EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Housing segregation affects people's feelings of insecurity

Housing segregation affects people's feelings of insecurity

Introduction

Many public documents discuss the supposed negative effect certain neighbourhoods may have on the fear of crime people experience. It is often thought that the surroundings influence the circumstances of the individual's life, irrespective of the individual's own resources. The question is whether this is true. The report 'Fear of Crime and Segregation', published by the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, looks into this issue. It combines both individual and area data in order to see if individuals are indeed affected by their environment, or not.

Proposition

Does housing segregation in Swedish towns and cities affect people's feelings of insecurity?

Description

The main objectives of the report 'Fear of Crime and Segregation' are:

To contribute a knowledge review describing some of the explanations for the fear of and worry about crime that can be found in academic literature, focusing on the importance of the neighbourhood;
To use the Swedish Crime Survey (SCS) to describe and explain individuals' perceived insecurity and worry about becoming victims of crime;
To lay the foundation for a time series that makes it possible to track trends in fear of crime in exposed areas.

In addition, the report deals with the following questions:

What factors, at an individual and area level, does previous research identify as being of importance for people's fear of crime?
How do population groups differ in terms of their experiences of fear of crime?
Are there any differences between different types of residential area in terms of the fear of crime, and, if so, what are they?
Do people who live in resource-poor areas feel more insecure than others?

Background information

This report is a summary of the Swedish report 'Otrygghet och segregation' report no 2008:16, which can be ordered from Fritzes Kundservice, 106 47 Stockholm. Phone +46 (0)8 690 01 90, fax +46 (0)8 690 91 91, email order.fritzes@nj.se

Conclusions

The report presents the following conclusions:

Groups that are physically, financially and socially vulnerable feel more insecure than others. Gender is the variable that has the greatest effect on fear of crime;
Those who live in rented flats feel a higher degree of insecurity than others;
Those who regularly participate in social life feel less insecure than those who never participate;
The character of a residential area affects an individual's feelings of insecurity. Area poverty has a significant effect on the odds for fear of crime;
The higher levels of fear of crime found in poorly resourced residential areas do not simply reflect the concentration of vulnerable groups. Housing segregation also has an independent effect on those who live there;
Social capital is important for people's feelings of security.

Contact info

Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brottsförebyggande rådet)
Box 1386
111 93 Stockholm
Sweden
Phone: +46 (0)8 401 87 00
info@bra.se
www.bra.se

Publication date

//2009

Researcher

Katarina Eriksson

Links

Visit the website of the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention

Download a summary of the report 'Fear of Crime and Segregation' (PDF, Eng, 168 kB)

Document type

research

Themes

Urban Policy > Security & crime prevention

Keywords

Sense of insecurity