Fear or Perception: What Comes First When it Comes to Crime.

• In Event: Conceptions and Consequences of Fear of Crime

Abstract

Over the years, a distinct body of research has emerged that assesses the public’s fear of crime. However, there is little research to date examining how fear of crime effects discernments of crime offenders. Crime is not discriminatory; its victims come from all backgrounds, ages, genders, social statuses, and races. Fear is considered a normal emotional reaction felt by an individual faced with a real or imagined threat that causes an individual to evoke a survival response to the situation (Gullone, 2000). As a complex social phenomenon, fear of crime has no single test to answer all the questions. The purpose of this study is to investigate how fear of crime impacts an individual’s perceptions of crime and offenders. Using a national survey sample, coupled with an exploratory data analysis and analysis of variance, this study aims to connect fear of crime to perceptions of crime, highlighting racial, gender, and experiential differences.

Authors

• Mia Abboud Holbrook, University of Nevada, Reno

• Carolynn Fedarko, University of Nevada, Reno