An Exploratory Assessment of the Influence of Racial Segregation on Traditional Predictors of Fear of Crime

• In Event: Predictors of Fear of Crime

Abstract

Much of the research on fear of crime has analyzed variation in neighborhoods within a single city or among a sample of similar cities to avoid issues of comparison. The current study diverges from this pattern by assessing the predictors of fear of crime in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana. These cities were selected because they both experienced high rates of violence, but featured different settlement patterns by race. Excluding suburban parishes (counties) from their metropolitan areas, East Baton Rouge Parish was massively segregated, while Orleans Parish featured a more checkerboard settlement pattern by race. Preliminary results indicate that fear of crime was more evenly distributed throughout New Orleans and that many of the traditional predictors of fear of crime were not significant.

Authors

• Frederick Weil, Louisiana State University

• Michael S. Barton, Louisiana State University

• Darien Hickey, Louisiana State University

• Melinda Jackson, Louisiana State University