Institutional trust and its impact on fear of crime

• In Event: Social Dimensions of Fear of Crime

Abstract

In times of multiple crises (including a global pandemic, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East), trust in institutions is being put to the test. Although, at first sight, trust in institutions has nothing to do with crime, it does have an impact on perceived safety. General anxiety about social cohesion, moral decline and insecurity can be transformed into fear of crime (e.g. Hirtenlehner 2006).
Based on two representative samples from Munich and Hamburg with more than 7,000 respondents we are able to show how low institutional trust and economic anxiety drive fear of crime. These findings are robust after controlling for alternative explanations of fear of crime (vulnerability and disorder). Due to the methodological nature of our data, we are able to replicate our analyses in two independent samples which corroborates our findings.
Implications for how society deals with the fear of crime are discussed.

Authors

• Michael Hanslmaier, Technische Hochschule Nürnberg Georg Simon Ohm

• Stefanie Kemme, University of Münster