CSI: Index Anti Social Behaviour Fear of Crime Home Safety Personal Safety Problem Neighbours Vehicles Domestic Abuse Child Safety Slips, Trips & Falls	Fear of Crime Introduction FAQ's Email a problem you’d like us to answer Links Introduction Fear of crime can affect all people no mater where they live. Unfortunately, the public perception of crime is much higher than the reality therefore causing a lot of unnecessary fear. One of the largest contributing factors to this fear is the physical environment in which we spend our time. The surroundings we live in have an enormous impact on how safe we feel. Whether or not the fear is justified, it is a problem that requires tackling as everyone has the right to live without fear. Restoring pride and ownership of an area can be used to help to reduce this fear. FAQs 1. I live in a high crime area so I’m more likely to be a victim. I don’t think that I fear crime unnecessarily but I don’t want to let fear take over how I live my life. What can I do? If crime really is a problem then the best way to tackle the fear is to tackle the crime. Your local authority should have a crime reduction strategy so make sure the crimes that worry you most are on it. The government gives grants to local authorities for precisely this purpose. 2. I was recently a victim of crime and it has left me very shaky and destroyed my confidence in other people. I have heard that being a victim of crime makes it more likely I will be a victim again and this is making my worrying worse. Is it true? Statistically, being a victim does make you more vulnerable to repeat victimisation. But so do many other factors like recent bereavement, or your race. If you have been a victim of crime you need help to get back on your feet. This takes time and until you are feeling steady again you are more vulnerable and therefore at a slightly higher risk. To tackle this there are many things that you can do. Firstly, talk to your local victim support group. They offer practical support and have lots of advice to help you make your environment safe again. Secondly, you can take steps on your own for instance by improving the security of your home, using a personal attack alarm when you go out and learning about ways to stay safer. Being well informed is one of the best defences and will help you be realistic about your fear. 3. I’m 84 and live alone. I feel extremely vulnerable because of my age and worry about crime a lot. What can I do to reduce the fear? Is it valid? As an older person you are much less likely to be a victim of crime. However, we do not want you to become complacent because of this. There is always the potential but you needn’t worry about crime excessively. The best way to tackle fear is to take control of it. Take action by becoming informed about the risks and how to avoid them. People can feel vulnerable for many reasons; not just age. Whether it is a physical disability, nationality, or age you can take appropriate steps to minimize risk. For instance, older people are far less likely to be victims of crime than younger people, but if an older person was to be a victim of crime, then it may be because of a bogus caller. If you take action to prevent this then you will be much more in control of your own fate.See Home Safety for advice on what steps you can take Another way to take control is to be more informed about real crime statistics. Beware of headline news and don’t forget that a newspaper’s first priority is to make money. Dramatic news about how some crimes have increased, sell far more papers than nice stories about how much crime has dropped recently. But in fact, the British Crime Survey shows that in the last 9 years crime in Britain has dropped by a massive 39%! 4. How can I get information about crime in my area? Most areas do publicise drops in crime, either through the police or local campaign groups. The problem is, we are so used to hearing about all the crimes in the news that we find this information hard to believe and dismiss it. Looking on your local police website can be a good start. However, not all crimes are reported to the police. If there is a drive to convince people to report crimes then it will apparently increase the number of crimes. In fact the number may not have changed or it may even have decreased. If you want a more rounded picture then the British Crime Survey is a good start as it records all crimes, whether or not reported to the police. British Crime Survey 2003/04 Report However, it is of comparative use only since it applies soley to England and Wales. You also need to be aware of how to interpret these figures. The most recent Scottish Crime Survey shows that crime in Scotland is lower than England per head of population and that there has been an overall drop of 13% in the last 4 years. If you want to take a more proactive approach then you could also join your local neighbourhood watch. See the National Neighbourhood Watch Association Website for local details. According to the government's latest British Crime Survey (BCS), 43% of tabloid readers thought the national crime rate had increased significantly, compared with 26% of broadsheet readers. Overall, three quarters of the 40,000 people surveyed believed crime had increased in the last two years. This is despite the same survey finding people were experiencing a drop in overall crime rates. (As reported by the BBC)