NCJ Number
207790
Journal
Environment and Behavior Volume: 36 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2004 Pages: 776-789
Editor(s)
Robert B. Bechtel
Date Published
November 2004
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study examined the spread and determinants of fear of crime in the European country of Italy.
Abstract
Based on previous research, fear of crime is becoming one of the most serious problems of our time. By performing a secondary analysis on the data collected by the Italian National Statistics Institute (ISTAT) in its 1995 Multipurpose Survey, this study examined the spread and determinants of fear of crime in Italy. The study compared data from the Multipurpose Survey with data from another ISTAT database on the crimes the Italian police reported to judicial authorities. It explored the spread of crime at the national and the regional levels and focused on the analysis of fear of crime and its relation with objective risk of crime by taking into account objective national and regional data, as well as individuals’ perceived victimization. In addition, focus was placed on the determinants of fear of crime by constructing a logistic regression model. The results of the study indicate, that in Italy, fear of crime positively correlates with micro-criminality rates--the higher the rates, the more widespread the fear; objective victimization affects fear of crime; no sociodemographic factors exert a strong influence on the probability of being afraid of crime; and fear of crime is positively influenced by territorial variables, such as residence in urban areas and perception of living in a degraded environment. Study limitations are presented and discussed. Tables and references