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Fear of crime in Brisbane

Individual, social and neighbourhood factors in perspective

Centre for Research into Sustainable Urban and Regional Futures, School of Geography, Planning and Architecture, University of Queensland, r.mccrea{at}uq.edu.au

Tung-Kai Shyy

Centre for Research into Sustainable Urban and Regional Futures, School of Geography, Planning and Architecture, University of Queensland, t.shyy{at}uq.edu.au

John Western

School of Social Science, University of Queensland, j.western{at}uq.edu.au

Robert J. Stimson

Centre for Research into Sustainable Urban and Regional Futures, School of Geography, Planning and Architecture, University of Queensland, r.stimson{at}uq.edu.au

Numerous theories apply to fear of crime and each are associated with different kinds of variables. Most studies use only one theory, though this study examines the relative importance of different kinds of variables across a number of theories. The study uses data from a survey of residents in Brisbane, Australia to examine the relative importance of individual attributes, neighbourhood disorder, social processes and neighbourhood structure in predicting fear of crime. Individual attributes and neighbourhood disorder were found to be important predictors of fear of crime, while social processes and neighbourhood structure were found to be far less important. The theoretical implications are that the vulnerability hypothesis and the incivilities thesis are most appropriate for investigating fear of crime, though social disorganization theory does provide conceptual support for the incivilities thesis. Although social processes are less important in predicting fear of crime than neighbourhood incivilities, they are still integrally related to fear of crime: they explain how incivilities arise, they buffer against fear of crime, and they are affected by fear of crime.

Key Words: fear of crime • incivilities • neighbourhood disorder • neighbourhood structure • social disorganization • vulnerability

Journal of Sociology, Vol. 41, No. 1, 7-27 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1440783305048381


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