Neighbourhood Influences on Fear of Crime and Victimization in Sweden: a Review of the Crime Survey Literature

Seeking to address neighbourhood characteristics that influence individual outcomes is continuously built into public policy in a variety of policy areas. If the design of neighbourhood social interventions is informed by empirical knowledge then they may prove be more cost effective than interventions that target individuals. The adequacy of the evidence to support such interventions is however the subject of much international debate. This paper examines current criminological ‘knowledge’ in this area with particular reference to the accumulated knowledge base in Sweden, which has never before been assessed. 1 Faculty of Health and Society, Malmö University, Sweden Internet Journal of Criminology © 2011 ISSN 2045-6743 (Online) www.internetjournalofcriminology.com 2 INTRODUCTION Along with increasing segregation in Sweden (Kölegård et al, 2007) there has been a growing academic as well as political interest in what ways individual life chances are affected by characteristics of the residential neighbourhood, so called neighbourhood effects. Living in a disadvantaged (and segregated) area is assumed to affect individual life chances negatively and foster for example fear of crime, social and physical disorder and criminality. Founded on this belief the Swedish government suggested a metropolitan policy program in an attempt to counteract the social consequences of concentrated poverty (the so called “metropolitan policy” was proposed in Sweden in 1997). The general goal was to prohibit segregation and the consequences thereof in the three largest metropolitan areas (Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö). One of the more specific aims was that all parts of a city should be perceived as attractive and safe by the population and provide healthy living environments for children and adults (storstadspolitiska propositionen 1997/98:165, see also Palander, 2006). The assumed influence of neighbourhood characteristics on individual outcomes are continuously built into public policy in a variety of policy areas. The adequacy of the evidence to support this belief is however the subject of much international debate and the accumulated knowledge base in Sweden has never been assessed. Swedish as well as international research has consistently shown fear of crime and victimization to be unequally distributed among population groups and between neighbourhoods with different levels of disadvantage. There is however an important difference to be noted when talking about neighbourhood effects. Differences between neighbourhoods may arise because certain population groups more vulnerable to fear of crime and victimization are concentrated to some areas (e.g. the elderly, women, and individuals with a lower level of socio-economic status) due to selection processes. This is called a composition effect (and is due to selective migration). These individuals would, according to a compositional explanation, feel equally afraid and be equally victimized wherever they lived, and the neighbourhood context per se would have little to do with that. Unique neighbourhood effects arise when people with the same characteristics experience different levels of fear of crime and victimization depending on where they live and not who they are (Curtis and Jones, 1998). Knowledge of what causes people to experience different levels of fear of crime and victimization risk is essential if policy makers are to make informed decisions about how to reduce fear and victimization. This knowledge is more specifically important when deciding whether to target neighbourhoods, groups of individuals, or both. To date, the fairly limited amount of Swedish research on this policy-relevant topic provides inconclusive results when it comes to establish neighbourhood effects on fear of crime and victimization. The discrepancies in the literature may be accounted for by differences in methodological approach, level of aggregation at which the phenomenon is studied and differences in included neighbourhood characteristics and how they are measured. The same problem seems to apply to Swedish sociological research on neighbourhood effects in general (Brännström, 2008). This complicates interpretation of results and as a consequence it is difficult to get a clear picture of the empirical state of the field. Internet Journal of Criminology © 2011 ISSN 2045-6743 (Online) www.internetjournalofcriminology.com 3 In an attempt to further our understanding of the significance of neighbourhood characteristics this paper reviews the empirical state of Swedish research. Since this is the first review of this type of research in Sweden it makes a valuable contribution to scholars as well as policy makers. The purpose is threefold. First, I provide policy makers and scholars with a summary and overview of contextual studies on victimization and fear of crime in Sweden. Based on available empirical results, I evaluate whether neighbourhood characteristics have an independent effect on individual fear of crime and victimization (i.e. the available support for neighbourhood effects) and what neighbourhood characteristics have been found to have an effect. Second, I discuss how existing research studies have dealt with common problems related to studies on the significance of neighbourhood characteristics for individual outcomes. Several reviews of international research (Baldwin, 1975; Jencks and Mayer, 1990; Galster and Killen, 1995; Ellen and Turner, 1997; Pickett and pearl, 2001; Sampson et al 2002; Sellström and Bremberg, 2006) have identified specific issues to be considered when evaluating the state of empirical research. Since a full discussion of all the methodological and theoretical problems associated with the study of neighbourhood effects is beyond the scope of this paper I have chosen to focus the assessment on (a) methodological approach; (b) geographical units and level of aggregation; (c) included neighbourhood characteristics and how they are measured. Third, based on the findings, recommendations for future research are made. A brief history of the [contextual] study of fear of crime and victimization in Sweden Swedish criminological research on the effects of geographical contexts in general and the local neighbourhood in particular was in part spurred by the large scale “Stockholm Project” launched in 1990 as a continuation of previous research on urban crime conducted at the National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå) and the department of criminology at Stockholm University (e.g. Wikström, 1985; 1987; 1990; 1991). One of the main objectives of the Stockholm Project was to study the relationship between social and physical disorder, victimization, fear of crime, and neighbourhood social organization. The geographical units were eight larger city-parts with different residential composition and level of socio-economic resources. Overall, the results showed a connection between perceived social and physical disorder, fear of crime, victimization, and areas characterized by rented homes (Wikström, 1990). Accumulated Swedish research has shown that people experience different levels of fear and victimization risk depending on where they live and at the same time disorder and various social problems have been found to be concentrated to certain parts of a city. These environments are generally ethnically segregated, economically disadvantaged, and low in social control. These results are supported by international research (see Dolmén, 2002, for an overview of such studies). The 1990 ́s saw a significant increase in the number of Swedish criminological studies using survey data in and several local victimization surveys were launched in multiple counties and cities across Sweden (e.g. Wikström et al, 1997a; 1997b; 1997c; Torstensson et al, 1998; Torstensson, 1999; Torstensson and Olander, 1999; Torstensson and Persson, 2000). This made it possible to integrate analytical levels (i.e. individual and neighbourhood or schools) by combining survey data on individuals with demographic and socio-economic data on geographical areas. The main focus of the surveys was the relationship between disorder, social control, victimization, and fear of crime in urban and rural areas. The surveys were identical to allow for comparison. Today, primarily three studies that measure fear of crime and Internet Journal of Criminology © 2011 ISSN 2045-6743 (Online) www.internetjournalofcriminology.com 4 victimization to some extent are conducted continuously. The Swedish Crime Survey (SCS) is annually conducted by the National Council for Crime Prevention. It utilizes a nationally representative random sample of the population. The Level of Living Survey (LNU) is not primarily a victim survey but mainly measures the distribution of welfare. The sample consists of a representative sample of the Swedish population. LNU has been conducted by the Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI), Stockholm University, since 1968 and replicated 1974, 1981, 1991, 2000 and LNU 2010 is currently conducted. The third survey, the Survey of Living Conditions (ULF), is annually conducted since 1975 and includes questions on crime and security periodically. The 21 century has seen an increase in the number of Swedish studies that seek to identify neighbourhood characteristics related to increased levels of fear of crime and victimization risk. Statistical innovations of the last decades have also allowed scholars to advance the study of neighbourhood effects and make more sophisticated analyses. Therefore methodology is an important part of the description of Swedish research and the time seems right to evaluate the state of the empirical field today.