Understanding Community Tolerance of Crime – the Influence of COVID-19 Pandemic

• In Event: WG-PLACE 6: Neighbourhoods and Crime

Abstract

To strengthen urban resilience and to improve community policing, it's essential to understand how urban neighbourhoods respond to and tolerate crime. This investigation delves into the patterns of tolerance towards violence and nuisance crimes, over three distinct periods: pre-pandemic, during the pandemic, and post-pandemic. Employing a novel dataset, this study exposes significant temporal shifts in community tolerance and dissects the factors shaping it.

Amid the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, our analysis scrutinizes how extraordinary circumstances have either intensified or mitigated community tolerance towards crime, reflecting broader societal evolutions. Our findings indicate a notable variance in tolerance levels across the examined periods, with a discernible decrease in tolerance for both types of crimes during the pandemic, attributed to heightened societal stress and altered community dynamics. Interestingly, the post-pandemic phase showed a partial rebound in tolerance levels, yet they did not fully return to pre-pandemic norms, suggesting lasting impacts of the pandemic on community perceptions and tolerance of crime.

Contributing to the academic discourse on urban crime tolerance, this research elucidates the mechanisms through which neighbourhoods mediate and come to terms with the presence of violence and nuisance. The insights gleaned from this study hold considerable implications for policymakers, law enforcement agencies, and urban planning professionals, laying the groundwork for strategic interventions aimed at fostering community cohesion and enhancing safety within the ever-changing urban fabric.

Authors

• Monsuru Adepeju, Manchester Metropolitan University, M15 6BH, United Kingdom

• Jon Bannister, Manchester Metropolitan University

• Karolina Krzemieniewska-nandwani, Manchester Metropolitan University, M15 6BH, United Kingdom