STA
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JULY 2015
6
CAMPUS RESEARCH
UWI COMMUNITY NEWS
FROM THE ST. AUGUSTINE CAMPUS
Is it idealistic to think
of a society in which
we have no fear of criminal victimisation? Do
we have a right to demand safety for our family
and neighbours or are we far removed from the
ideals enshrined in Article 3 of The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (Everyone has the
right to life, liberty and security of person)?
The expansion of the security industry,
emergence of gated communities, increased
budgetary allocation to security and crime,
discourses in parliament and the media, send
a clear signal, that crime is a major concern in
our society. Over the last four years the annual
average budget allocation to the Ministry of
National Security was TT$5.5 billion.
The findings of a recent survey conducted by
the ANSA McAL Psychological Research Centre
showed that over 50% of citizens in Trinidad saw
crime as a major national problem. Preliminary
results from an ongoing 2015 Crime Victimisation
and Fear of Crime Survey funded by the T&T
Research Development Impact (RDI) Fund have
shown that 44% of respondents were afraid of
being victims of crimes. It suggests that for every
100,000 persons within the adult population of
Trinidad, about 44,000 persons are fearful of
being criminally victimised. This lecture explores
possible explanations of these findings.
Understanding Fear of Crime
Fear is usually considered a negative
emotion associated with high physiological
arousal, creating a flight or fight response. This
emotion is functional since we are biologically
wired to respond to danger cues as a means to
protect ourselves andmembers of our group. Fear
of crime is one of these functional responses.
The Fear
of Crime
By Professor Derek Chadee
On May 26, 2015, Professor Derek Chadee, Head of the Department of Behavioural Sciences,
gave a Professorial Inaugural Lecture at the Learning Resource Centre of the St Augustine Campus. The lecture,
entitled “Fear of Crime: To Be or Not to Be Afraid”, looked at the difference between perceptions of crime in Trinidad and Tobago and
actual crime statistics. Below is an excerpt from the lecture. For a full summary please read the May 2015 edition of
UWI Today
.
A classic definition is that fear of crime is an
emotional response of dread or anxiety to crime
or symbols that a person associates with crime
(Ferraro, 1995). Several factors may help us to
understand our fear of crime levels. Among these,
the actual crime rates and the perceived crime
rates are two extremely important factors that
affect fear levels. Crime rates that are absolutely
or relatively high send a signal to citizens that
those in authority may not have control over the
crime situation.
It seems obvious that perception of and
confidence in the police are other factors. Higher
confidence in the police is associated with lower
fear levels. However, citizens’ confidence is
also bolstered when the criminal justice system
efficiently and expeditiously responds to criminal
matters. In addition, neighbourhood disorders,
including quality of life in the community, levels
of poverty, orderliness of surroundings, and other
measures of community civility are associated
with fear levels. An interesting observation is that
the power of rumour in close-knit communities
informs residents of criminal violations and they
often develop protective responses via informal
conversations. Studies have shown that persons
in rural areas are more likely to be fearful than
those in urban areas, in anticipation of being a
victim of crime. However, there are no consistent
findings in the literature on the association
between the rural and urban dichotomy and
fear levels. Among other factors associated
with fear of crime is the severity. Crimes differ
in their severity and consequences, such as
the consequences of murder against burglary.
Another is person and group vulnerability: some
groups and persons are more vulnerable than
others, gender/age/shift workers. Persons who
have been victimised or are indirect victims of
crime, that is their relative or friend has been a
victim, are more likely to be afraid.
Paradoxes of Fear
A number of fear-of-crime paradoxes
require acknowledgment. These paradoxes
suggest that groups that are least likely to
be victimised are more likely to be fearful. To
appreciate them we need to assess official police
data and crime victimisation survey data, where
available.
The Gender Paradox suggests that besides
sexual assault and domestic violence, females
are less likely to be victims of crime but are more
likely to be fearful of victimisation than males.
The Age Paradox suggests that older
persons are more likely to be afraid than younger
persons but less likely to be victims of crime.
The Ethnic Paradox suggests that certain
ethnic groups may be less likely to be victims but
more afraid.
The literature suggests that a major factor
influencing fear of crime is official crime rates.
The official crime rates in 2013 for some crimes
against person and property per 100,000 were
30.4 incidents for murder, 40.5 incidents for
wounding and shooting, 15.9 incidents for rape,
221.3 incidents for robbery, 221.8 incidents for
burglary and break-in. However, the fear of crime
rates per 100,000 as approximated from the RDI
Fear Survey’s preliminary data far exceed the
official victimisation rates. For example, while
the crime rate per 100,000 for murder is 30.4,
the fear of crime for murder rate per 100,000 is
38,757.
