Fear of Crime: An Entry to the Encyclopedia of Theoretical Criminology

Abstract

Fear of crime describes a range of different feelings, thoughts and behaviours that people have regarding the subjective risk of criminal victimization. In this entry the main conclusions of criminological inquiry on these feelings, thoughts and behaviours are reviewed. We also consider the ways in which individuals impute criminal threat onto individuals, groups and community conditions, and propose possible avenues for future research.

Keywords: fear of crime, risk perception, neighborhood disorder, crime precaution

JEL Classification: K40