Theorising the Fear of Crime: The Cultural and Social Significance of Insecurities about Crime

Experience & Expression in the Fear of Crime Working Paper No. 5

36 Pages Posted: 7 Sep 2007 Last revised: 19 Mar 2013

See all articles by Stephen Farrall

Stephen Farrall

University of Sheffield

Emily Gray

University of Sheffield

Jonathan Jackson

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Department of Methodology

Date Written: 2007

Abstract

This paper outlines the theoretical positions adopted to explain the fear of crime. We start by outlining the broad theoretical approaches taken to account for levels of fear of crime since the 1960s. We structure our review into five sections: The victimisation thesis; Imagined victimisation and the psychology of risk; Disorder, cohesion and collective efficacy - environmental perception; Structural change and macro-level influences on fear; and, Connecting anxieties about crime to other types of anxiety. We then, in preparation for the next two Working Papers, outline the framework that we pursue in the rest of this project - a framework that draws upon a range of insights generated by both quantitative and qualitative research in this area.

Keywords: Fear of Crime, Methodology, Everyday Emotions, Criminology, Policy

JEL Classification: I18, I31, I38

Suggested Citation

Farrall, Stephen and Gray, Emily and Jackson, Jonathan, Theorising the Fear of Crime: The Cultural and Social Significance of Insecurities about Crime (2007). Experience & Expression in the Fear of Crime Working Paper No. 5, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1012393 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1012393

Stephen Farrall

University of Sheffield ( email )

Crookesmoor Building, Conduit Road
Sheffield S10 1FL
United Kingdom

Emily Gray (Contact Author)

University of Sheffield ( email )

Bartolome House
Winter Street
Sheffield, S3 7ND
United Kingdom
44 114 222 6832 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.shef.ac.uk/law/staff/academic/egray

Jonathan Jackson

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Department of Methodology ( email )

Houghton Street
London, WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom
+0044-207-955-7652 (Phone)

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