Understanding Community Safety and Collective Efficacy in The Streets

• In Event: Fear of Crime Across Community Contexts

Abstract

In view of the spate of crime and violence in marginalized Black American communities, there is a growing debate on whether collective efficacy is a feature of street-identified Black American communities. This street participatory action research (Street PAR) project examined the influence of collective efficacy on the perceptions of community safety among street-identified Black American men and women from the Northside and Westside sections of Wilmington, Delaware. Multivariate regression analysis was conducted on data from the Wilmington Street PAR Health Project to investigate the impact of collective efficacy on the perception of community safety among persons most likely to commit crimes in Wilmington, Delaware. Findings indicate that collective efficacy significantly predicts the perception of community safety, thus challenging traditional portrayals of street-identified persons or groups as being disinterested in the well-being of their communities. Other factors such as the frequency of violent crime victimization, perception of police, and age were also found to significantly explain the perception of community safety. In addition to more fairly enforcing the law, this study suggests the design of inclusive programs that will foster social ties and encourage conscious group efforts to address community safety issues in Black American communities.

Authors

• Abass Muhammed, University of Delaware

• Yasser Arafat Payne, University of Delaware