Keeping trouble at a safe distance

The fear of crime is generally recognized as a social problem around the world. Yet, research has so far lacked to establish a dependable picture of this phenomenon. The present study examines the highly complex allocation of interacting perceptions, for which it provides suitable explanations through a social psychological approach. It aims to discover at what level of psychological distance citizens primarily experience 'the fear of crime' and how they construct it.

The author applies various qualitative and quantitative techniques to conduct this research. For instance, historical discourse analysis, free associative interviewing, Structural Equation Modelling, and photo sorting via Q-methodology. The results show that citizens are determined to keep crime at a safe distance. Even to those who deem that crime is a significant factor in their immediate surroundings, 'the fear of crime' remains a distant and abstract social problem.

Keeping trouble at a safe distance relates to the broad field of the social sciences, especially to the disciplines of criminology, sociology and social psychology.

About the author: Dr. Remco Spithoven (1985) holds a PhD in social sciences and an MSc. in public administration. He is currently an associate professor of applied sciences in safety and security management studies at the HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, and is a research fellow at the Faculty of Social Science, VU University Amsterdam. His research areas cover public opinion, crime, social change, societal pessimism, and research methodology.