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This research utilizes feminist social control theory to explore college women's fear of crime, specifically rape. Elements within this analysis include: comparisons of males and females on their relative fear of crime in both stranger and acquaintance situations, an assessment of behavioral/social self-restrictions, and an examination of the relative impact of previous victimization on women's fear. Data are derived from a self-administered questionnaire from a non-probability sample of 217 male and female Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University undergraduates in the fall of 1994. Consistent with the hypothesis, women report significantly higher rates of fear in both acquaintance and stranger situations, and also report employing significantly more crime preventative measures than men. However, regression analyses reveal that while gender, acquaintance and stranger fear all have a statistically significant impact on precautionary use, neither fear of rape, nor previous rape victimization are significant. Policy implications and areas for future research are explored. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study is to examine the differences in feelings of unsafety between genders and the use of safety strategies, using gender theory, social bond theory, and feminist theory as theoretical frameworks. The study employs a mixed-methods approach, collecting data through a quantitative self-designed questionnaire with 64 respondents and qualitative focus group discussions involving 24 participants across five different groups. The results reveal significant gender differences, with women reporting higher levels of unsafety and greater use of safety strategies compared to men. By applying gender theory, social bond theory, and feminist theory, the study shows that structural factors in society affect experience of unsafety and the use of safety strategies differently for men and women. The conclusion is that these theoretical frameworks contribute to a deeper understanding of gender differences in fear of crime and how these differences are reflected in the safety strategies used.

Denna studies syfte är att studera tryggheten i Kristianstad centrum. Detta sker via en webbaserad enkät samt genom en fokusgruppsintervju. Respondenterna och deltagarna är över 18 år och alla rör sig i Kristianstad centrum. Det som undersöks är om, var, när och varför dessa individer är otrygga och om detta skiljer sig mellan grupper av individer över tid och rum. Studien undersöker också vilka konsekvenser otryggheten kan leda till för individen. Resultatet visar att den form av fysisk oordning som påverkar individernas trygghet mest i Kristianstad centrum är dålig belysning. Kvinnor och yngre är över lag de som uppger en högre nivå av otrygghet. Deltagarna i studien är eniga om att kvälls- och nattetid är den tid på dygnet som upplevs mest otrygg. Resultatet visar också att många upplever att ”Tivoliparken, ”Galleria Boulevard” och centralstationen är de mest otrygga platserna i Kristianstad centrum. / The purpose of this paper is to study the fear of crime in Kristianstad city center. This is done by using a web survey and a focus group. The participants are older than 18 years and are spending time in Kristianstad city center. The study examines if, where, when and why people feel unsafe and if differences can be found between groups of individuals over time and space. The aim of this study is also to examine what consequences fear of crime has on an individual level. The results show that the type of physical disorder that effects the fear of crime most in Kristianstad city center is bad lighting. Women and younger participants are in general most fearful. The participants state that evenings and nights are the time of day when fear of crime is the highest. They also state that the areas with the highest level of fear of crime are “Tivoliparken”, “Galleria Boulevard” and the “Central station”.

Syftet med följande uppsats är att undersöka hur unga kvinnor resonerar kringvarför de konsumerar true crime samt på vilka sätt de beskriver att konsumtionenpåverkar deras rädsla att utsättas för våldsbrott. Uppsatsen syftar även till attundersöka hur unga kvinnor framställer kopplingen mellan kvinnorssocialiseringsprocess och deras rädsla att utsättas för våldsbrott, i relation tillderas konsumtion av true crime. En kvalitativ ansats har tillämpats i form avfokusgruppsintervjuer för att besvara uppsatsens syfte och frågeställningar.Reflexiv tematisk analys har använts för att analysera materialet. Den tematiskaanalysen resulterade i tre identifierade teman. Det första temat var Lockelsen avtrue crime. De huvudsakliga resultaten för detta tema var att deltagarnakonsumerar true crime för att få förståelse för gärningspersoners motiv ochhandlingar, kunskap om vilka beteenden de ska tillämpa och vilka typer avpersoner de ska undvika för att förhindra att utsättas för brott, samt underhållning.Tema två var Faktorer som påverkar rädsla, där resultaten visade att deltagarnadiskuterade att konsumtion av true crime påverkade deras rädsla att utsättas förvåldsbrott på olika sätt. Främst geografisk- och tidsmässig närhet till brottsoffrensom porträtteras, samt identifiering med brottsoffren var faktorer som gjordedeltagarna mer rädda att utsättas för våldsbrott. Deltagarna kopplade även truecrime innehåll till sin egen verklighet och sin risk att utsättas för brott. Det tredjetemat var Beteende en som konsekvens av true crime och resultaten från dettatema visade att deltagarna beskriver förändringar i deras beteende efter att debörjat konsumera true crime, i form av skyddande och undvikande beteenden. / This bachelor thesis aims to investigate how young women discuss the purposesbehind true crime consumption and how they describe the impact of true crimeconsumption has on their fear of violent crimes. Furthermore, the thesis aims toinvestigate in which ways young women depict the association between women’ssocialization processes and their fear of violent crime, in relation to true crimeconsumption. A qualitative approach has been applied and the thesis aims andresearch questions were answered with the help of focus groups. Reflexivethematic analysis constituted the method of analysis which resulted in threecentral themes. The first being The appeal of true crime. The main results of thistheme showed that the participants consume true crime content to gain anunderstanding of the perpetrators’ motives and actions, knowledge regardingwhich behaviors to adapt in order to avoid victimization, and entertainment. In thesecond theme, Factors that impact fear of crime, the participants discussed thattrue crime consumption impacted their fear of violent crime in diverse ways.Spatial- and temporal proximity to the cases being depicted in true crime contentwas a main factor that contributed to heightened fear. Furthermore, theparticipants connected true crime content to their own reality and their riskassessment in relation to victimization. The third theme was defined as Behaviorsas a consequence of true crime consumption. Results from this theme showed thatthe participants describe changes in their behavior as a consequence of their truecrime consumption. Mainly the behavioral changes consisted of protective andavoidant behavior.

