Ideological Roots of Fear of Crime and Punitive Sentiment in Greece and the UK: A Commentary on Cheliotis & Xenakis

Abstract

In this commentary of Cheliotis & Xenakis (in press), we examine a range of instrumental and relational concerns in fear of crime, confidence in policing, and punitiveness in Greece and the UK. Addressing the roles of ideology and psychological needs and motivations, we find that relational concerns are more important than insecurities about crime in predicting levels of punitivity and confidence in policing in some London data. But we also argue that the links between fear of crime, confidence in policing, and punitive sentiment – in both Greece and the UK – can profitably be brought together through a motivated social cognition (MSC) perspective. The MSC perspective suggests that ideological systems (and relational concerns) are partly rooted in psychological needs and motivations (Jost et al., 2003). We present data from Round 4 of the European Social Survey (ESS) that are consistent with some aspects of this framework.

Keywords: motivated social cognition, ideology, punitive attitudes, confidence in the police, relational concerns, fear of crime