Some issues of the feeling of safety and fear of crime Dr. Ilona Michailovič Vilnius University

Fear of Crime  Professionals in different fields are aware that fear of crime is not only provoked by crime rates but by a lot of different social problems on local and national level.

Fear of Crime  The fear of crime as a public problem must be treated as seriously as preventing and reducing crime

Fear of Crime  The main factors shaping the phenomenon of a fear of crime are direct victimisation experience (i.e. becoming a crime victim) and indirect victimisation experience (i.e. contacts with individuals, who have had direct victimisation experience).

Fear of Crime  Another very important factor in the fear of crime is the perception of the local community in the consciousness of the people.

Risk of Victimisation  The most recent data confirms what has long been the trend: young people between the ages of 16 and 24 are the most victimised group, regardless of whether it is crimes of violence or crimes of property

The Respondents’ Feeling of safety  The survey “Conflict Situations at Vilnius Night Entertainment Locations” conducted in October 2010 and November 2011

Conflict Situations at Vilnius Night Entertainment Locations  The peak hours for the night violence to be escalated are the late evening and night hours (from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.), also on weekends  About half of the respondents had not involved into any conflict situation at night entertainment locations during the past year, and only about one third of them had never had a chance to observe the situations in action.

Conflict Situations at Vilnius Night Entertainment Locations  The contest “The Safest Night Bar – 2011 organised by the III police commissariat of the Vilnius Region Police Commissariat

Prevention of Victimisation  In a survey of college students Tweksbury and Mustaine (2003) found that those students who were more fearful were more likely to use self-protective measures.

Feeling of Safety  Representative Survey of Lithuanian Residents conducted in April 2008: 17% of Lithuanian Residents feel safe or very safe, 48% feel more unsafe and unsafe, and 35% neither safe nor unsafe (neutral).

Feeling of Safety  factors mostly increased the feeling of being unsafe among Lithuania’s residents:  rising prices and inflation (81%), crime (62%), illness related problems (41%), small pensions (26%), the risk of unemployment (20%), etc.

 More research on fear and insecurity is necessary if we want to understand this contradictory phenomenon.

Thank you