Fear of Crime and Fear Reduction Strategies

This Trends and Issues on fear of crime, and its reduction in Australia, represents an outstanding illustration of the contribution which criminological research can make to public policy. Various surveys in recent years have identified a number of factors consistently associated with fear of crime. These are gender (females tend to be more fearful than males) and the presence of disorder and incivility in one’s neighbourhood. These research findings point towards specific policy approaches which governments may take to reduce fear of crime and to improve the quality of life in Australian communities.