High crime, high fear (Crime Reduction Programmes)

In those areas which are experiencing high crime, being fearful is arguably a rational response. When this is the case, the main priority should be to reduce crime and disorder in the area. Look at the Crime Reduction website for some good ideas on how this can be done. An example of this type of area could be a deprived inner city with a transient population.

Click here for a link to http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk.

High fear of crime can sustain high levels of crime, such as people being afraid to report crimes, lack of confidence to challenge crime and lack of confidence in criminal justice agencies. Alongside these crime reduction measures should be crime prevention actions (capacity building) which involve the community. The community can then see that crime and disorder should not be tolerated in their area and they can challenge the behaviour, meaning they can become part of the long term solution. Make sure that the community has all the relevant information, such as telephone numbers and names to contact for help and advice.

However, it should be recognised that crime is usually only one of the factors contributing to fear of crime in these areas. Putting policies in place to regenerate the neighbourhood, increase social cohesion and promote neighbourhood renewal will also have an impact on reducing the fear of crime. For more information about this, visit the Department for Communities and Local Government website at http://www.communities.gov.uk.

When effective action is being taken, it is important that the community knows about it. Action which is not visible to the community may not have an impact in terms of reducing fear. For advice on communicating with your local community look at section 6 of this toolkit “Good Communication”.


Back to the Fear of Crime Matrix