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Exploring unsafe locations: An examination of spatial risk factors associated with unsafe locations
Malmö University, Faculty of Health and Society (HS), Department of Criminology (KR).ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4595-054X
(English)Manuscript (preprint) (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Objectives: To explore how locations perceived as unsafe by city inhabitants are associated with spatial risk factors, neighbourhood collective efficacy and neighbourhood disorder. Methods: Information on unsafe locations is obtained from two open-ended items in a random sample community survey. Reported unsafe locations in the respondents’ own neighbourhood (Q18) and in other partsof the city (Q19) are geocoded and merged with a 200 by 200-metre grid-cellnetwork. The data are analysed using multilevel models with grid-cells nested in neighbourhoods. Results: A number of spatial risk factors are correlated with unsafe locations, but these associations seem to vary between unsafe locations in one’s own neighbourhood and in other parts in the city respectively. While the results indicate that there is substantial between-neighbourhood variance inunsafe locations, the association between neighbourhood-level collective efficacy and disorder is generally weak and non-significant, although this differs depending on the outcome. Conclusions: Using a place-based approach to the fear of crime, this study contributes to the current body of research by studying specific unsafe locations and their characteristics. The findings may guide practitioners to better understand why some micro-level places are perceived as unsafe and how public perceptions of safety may be improved.

Keywords [en]
Collective efficacy, disorder, fear of crime, micro-place, multilevel, neighbourhood, unsafety, unsafe locations
National Category
Social Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-55205OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mau-55205DiVA, id: diva2:1699517
Available from: 2022-09-28 Created: 2022-09-28 Last updated: 2022-09-29Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Locating place, crime and the fear of crime: methodological and theoretical considerations
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Locating place, crime and the fear of crime: methodological and theoretical considerations
2022 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Much previous research on the fear of crime has focused on why some individuals, with certain characteristics, experience more or less fear of crime than others. However, there is also a growing body of research examining the role that the neighbourhood context in which individuals reside plays in shaping such feelings and perceptions. At the same time, less research has been directed at understanding why certain small-scale micro-places evoke feelings of unsafety and fear of crime.

The aim of this dissertation is to contribute to improving the current state ofthe research focused on place, the fear of crime, and related methodological issues. The dissertation includes four original empirical research papers. Study I is based on a case study evaluating the impact of camera surveillance and examines what role the operationalization of place may play for the results and interpretation of a given study.

The findings show that different operationalizations may indeed produce different results, and that the choice of operationalization must be carefully considered in the context of study design. Study II uses responses to an open-ended survey question from three waves of the Malmö Community Survey (2012, 2015, 2018) to chart the spatial concentration and temporal stability of unsafe locations.

The findings show that locations perceived as unsafe by city inhabitants are concentrated to a very small proportion of the urban space, and that there is a temporal stability in unsafe locations over time. Study III further explores unsafe locations by examining the spatial risk factors associated with these unsafe locations and the role played by neighbourhood collective efficacy and disorder. The results show that a number of spatial risk factors are correlated with the outcome, suggesting that the physical environment has a role to play in shaping people’s perceptions of unsafety at a given location. The findings also show that there are major between neighbourhood variations in unsafe locations, but that neighbourhood collective efficacy and disorder play only a limited role in the explanation of this variance. The final paper, Study IV, is a methodological study focused on the feasibility of using an alternative approach to studying fear of crime, as a momentary event, and uses an experience research framework implemented using a smart phone application (STUNDA). The general conclusion is that it is feasible to conduct research on the fear of crime using a smartphone application, but that emerging methods may also involve new methodological issues and challenges.

The four studies have both methodological and theoretical implications, suggesting that the way place is defined and operationalized may have important impacts on the results and interpretations of research studies. In addition, the findings suggest that there is more to be learned about the fear of crime as a context-specific experience that is dependent on the immediate environment, and that alternative methodological approaches focused on surveying momentary experiences of fear of crime using smartphone applications seem to be feasible. A place-based approach to the fear of crime, supported by alternative measures and methods, may also be important in developing a broader understanding of how perceptions of fear of crime and unsafety are shaped. Such an understanding may in turn assist policymakers and practitioners to design knowledge-based interventions to reduce fear of crime and feelings of unsafety.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Malmö: Malmö universitet, 2022. p. 102
Series
Malmö University Health and Society Dissertations, ISSN 1653-5383 ; 8
Keywords
Crime, criminology of place, fear of crime, micro-place, smartphone, unsafe locations
National Category
Law and Society
Research subject
Criminology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-55206 (URN)10.24834/isbn.9789178773022 (DOI)978-91-7877-301-5 (ISBN)978-91-7877-302-2 (ISBN)
Public defence
2022-10-28, OD aula KL:2370, Carl Gustafs väg 34, Malmö, 10:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2022-09-28 Created: 2022-09-28 Last updated: 2022-11-07Bibliographically approved

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Kronkvist, Karl

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