Factors associated with fear of offline and online crimes during times of war – Swards of Iron War, Israel

• In Event: Situational Fear and Risk in Place and Time

Abstract

On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked Israel. More than 1600 Israelis have been killed, with thousands more injured, and 253 taken into Gaza as hostages – 59 remain captive.
The research about the social consequences of October 7th and the ongoing Sward of Iron War is in its beginning. This study is a pioneering study to explore the level of fear of offline and online crimes during wartime. The criminological literature is rich in research about the "fear of crime" phenomenon, and points, among other things, to the connection between accelerated social change and feelings of fear of crime. However, fear of crime (offline and online) has been rarely examined in the context of wartime. Data was collected through an online survey conducted in 2023 among a representative sample of private internet users in Israel (N=437). The research findings show that in times of war, fear of crime depends on previous victimization, as well as a lack of a general sense of security and socio-demographic variables (age and gender). However, other variables, such as exposure to harsh media content, were not found to be predictive. Results are contextualized within theoretical frameworks that offer insights as to why macro-level crisis affects fear of crime and a thorough understanding of why exposure to extremist media content does not predict fear of crime. The study will discuss the implications of the findings.

Keywords: fear of crime, offline and online crimes, extremist media content, victimization, gender, age

Author

• inbal lam, western galilee college