On April 16, 2007, 32 students and faculty were killed on the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University campus, making this incident the deadliest mass school shooting in United States history. Other school shootings, such as the infamous Columbine High School shootings and the more recent Northern Illinois State shootings, have become popular topics in today's social media (Kaminski et al, 2010; Reese 2009). Due to these events, schools and universities have become interested in the safety of their students as well as the students overall feelings towards crime while on their campus. New research studies have taken an interest in students' overall fear of crime and how this fear is impacted by variables including sex of the student and the time of day (Kaminski et al. 2010; Murray 2001). Though these studies have found who is more fearful of crime and which types of crime are feared most among their samples, these studies and others do not take into account whether the student is aware of shooting incidents that have occurred on college campuses around the country. The current study addresses this gap. The purpose of this study is to measure whether a University of Central Florida student's knowledge of mass school shootings influences their own levels of fear regarding crime and criminal victimization. Using an anonymous online survey, data from students at the University of Central Florida was collected and analyzed. The survey used quiz style questioning to gauge a students' overall knowledge on mass school shootings. Other questions such as demographics fear of various types of crime, and fear of different locations on campus were also asked.; This research addresses which areas of the University of Central Florida that students fear most (such as the Parking Garages), whether a student who lives in off campus housing is more fearful then a student who lives on campus, and whether having more knowledge of mass school shootings cause more fear of crime in students then those with less knowledge, and do students with more knowledge feel that they will be victimized more. This research hopes to help the University of Central Florida's Counseling center and well as the UCF Police Department to help understand students fears and needs to help create a safer learning environment and help those students in need in addition to adding to the overall literature on fear of crime.

‘Knarkrondellen’, which translates to ‘Drug Roundabout’, is a known hot spot for drug trading in Malmö and the police have implemented several measures to prevent the narcotic crimes. This paper sets out to investigate the impact that the police interventions, namely enhanced police foot patrols, improved street lighting and the installation of a surveillance camera, have on the crime rates and the fear of crime at the roundabout. In a multi-method approach, quantitative data from the police register and police surveys as well as qualitative observations and interviews with the residents are analyzed. The findings show that the police interventions did not reach the desired preventative effect in the given study period and indicate the occurrence of displacement. The citizens’ feeling of safety and perception of the problems did not change significantly as a result of the interventions. Overall, the surveys and interviews suggest that the police are on the right track; however, a longer follow-up period is needed in order to examine the long-term effects of the intervention measures. Additionally, an enhanced involvement of the community in the fight against drug crimes appears necessary.

Nyhetsrapporteringen av brott och dess inverkan på läsarnas rädsla för brott har i årtionden studerats som ett socialt problem. Dessa studier indikerar på en relation mellan exponeringen av brottsnyheter och uppkomsten av rädsla för brott. Däremot är forskningen gällande brottsrapportering begränsad och lämnar utrymme för frågor gällande hur bristen på information i porträtteringen av brottsnyheter påverkar rädslan för brott bland läsarna. Denna studie undersöker hur presentationen av brottsnyheter gällande mängden information som tilldelas läsaren ser ut och hur denna rapportering påverkar rädslan för brott bland läsarna. Urvalet för studien består av 900 brottsartiklar, publicerade i två lokaltidningar i Skåne, Sverige. Genom innehållsanalys studeras artiklarna utifrån de teoretiska perspektiven kontrollokus, tillskrivning av ansvar och nedåtriktad jämförelse. Resultaten visar att både information gällande kontexten av en brottshandling samt information gällande egenskaper hos offer och gärningsperson sällan porträtteras i brottsartiklar. Resultatet visar också på att frånvaron av denna information kan påverka läsarnas rädsla för brott. Det antyds att detta beror på upplevelsen av bristen att själv kontrollera brottshändelser samt en bristande förmåga att kunna avgöra sin egen risk för utsatthet för brott. Avslutningsvis föreslås utbildning av journalister i författande metoder som kan minskar risken för rädsla för brott bland läsarna. / The influence of crime news coverage on fear of crime in the audience has for decades been evaluated as a social problem. Indicating a relationship of exposure to crime news and the emergence of fear of crime. However, the research on crime news coverage is limited, and questions remain about how the lack of information in the portrayal of crime in newspaper influences fear of crime among the audience. This study examines the presentation of crime news in newspapers regarding the amount of information provided to the reader, and the influence of this coverage on fear of crime among the readers. The sample consist of 900 crime news articles published in two local newspapers in Skåne, Sweden, and were content analyzed based on previous research, and on theoretical perspectives of Locus of control, Assignment of responsibility, and Downward comparison. The results show that both information regarding the context of the crime incident, and information regarding the characteristics of the victim and offender are rarely portrayed in the crime news. The results also imply that the absence of information, provide in the newspapers, may influence fear of crime among the readers. This is suggested to be due to the lack of ability to control crime events, and to evaluate one´s own risk for victimization. Finally, this study suggests educating newspaper journalist in public health method, which might lead to a decreased risk for fear of crime among the audience.

