Pulling us apart ? The association between fear of crime and social cohesion in South Africa

The concept of ‘fear of crime’ has been the subject of substantive international interest and debate since the 1960s.1 This attention was particularly motivated by the recognition that it is a salient social problem in its own right, with a notable share of citizens across many countries expressing worry about crime.2 It further reflects concern with the complex and detrimental effects that fear of criminal violence imparts on quality of life at individual, community and societal levels. As research evidence has amassed concerning the skewed spatial patterning of crime and the fear of crime across different localities both internationally and in South Africa,3 a growing academic emphasis on local environmental context as drivers of both these phenomena has emerged. Over the last three decades, therefore, renewed attention has been paid to ecological theories in understanding and explaining the relationship between social disorder, processes of change within neighbourhoods, and levels of crime.