The Effects of Fear of Crime and Victimization on Trust in Criminal Justice Institutions: A Comparison of the United States, Latin, and Central American Countries

• In Event: Public Opinion, Democracy, and Crime in the Americas. Analyzing the Causes and Consequences of Crime and Crime Control Policies.

Abstract

Fear of crime and prior victimization have both been shown to impact attitudes about the criminal justice system (e.g. punitive attitudes). Yet, these prior studies have primarily been confined to examinations of the United States. This study furthers this line of inquiry by examining the effects of fear of crime and victimization on three criminal justice attitudes: (1) perceived fairness of the courts, (2) trust in the police, and (3) overall trust in the criminal justice system. It also uses a multi-country comparison, examining the impact of fear of crime and victimization on these attitudes in the United States and the Central and Latin American countries of Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil. Analysis of the AmericasBarometer data, finds that fear of crime is a consistent predictor of perceived court fairness, trust in the police, and trust in the criminal justice system across all four countries. Victimization is only a significant predictor of criminal justice attitudes in certain countries (e.g. prior victimization decreases overall trust in the criminal justice system in Mexico). This suggests that fear of crime plays a larger role in individuals’ trust in the criminal justice than actual experience with crime victimization.

Authors

• Alexa Singer, Florida State University

• Peter S. Lehmann, Florida State University

• Sophia Biglin, Florida State University

• Cecilia Chouhy, Florida State University

• Jessica N. Walzak, Florida State University

• Marc Gertz, Florida State University