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Research examining college choice has traditionally focused on factors relating to demographics of the student and the college/university. Less attention has been directed towards how safety and security of the campus and the surrounding community play a role in college choice. In addition, some studies have examined students’ fear of crime, perception of safety and security, and perception of public safety; however, there is still much to be learned. The current study sought to further the research by (1) assessing how campus safety and security impacts enrollment decisions, (2) assessing how students perceive fear of crime and their personal safety, and (3) determining how students view campus public safety officers and the various programs/policies designed to improve their safety. Survey data was gathered from a sample of students attending East Tennessee State University. Results suggested that several factors played a role in the outcomes of interest. Findings served to better our understanding of the topic and promote future research in the field.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

This study aimed to examine the relationships between crime exposure and posttraumatic stress symptomatology, and crime exposure and fear of crime. More specifically it set out to establish a possible causal link between crime exposure and posttraumatic stress symptomatology and fear of crime. In addition, it then aimed to identify and explore the possible moderating effect of coping style, (problem-focused, emotion-focused and dysfunctional coping) on the afore-mentioned relationships. The study was conducted on a Johannesburg based, tertiary student population (n = 123) and employed self-report questionnaires to solicit responses which were then subject to statistical analyses. Findings for the relationship between crime exposure and posttraumatic stress symptomatology indicated that increased exposure to crime was predictive of higher posttraumatic stress symptomatology. However a comparison of the relationship between non-crime related traumas and posttraumatic stress symptomatology suggested that crime exposure was not the only predictor of posttraumatic stress symptomatology. Similarly, findings for the relationship between crime exposure and fear of crime indicated that increased exposure to crime was predictive of increased fear of crime levels. Again, however, a comparison of the relationship between non-crime related traumas and fear of crime suggested that crime exposure was not the only predictor of fear of crime. In reference to the possible moderating effects of coping styles on the relationships between crime exposure and posttraumatic stress symptomatology, and crime exposure and fear of crime, no significant moderating effects were found for problem-focused, emotion-focused or dysfunctional coping. Dysfunctional coping was significantly associated with higher levels of traumatic stress symptomatology and fear of crime, but independent of exposure patterns. Visible patterns of relationship with regard to both problem focused and emotion focused coping appeared to be more complex than would be expected based on existing findings in the literature.

Assessing the perceptions that students have of the university police officers charged with ensuring student safety is important to maintaining the overall safety of the campus. The current study sought to assess the relationship between student perceptions of university police and the fear of crime felt by students while on campus. Data collection was conducted through a survey methodology using a convenient sample of students in which a self-report survey was sent to the university email addresses of all students enrolled in a southeastern university (n=260). Through the employment of a scale developed to assess the perceptions of university police legitimacy and a similar scale to assess fear of crime, the results of the study demonstrate a relationship exists between the variables. The relationship strengthens when demographics are controlled for. This study was designed to add to the limited amount of research examining perceptions of university law enforcements.