GIS-Based Statistical Analysis of Detecting Fear of Crime with Digital Sketch Maps: A Hungarian Multicity Study

Abstract

This study evaluates fear of crime perception and official crime statistics in a spatial context, by applying digital sketch maps and statistical GIS methods. The study aims to determine explanatory motives of fear of crime by comparing results of selected large, medium and small sized Hungarian cities. Fear of crime information of residents were collected by using a web application, which gave the possibility to mark regions on a map, where respondents have a sense of safety or feel fear. These digital sketch maps were processed by GIS tools, and were converted to grid data, in order to calculate comparable explanatory variables for fear of crime analysis. The grid-based normalised model reflected some similarities and differences between the observed cities. According to the outcomes, examples were found both in coincidences and opposite correlations of crime statistics and perception of unsafe places, highlighting the importance of locality in fear of crime research. Additionally, the results mirrored that the size of the city or the respondent's sex does not significantly influence the overall judgment of places, rather the absolute number of safe markings and the local number of registered crime events could affect local results.Although numerous studies have proved that various spatial factors can trigger fear of crime, the fact is that crime rates in certain areas are not necessarily as high as expected [16,17], consequently, additional explanatory factors should be considered as well. Doran and Lees [18], for example, found relationship between fear of crime and physical disorder. Later, Doran and Burgess [3] proved that the environment in general plays an important role in fear of crime. It was recently shown that even improvements in the environment can have a positive effect on reducing fear of crime [19]. Furthermore, a large amount of studies confirmed that fears of crime are concentrated in areas, which can be described by definite environmental characteristics. For example Lederer and Leitner [20] concluded that fear of being a victim of burglary can be assigned to well-defined geographical hot spots, as well as it is connected with definite statistical features and even with areas having less technical protection.A typical problem of mapping fear of crime, though, is the lack of data on location perceptions. In many countries police have not completed any survey on this topic, therefore, their own data surveys should be made to accumulate information from, e.g., questionnaires [21] or from digital sketch maps, which would conceivably quantify-in a specific way-the level and the area of fear of crime within a city [22][23][24][25][26]. Additionally, several contemporary research papers on fear of crime apply modern IT technologies to draw a more precise picture of the issue. For example Solymosi et al. [27] developed a FOCA application (fear of crime application), which investigates fear of crime as a dynamic phenomenon by tracing the participants' activities, and in this way, the avoidance of ce...

Is Campus a Place of (In)Security and Crime? Perceptions and Predictors among Higher Education Students

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