Description
Book SynopsisMost studies of fear of crime assume that is rimarily induced by direct or indirect contact with a criminal event. Consequently programs designed to deal with this problem focus on either increased police protection or a number of crime prevention programs. In this study, Dan A. Lewis and Greta W. Salem raise questions both about the validity of these assumptions and the effectiveness of the programs. A five-year investigation has led the authors to challenge those theories that focus only on the psychological responses to victimizations and fail to take into account the social and political environments within which such fears are shaped and nurtured.Explicitly laying out a 'social control' perspective which informs their research and analysis, the authors examine the fear of crime in ten neighorhoods in Chicago, San Francisco, and Philadelphia which represent the range of communities typically found in urban areas. On the basis of their analysis the authors contend that fear of crime
Table of ContentsList of Tables and Figures, Acknowledgments, Introduction, 1 The Emergence of Fear of Crime as a Social Problem, 2 Fear of Crime and Community Context, 3 An Empirical Application of the Social Control Perspective: Fear of Crime in Ten Urban Neighborhoods, 4 Fear of Crime in the Neighborhoods, 5 Social Disorganization and Neighborhood Change, 6 Sources of Social Control, 7 Crime, Fear, and Community Context, 8 Social Problems, Public Policy, and Political Responsibility, 9 Fear of Crime and Political Responsibility, References, Index