Fear of crime (FOC) negatively affects the individual's everyday life and quality of life through avoidance behaviors and reduced informal social control, which in turn can increase the risk of crime. In Sweden, concern about crime is seen as an upward trend, despite a decrease in self-reported crime vulnerability since 2018. Using quantitative data, collected from the SOM institute, this study examines how xenophobia and social capital affect concern about crime in relation to gender, age and income. The theoretical framework used is vulnerability thesis, social capital and stereotypes along with xenophobia, with the conclusion that women are more fearful than men, that high social capital reduces fear, and that xenophobic attitudes create more fear of crime. The results highlight the importance of social factors in understanding fear of crime and the need to promote social capital to reduce this fear.

Every policy problem has inherent value dimensions. It is on the basis of values that a state of affairs is perceived as undesirable, and thus acknowledged as a problem. This makes the process of defining and negotiating the meaning of a problem an essentially political process. Despite this, bureaucracy and expertise have a strong, if not increasing, influence over the formation of policy problems. An objectivist knowledge view predominates within the public managerial realm, which obscures the political dimension of problem formulation, while policy problems tend to be approached as a matter of efficiency. This thesis provides an account of mechanisms that shape and constrain the way a particular policy problem is understood and addressed. It analyses how policy actors make sense of particular problems, by drawing on different discourses (scientific, institutional, popular or media). The empirical case of this thesis is the formation of public safety policy in Sweden. The understanding of the problem of unsafety within Swedish policy is shown to be intrinsically related to the research field of fear of crime. The two are mutually dependent and exert an ideational path dependency. The ideational constraints on the understanding of unsafety are further affected by the institutional setting. It is argued that the appointed institutions and the emphasis on local level have a part in fostering individualist explanations and solutions,while obviating structural interpretations of the problem. The thesis finds that when governing complex policy problems there is a need to pay closer attention to how the problem is defined and how its meaning is constrained. It is crucial to make transparent the values inherent in definitions of problems as well as in research claims. By acknowledging the entwinement of policy and research the policy formation process may become characterized by greater reflexivity, and the possibility of resolving wicked problems may enlarge.

Die Komplexität des Sicherheitsempfindens bringt es mit sich, dass nicht wenige Theorien vorhanden sind, mit denen versucht wird, das Zustandekommen von Kriminalitätsfurcht bzw. Sicherheitsempfinden zu erklären. Die Theorie der generellen Ängste, der sozialen Desorganisation, der sozialen Problemperspektive bezeichnen einige Pfade dieser Entwicklung. Die erste und scheinbar selbstevidente Theorie war jene der Viktimisierung. Es schien auf der Hand zu liegen, dass Viktimsierungserfahrungen die Kriminalitätsfurcht steigern.

