Fear of Crime in a Nonurban Setting
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-1-2003
Abstract
The present research develops a perspective that focuses on perceptions of crime and disorder in a rapidly growing nonurban setting. Model hypotheses are: (1) perceptions of drug and gang problems are associated with a wide variety of police order and crime problems; (2) increases in problem perceptions are associated with fears of victimization; (3) fears of victimization are associated with declines in social and recreational activity frequency; (4) perceptions of a high degree of social infrastructure will mitigate the effects of victimization fears on recreational activity frequency. Findings supported Hypotheses 1 and 3, but were mixed for Hypotheses 2 and 4. Model weaknesses suggested the inapplicability of a broken windows/disorder perspective in this research setting.
Publication Information
Crank, John; Giacomazzi, Andrew; and Heck, Cary. (2003). "Fear of Crime in a Nonurban Setting". Journal of Criminal Justice, 31(3), 249-263. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0047-2352(03)00006-0