Crime Is Down and so Is Fear? Analyzing Resident Perceptions of Neighborhood Unsafety in Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Abstract There is little research on how resident perceptions of neighborhood unsafety develop over time and changes in these relate to decreasing crime rates. The present study analyzes explains trends perceived within the Dutch city Rotterdam, based survey register data collected years 2003–2017 ( N = 148.344, 62 neighborhoods). In addition crime, we also assess what extent (changes in) economic status, level ethnic heterogeneity, degree residential mobility, amount disorder play a role safe or unsafe inhabitants have felt 15-year period. We find that levels steadily declined up 2007. This decrease was best explained by regarding victimization rates neighborhoods. After sudden increase feelings between 2007 2008, shift towards using more self-administrated questionnaires, fear stabilized during remaining (2008–2017) although recorded continued this