlehner , H., Jackson , J. and Oberwittler , D. (2011), ‘Social Insecurities and Fear of Crime: A Cross-national Study on the Impact of Welfare State Policies on Crime-related Anxieties’, European Sociological Review, 27 (3), pp. 327–345.
Google Scholar

Jackson , J. (2006), ‘Introducing Fear of Crime to Risk Research’, Risk Analysis, 26 (1), pp. 253–264.
Google Scholar

Jackson , J. and Gray , E. (2010), ‘Functional Fear and Public Insecurities about Crime’, British Journal of Criminology, 20, pp. 1–22.
Google Scholar

Johansson , M. (2002), Exkludering av invandrare i stadspolitiken – Makt och maktlöshet i Örebro 1980–2000, PhD dissertation, Örebro University.
Google Scholar

Langer , G. (2003), ‘About Response Rates – Some Unsolved Questions’, Public Perspective, May/June, pp. 16–18.
Google Scholar

Lee , M. (2001), ‘The Genesis of “Fear of Crime”’, Theoretical Criminology, 5 (4), pp. 467–485.
Google Scholar

Lee , M. and Farral , S. (eds.) (2009), Fear of Crime. Critical Voices in an Age of Anxiety, London: Routledge.
Google Scholar

Lidskog , R. and Persson , M. (2012), ‘Community Safety Policies in Sweden. A Policy Change in Crime Control Strategies?’, International Journal of Public Administration, 35 (5), pp. 293–302.
Google Scholar

Lilja , E. (2008), ‘Den meningsfulla förorten – Statsrum och offentlig plats I en segregerad stad’, [in:] Forsell , H. (ed.), Den kalla och varma staden – Migration och stadsförändring i Stockholm efter 1970, Värnamo: Stockholmia Förlag.
Google Scholar

Listerborn , C. (2001), ‘Rädslans geografiom “private” kvinnor och “offentliga” män’, Kvinnovetenskaplig tidskrift, 2, pp. 83–98.
Google Scholar

ÖREBRO MUNICIPALITY (2012), The Municipal Statistical Database, http://www.orebro.se/3843.html
Google Scholar

Pain , R. (2000), ‘Place, Social Relations and the Fear of Crime: A Review’, Progress in Human Geography, 24 (3), pp. 365–387.
Google Scholar

Persson , M. (2012), ‘Local Sensemaking of Policy Paradoxes – Implementing Local Crime Prevention in Sweden’, Public Organization Review, DOI 10.1007/s11115-012-0181-z.
Google Scholar

Putnam , R. D. (2007), ‘E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and Community in the 21st Century. The 2006 Johan Skytte Prize Lecture’, Scandinavian Political Studies, 30 (2), pp. 137–174.
Google Scholar

Ross , C. E. and Joon , J. S. (2000), ‘Neighborhood Disorder, Fear, and Mistrust: The Buffering Role of Social Ties with Neighbors’, American Journal of Community Psychology, 28 (4), pp. 401–420.
Google Scholar

Rothstein , B. and Stolle , D. (2008), ‘The State and Social Capital: An Institutional Theory of Generalized Trust’, Comparative Politics, 40, pp. 441–467.
Google Scholar

Sampson , J. R., Morenoff , D. J. and Gannon-Rowley , T. (2002), ‘Assessing “Neighborhood Effects”: Social Processes and New Directions in Research’, Annual Review of Sociology, 28, pp. 443–478.
Google Scholar

Sandstig , G. (2010), Otrygghetens landskap - En kartläggning av otryggheten i stadsrummet och en analys av bakomliggande orsaker, med fokus på medias roll, PhD dissertation, Göteborg University.
Google Scholar

Stolle , D. (2007), ‘Social Capital’, [in:] Dalton , R. J. and Klingemann , H. D. (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Political Behavior, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Google Scholar

Stoutland , S. E. (2001), ‘The Multiple Dimensions of Trust in Resident/Police Relations in Boston’, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 38 (3), pp. 226–256.
Google Scholar

Svensson , Y., Håkan , S. and Kerr , M. (2012), ‘School as a Safe Haven in Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods’, [in:] Svensson , Y. (ed.), Embedded in a Context: The Adaptation of Immigrant Youth, PhD dissertation, Örebro University.
Google Scholar

Taylor , R. B. and Hale , M. (1986), ‘Testing Alternative Models of Fear of Crime’, The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 77 (1), pp. 151–189.
Google Scholar

THE ÖREBRO POLICE. CRIMINAL INTELLIGENCE SERVICE (2009), En liten bok om Vivalla – Problem- och resursinventering 2009.
Google Scholar

Tyler , T. R. (2005), ‘Policing in Black and White: Ethnic Group Differences in Trust and Confidence in the Police’, Police Quarterly, 8 (3), pp. 322–342.
Google Scholar

Vanderveen , G. (2006), Interpreting Fear, Crime, Risk, and Unsafety: Conceptualisation and Measurement, Den Haag: Boom Juridische Uitgevers.
Google Scholar

Walklate , S. (1998), ‘Crime and Community: Fear or Trust?’, The British Journal of Sociology, 49 (4), pp. 550–569.
Google Scholar