NCJ Number
155796
Date Published
1993
Length
27 pages
Annotation
Results of a study of the threat of terrorism and its effect on shopping behavior are examined.
Abstract
This study, conducted in May and June 1993, consisted of interviewing 849 shoppers in the city of Leicester. Leicester was chosen as representative of a medium-sized city with a cosmopolitan population and five readily identifiable shopping areas, each area with a distinct character. This survey was the largest of its kind ever conducted in an English provincial city. Respondents divided equally by sex, ranged in age from 16 to over 46 years, were either married, single, divorced, separated or widowed, and were predominantly white. Anxieties about the possibility of being the victim of a terrorist attack were addressed in three ways: the extent to which shoppers thought about being attacked; the extent to which they were worried by this prospect; and whether these concerns had prompted any change in their pattern of shopping behavior. Respondents also were asked to identify the most vulnerable shopping areas and the most vulnerable stores to terrorist attacks. Respondents were asked their opinions of the role of closed circuit television (CCTV) security systems as well as other security measures including, inter alia, security personnel, identification cards, and various types of searches in the fight against terrorism. Results of the survey indicate that a majority of the respondents had thought about the possibility of a terrorist attack and approximately one- third of these shoppers had altered their shopping patterns by avoiding central shopping areas. Central shopping areas were viewed as the most vulnerable to terrorist attack. The use of CCTV, as well as other more intrusive security, were supported by the respondents. Tables