Anti-Social Behaviour, Neighbourhood and Community Engagement

• In Event: Victims of Anti-social Behaviour

Abstract

Anti-social behaviour (ASB), which covers a range of perceived disorders and incivilities, occurs to a significant extent across a diverse range of neighbourhoods, and exhibits a spatial pattern which does not automatically mirror the geographical concentration of crime hotspots. ASB may be an important ingredient in shaping both fear of crime levels as well as encouraging self-organisation amongst local residents seeking to deliver neighbourhood driven responses to offending and ASB. Whilst aspects of social cohesion, collective efficacy and neighbourhood effects have received considerable attention in relation to a variety of crime types, their application to exploring spatial variations at the neighbourhood level in relation to ASB has remained limited. This paper presents an empirical evaluation of spatial variations in ASB at the output area level across both urban and rural neighbourhoods in the East Midlands between 2010 and 2015. Drawing upon a bespoke community engagement household classification developed by the author, the paper explores the extent to which areas with greater social cohesion and collective efficacy experience significantly lower levels of perceived incivility and disorder or not.

Author

• James Hunter, Nottingham Trent University