Introduction: Fear of crime is widely studied in the criminological field and refers to the individual's perception and evaluation of a potential danger. Fear of crime holds both direct and indirect causes where direct causes refer to feelings of fear after previous victimization. Indirect causes refer to those who are frightened by the possibility to be victimized. Aim: This study aimed to explore the feelings of safety among the population in a middle-sized town in Sweden. Method: Data was collected using a replica of the National Safety Survey. This study used a simple randomized sample and the questionnaire was sent to 1010 participants, 298 responded to the survey, which meant a response rate of 29.5%. Results: Most of the participants in the studied city (87%) reported concern about the criminality. The female gender and earlier victimization were associated with higher levels of concern. The majority of the respondents reported feeling safe in their own neighborhood, but almost half of them felt unsafe in another area; where the residential area Nacksta, bus station and train station were distinctive. The respondents felt quite big trust for the police and the authorities, but earlier victimization and higher levels of concern for criminality were associated with lower levels of trust. Discussion: A discussion of the results regarding the concern for criminality, unsafe feelings and trust in the police is provided. The differences and similarities were discussed from a theoretical perspective and a comparison with the National Safety Survey has been made. / <p>2017-06-01</p>

Uniformed presences are thought to create feelings of safety in people. However, do different uniformed people contribute to the same amount of safety and are there differences dependent on the situation? The present study examined the association between various types of uniformed presence and people’s feelings of safety through a questionnaire among 352 respondents (18-86 years) (49.1 % women). The questionnaire contained pictures of relatively safe and unsafe situations with or without uniformed presence. The respondents estimated how safe they thought they would feel in these situations with and without two police officers, six police officers, a police car, two security guards, or two police volunteers. The results showed that uniformed presence does not increase feelings of safety in an already relatively safe situation, making patrol unnecessary. In relatively unsafe situations however, all types of uniformed presence increase feelings of safety. Foot patrolling police increased feelings of safety the most. Security guards and police volunteers created approximately the same amount of safety; making police volunteers a cost-effective alternative, although some situation, gender and age differences were found. All types of foot patrol were better than vehicle patrol (with some gender differences), making non-police groups an alternative to vehicle patrol.

In the pursuit of planning for inclusive public space, this thesis addresses feelings of unsafety as a hindering aspect of equal access. The aim of this thesis is to explore the role of embodied knowledge within urban planning for understanding feelings of safety in public space. Due to the complexity of socio-spatial relations, I suggest a feminist approach to knowledge creation. The study is based on semi-structured interviews including a visual elicitation with urban planners in Sweden (n=16). My findings show that planners’ conceptualisations of safety relate to an overall focus on social sustainability and a problematic relationship between safety and crime prevention. While multiple methods are being used to understand feelings of safety, such as site audits and citizen dialogues, embodied methods are not (actively) used. There is therefore a need to recognise our bodies as helpful tools for understanding feelings of safety. Furthermore, who we are affects the way we perceive our surroundings as well as our feelings. Thus, urban planning practitioners need to (continue to) be reflexive about their positionalities, as well as to include experiences and perspectives of peoples’ situated, embodied knowledge to create inclusive public space for all.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur polisiär närvaro påverkar allmänhetens upplevelse av trygghet, samt om den upplevda tryggheten påverkas av polisens synliga utrustning. Fokus har riktats mot platser som generellt upplevs som trygga, men som även kan upplevas otrygga av allmänheten ur ett terrorhot-perspektiv. Studien har undersökt allmänhetens upplevelse av polisiär närvaro ur ett trygghetsskapande perspektiv, med utgångspunkt i Ulrich Becks teori om risksamhället. Datamaterial samlades in genom strukturerade intervjuer med 148 personer i Stockholm och Uppsala och analyserades genom univariata analyser och korstabulering. Resultatet visade att polisiär närvaro kan öka allmänhetens upplevelse av trygghet. Det framkom även att utrustning är av betydelse för hur polisiär närvaro upplevs och att polisiär närvaro kan verka trygghetsskapande på de platser som undersöktes. / The study has examined how the presence of the police affect people's feelings of safety and the way the public perceives exposed police equipment. The study, based on Ulrich Becks theory about Risk Society, has primarily been focused on sites that are generally considered safe, but could also be perceived as potentially vulnerable to terrorism. Structured interviews of 148 people in Stockholm and Uppsala has collected data for the study. The data source was analysed by descriptive statistics and by correlation. Results of the interviews suggest police presence can increase the public’s feelings of safety in the examined places. From the data collected, it also emerged that police equipment is instrumental in the perception of police presence and public’s feelings of safety.

The aim of this paper was to explore associations between previous victimization, police legitimacy and feelings of safety, and to also explore how different patrolling strategies were perceived in terms of general feelings of safety and police legitimacy. A questionnaire was created to measure these variables. The tests used were correlations and independent samples t-tests. The participants were 175 individuals living in Sweden, 67 were men and 108 were women, and the average age was 28. The correlation analysis showed that there was no significant relation between police legitimacy and feelings of safety regardless of previous victimization or not. One t-test showed no significant difference in patrolling strategies in terms of feelings of safety. However, a second t-test showed a significant difference in patrolling strategies in the general perception of police legitimacy. Participants with greater confidence in the police, perceived foot patrolling as more vital for their feelings of safety. The theory, Community oriented policing (COP), was used to further analyze results obtained within this study. Through this study, it was concluded that foot patrolling could promote cooperation between the police and the public. This might improve citizens' understanding of police legitimacy, which in turn can increase the overall levels of feelings of safety among the public. / Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka samband mellan tidigare viktimisering, tilltro till polisen och upplevd trygghet, samt skillnader i vilken patrulleringsstrategi som uppfattades som mest trygg vad gäller den generella upplevda tryggheten respektive den generella tilltron till polisen. En webbenkät som mätte dessa variabler skapades och analyserades sedan med hjälp av korrelationsanalyser och oberoende t-test. Antalet deltagare var 175 personer bosatta i Sverige där 67 var män och 108 var kvinnor och deras medelålder var 28. Korrelationsanalyserna visade inget signifikant samband mellan tilltro till polisen och upplevd trygghet även när tidigare viktimisering användes som kontrollvariabel. Det oberoende t-testet visade ingen signifikant skillnad i vilken patrulleringstrategi som deltagarna uppfattade som mest trygg vad gäller den generella upplevda tryggheten. Däremot visade ytterligare ett oberoende t-test att det fanns en signifikant skillnad i vilken patrulleringsstrategi deltagarna uppfattade som mest trygg vad gäller den generella tilltron till polisen, där personer med högre tilltro till polisen uppfattade fotpatrullering som mest tryggt. Teorin om Community oriented policing (COP) användes för att analysera resultaten. Sammanfattningsvis stödjer denna studies resultat uppfattningen om att fotpatrullering kan främja samarbetet mellan invånare och polis. Ökat samarbete mellan parterna kan tänkas leda till ökad tilltro till polisen, som i sin tur kan resultera i ökad upplevd trygghet bland befolkningen.