‘Seeing disorder’ in an English Town

• In Event: Ecologies of security 2

Abstract

Perceptions of low-level social and physical disorder – litter, vandalism, signs of drug use – loom large in accounts of fear of crime and trust in authorities (particularly the police). Experiencing such phenomena as ‘problems’ seems to indicate that dominant norms and values are threatened, and that communities and authorities are unable to appropriately regulate public space. In turn, trust is eroded, concerns about crime precipitated, and a general sense of unease develops. Yet, disorder is clearly ‘in the eye if the beholder’, and less is known about why some people see behaviours as disorderly while others do not. In this paper we use fine-grained survey data collected from one particular place, Macclesfield in Cheshire, UK, to explore this question. Locating respondents within small geographical areas, we use random effects models to consider why some people are more likely than others (living in the same place) to see disorder in their neighbourhood. Our findings suggest that people are more likely to see disorder as a problem when (a) they feel let down or abandoned by local and national authorities; (b) they are in an economically precarious situation; and (c) they have been recent victims of crime. Social connections to place are generally negatively correlated perceptions of disorder, although there is some nuance here. Our findings cast light on the social and structural factors than underpin perceptions of disorder and, consequently, wider concerns about crime, institutions and change in society.

Authors

• Ben Bradford, University College London

• Sergen Bacheci, University of Oxford

• Evi Girling, Keele University

• Ian Loader, University of Oxford

• Richard Sparks, University of Edinburgh