An Arbeiten zur personalen Dimension der Kriminalitätsfurcht – gemessen an der Furcht im Umkreis der Wohnung – mangelt es nicht. Die anhaltende Diskussion um Ergebnisse zum Kriminalitätsfurchtparadox, Kontroversen um die Methodik, Vulnerabilität, Copingfähigkeiten usw. belegen ein komplexes Bemühen in diesem Forschungskontext, um die Ursachen der Kriminalitätsfurcht genauer zu bestimmen. Kaum theoretische Beachtung dagegen findet die soziale Dimension der Kriminalitätsfurcht, die zuweilen sogar mit der personalen Dimension gleichgesetzt wird. Möglicherweise sind es die \"dramatischeren\" Werte der sozialen Dimension, welche eine gewisse Anziehungskraft, z. B. auf mediale Präsentationen, ausüben. Neben dem Anliegen einer grundsätzlichen Klärung der Aussagekraft dieses Konstrukts im wissenschaftlichen Disput sollte auch beachtet werden, dass immer mehr Kommunen Sicherheitsbefragungen durchführen lassen und bestrebt sind, daraus Rückschlüsse für die Kommunalpolitik zu ziehen. Auch deshalb scheint eine Klärung, welches Konstrukt worüber Auskunft geben kann, dringend geboten. Immerhin erhält gerade die Kriminalitätsfurcht bzw. das Sicherheitsempfinden eine öffentliche Aufmerksamkeit, wie sie für Ergebnisse sozialwissenschaftlicher Forschungen nicht gerade typisch ist. Gerade weil damit aber die Verkürzung eines komplexen sozialen Sachverhalts auf eine Zahl geschieht, ist eine genaue Bestimmung dessen erforderlich, welche Zahl was ausdrückt. Darüber hinaus ist eine Positionierung der personalen und sozialen Dimensionen der Kriminalitätsfurcht dahingehend geboten, dass sie keine demonstrativen (Wettbewerbs-)Items darstellen, sondern als Instrumente für die Analyse von Mechanismen der Kriminalitätsverarbeitung in der Bevölkerung zu verstehen sind. Gerade in Bezug auf eine kommunalpolitische Aufmerksamkeit gegenüber dem gemessenen Sicherheitsempfinden zeichnen sich Tendenzen ab, entweder Ergebnisse zur Intensität der Kriminalitätsfurcht nicht ernst zu nehmen (im Sinne einer subjektiv verzerrten Wahrnehmung, der man durch \"Aufklärung\" begegnen kann) oder sie überzubewerten, indem sie zur Begründung restriktiver Maßnahmen herangezogen werden (umfassendere Maßnahmen für die öffentliche Sicherheit anzustreben). Im Zusammenhang mit der Unterscheidung zwischen personaler und sozialer Kriminalitätsfurcht soll der Einfluss von der Medienrezeption bestimmt werden.

This thesis contains five studies that in different ways investigate poverty and the relation between poverty and exposure to crime. The basis of the thesis has been the question of how poverty is related to other welfare problems such as unemployment and health problems, focusing on exposure to crime and fear of crime. The thesis also has a comparative element. In one article, the conditions in Britain, Finland and Sweden are compared, and two articles compare conditions in Britain and Sweden. Poverty has been measured as relative deprivation. This is done by measuring consumption of socially perceived necessities, both goods and activities. For poverty to be at hand, not consuming some of the goods or not engaging in some of the activities must be a consequence of lack of economic resources, not of personal preference. The relation between poverty and exposure to crime has been understood from an interactionist perspective, where the possible interaction between and intersection of potential offender and potential victim constitute the determinant factor for the risk of being exposed to crime. In this perspective, the poor are more exposed because their situation of being poor places them in situations where the risks of being exposed are high. Fear of crime stems from different sources. The significance of earlier victimization, the characteristics of the geographical unit where one lives and vulnerability in the event of actual exposure have been investigated. It was found that poverty measured as relative deprivation is related to other welfare problems, primarily other economic problems, unemployment, health impairments, anxiety, sleeping problems and headaches. But it was also found that poverty is related to exposure to crime and fear of crime. Furthermore, poverty based on an income measure did not correlate especially well with other welfare problems. It was also found that the extent of poverty measured as relative deprivation is equal in Britain and Sweden, while it is more extensive in Finland. This result contradicts earlier studies based on income measurements of poverty, which show that poverty is about equally common in Sweden and Finland and more extensive in Britain. It was found that the reason why relative deprivation is more extensive in Finland is that the level of unemployment is higher there and that the unemployed are worse off in Finland than in Britain and Sweden. Regarding the relation between poverty and exposure to property crime, it was found that the poor are more exposed than are the non-poor with regard to the property crime that violates personal integrity most: property crime related to the residence. Exposure to crime was found to be more of a poverty problem in Sweden than in Britain. Because crime rates are about equal in Britain and Sweden, the result indicates that the risk of being exposed to crime in Britain is more equally distributed across the population. Furthermore, it was found that fear of crime in Sweden is related to poverty, while fear of crime in Britain is more related to vulnerability in general, particularly vulnerability on the labour market. One reason for this may be that fear of crime is more common in Britain than in Sweden. Fear of crime may be such a general problem in Britain that the poor cannot be differentiated from the non-poor.