Fear of crime, perceived disorders and property crime: a multivariate analysis at the area level [In: Farrell, G., Bowers, K., Johnson, S.D. and Townsley, M., eds., Imagination for crime prevention: essays in honor of Ken Pease]

Abstract

This work estimates associated models of areas’ fear of crime, perceived disorders and property crime rates over area characteristics and region of England and Wales via multivariate (multilevel) modelling. This statistical model, which draws upon data from the 2000 British Crime Survey and the 1991 (U.K.) Census at the postcode sector-level, allows for the estimation of any interdependence among the three dependent variables. The study shows that the effects of area characteristics and region on fear of crime, disorders and property crime rates are not uniform. Roughly half of the between-areas covariance of property crime rates, fear of crime and perceived disorders is explained by the areas’ characteristics and regional dummy variables. The estimated multivariate models of this work, apart from expanding theoretical knowledge, may assist crime prevention efforts via identifying the most efficient measure for a set of targets as well as any diffusion or displacement effects between crime reduction and public reassurance initiatives