Conceptualizing the Meaning of Safety: Exploring Individual and Community Differences

• In Event: Community and School Safety: Meanings and Methods for Enhancing Feelings of Safety

Abstract

Policies are often based on a narrow conceptualization of safety that relies primarily on official crime data. Such a definition fails to include the voices of members of the community and assumes that safety has the same meaning for everyone. Research on community safety has primarily focused on how different demographics, experiences, and neighborhood characteristics, shape fear of crime, perceived risk of victimization, and feelings of safety. However, little is known about how people conceptualize the meaning of safety and its core components. The goal of the current study is to consider how the meaning of community safety varies for individuals with different personal characteristics and experiences. We do so using open ended survey responses collected from 1,000 people in three US counties. Logistic regression is used to assess the characteristics associated with different conceptualizations of safety. Our findings suggest that the meaning of safety differs by community and personal characteristics. Thinking broadly about what safety means and looks like can help de-couple community safety from policing and encourage policies and practices that focus not only on “crime control” but enhancing quality of life for residents.

Authors

• Konstantina Spanoudakis, University of Missouri - St. Louis

• Lee Slocum, University of Missouri - St. Louis