Confidence in the Police as a mediating Factor in the Fear of Crime
| Author | Trevor Bennett |
| DOI | 10.1177/026975809400300301 |
| Date | 01 September 1994 |
| Published date | 01 September 1994 |
International Review ofVictimology,
1994,
Vol.
3,
pp. 179-194,
0269-7
5
80/94
$1
0
©
1994
A B Academic Publishers-Printed
in
Great Britain
CONFIDENCE
IN
THE
POLICE
AS
A
MEDIATING
FACTOR
IN
THE
FEAR
OF
CRIME
TREVOR BENNETT
University ofCambridge,lnstitute
of
Criminology, 7 West Road, Cambridge, CB3 9DT, UK
ABSTRACT
The paper draws attention to findings of research which show or suggest that confidence in the
police might be negatively correlated with fear of crime. The paper argues that the potential
mediating effect
of
confidence in the police on fear
is
an important research issue
as
it
might suggest
practicable policy options. In order
to
examine this relation aggregated data drawn from surveys
conducted
in
four residential areas
in
England were analysed using both bivariate and multivariate
methods of analysis. The research showed that while there appeared to be a negative correlation
between confidence
in
the police and fear at the bivariate level this effect disappeared at the
multivariate level when other relevant factors were taken into account. The paper concludes that
the connection between public views on the quality
of
policing and fear
of
crime deserves further
research
in
order to determine under what conditions (if any) confidence might affect fear and to
learn more about the nature
of
public perceptions of the police as a potential source
of
protection
against public worries and fears.
INTRODUCTION
There is some evidence to show that public confidence
in
the police might
be
an
important factor in explaining fear
of
crime. The link between public confidence
in the police and fear had been noted in an independent analysis
of
the data
collected during the second British Crime Survey which found that respondents
who reported that the police were doing a 'good' or 'very good' job were
significantly more likely than other respondents to say that they
felt'
safe' or 'very
safe' when walking alone in their area after dark (Box et al., 1988). The link has
also been noted in a national victimisation and public attitude survey conducted
in the United States which found that 'perceived adequacy of police protection'
was significantly related to fear
of
crime (Baumer, 1985).
The possibility
of
a connection between public confidence in the police and
fear of crime is important in terms
of
fear prevention policy. Research on fear
of
crime has shown that a substantial proportion
of
the variance of the various
measures of fear can typically
be
explained by factors which are difficult to
manipulate
as
part
of
an intervention strategy (for example, age, gender, race,
area crime rates, area incivility rates, and environmental factors; Baumer, 1978).
However, it might be speculated that it would be less difficult to alter public
confidence
in
the police than individual or community factors.
If
this were so,
180
manipulating public confidence in the police could be one
of
the most practicable
and effective ways
of
tackling fear
of
crime.
The research evidence which might be used to assess the connection between
fear and confidence in the police can be found in four main areas
of
research:
(
1)
analyses
of
cross-sectional public attitudes surveys; (2) evaluations
of
policing
experiments designed
to
reduce fear
of
crime; (3) laboratory and field experiments;
and ( 4) research on the quality
of
police service during public contacts.
The first area
of
research includes the two studies already mentioned by Box
eta/. ( 1988) in Great Britain and Baumer ( 1985) in the United States. Both found
that confidence in the police was a statistically significant factor when entered
into a multivariate analysis
of
fear
of
crime. Both concluded that this linkage
might be used as a basis for an intervention strategy. Box
eta/.
proposed that the
police might become more visible on the streets and might form alliances with
the public as a fear-reducing measure. Baumer identified increased patrol acti-
vities and a shift to foot patrol as a means
of
increasing a sense
of
security and
reducing fear
of
crime. Baker
eta/.
( 1983) also found from survey data collected
in Phoenix, Arizona that confidence in the police (measured in terms
of
public
perceptions
of
response times) was a significant correlate
of
fear (measured in
terms of perceptions
of
personal safety at night on the streets).
Other research has shown weaker correlations or no correlations between
confidence and fear. Another national survey conducted in the United States
of
America found that overall there was no correlation between support for the
police and fear
of
crime (Block, 1971
).
Krahn and Kennedy reviewed aggregated
data from surveys conducted in 23 Canadian cities and found that size
of
local
police force had no effect on fear
of
crime (Krahn and Kennedy, 1985). Garofalo
analysed aggregated data from eight North American cities and found that
evaluation
of
police performance (measured in terms
of
whether the public
thought that the police were doing a good job) was only weakly correlated with
fear
of
crime (Garofalo, 1979). Hale eta/. reported no association between public
confidence in the police and fear once structural and individual correlates had
been taken into account (Hale
eta/.,
1994).
The second area
of
research relevant to the connection between confidence in
the police and fear covers police experiments which have been aimed directly or
indirectly at tackling fear
of
crime. An evaluation
of
seven policing strategies
conducted in Newark and Houston designed specifically to reduce fear
of
crime
found that two strategies (police community stations and citizen contact patrols)
were effective in reducing fear while the remaining five strategies (police
newsletters, victim recontact programme, community organising response teams,
a signs
of
crime programme, and a coordinated community policing programme)
were not (Pate
eta/.,
1986).
An evaluation
of
a community-oriented policing programme implemented in
Baltimore, Maryland which included directed patrol, crime prevention and prob-
lem-oriented policing found some evidence
of
success in reducing fear
of
crime
(Cordner, 1986). The research found that fewer respondents assessed their fear
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