The Measurement of Fear of Crime*

TLDR

Fear of crime research is prolific in U.S. sociology and criminology, yet commonly used measurement procedures are criticized for theoretical and methodological shortcomings. The study aims to provide a conceptual definition of fear of crime and systematically review its measurement in research over the past fifteen years. The authors conceptualize fear of crime and conduct a systematic review of measurement practices from the past fifteen years.

Abstract

The volume of research on fear of crime in the United States is substantial and continues to regularly appear in sociology and criminology journals. Despite the amount of research on the subject, the measurement procedures most frequently used are suspect because of theoretical and methodological shortcomings. We present a conceptual definition of fear of crime and then systematically review the way it has been measured in research over the last fifteen years. The review indicates that whik omnibus fear of crime and risk of crime measures are only moderately correlated, a substantial number of studies have used risk measures and generalized to fear. Suggestions for future research are offered.