Developing estimates of fear of crime, social cohesion, and collective efficacy at the small area level in England: the Community Engagement Area Classification (WG-PLACE)

• In Event: WG-PLACE 3: Research on crime, place and time

Abstract

Internationally, the crime and place literature has established a clear theoretical and empirical link between lower crime levels and higher social cohesion and collective efficacy at the neighbourhood level. A strong connection between crime and fear of crime levels within localities has also been identified. However, research around this topic area in the United Kingdom is constrained by the absence of small area-level data on fear of crime, social cohesion and collective efficacy levels. This paper presents an overview of the development of a Community Engagement Area Classification (CEAC), which identifies neighbourhoods with similar fear of crime, social cohesion and collective efficacy levels at the Output Area level across England. Drawing on several sweeps of the Crime Survey for England and Wales and the Community Life Survey, predicted estimates of different dimensions of fear of crime, social cohesion and collective efficacy have been developed based on stratifying participant responses by age, sex, ethnicity, urban-rural locations and levels of deprivation. These indicators include fear of crime concerning specific offence types, perception of anti-social behaviour, neighbourhood belonging, volunteering, and participation in community groups and decision-making forums. To create the CEAC, K-means cluster analysis was then employed to create an area classification that identifies neighbourhoods in England with similar profiles across six fear of crime and seven social cohesion/collective efficacy dimensions. This area classification enables academic researchers to better understand the nature of neighbourhoods through a social cohesion and collective efficacy lens that goes beyond the mere utilisation of socio-demographic and deprivation characteristics. It also enables police forces and crime reduction stakeholders to design and target more effective community engagement interventions that consider the distinctive social cohesion and collective building blocks already existing within specific localities.

Author

• James Hunter, Nottingham Trent University