Fear of Crime

The overarching aims of the Partnership are,‘to reduce crime, disorder and their social and economical costs in the local authority area in a cost effective and socially equitable way.'
(Hough and Tilley 1998)

One important social cost can be identified as the fear of crime:
Fear of crime can often be more debilitating than crime itself. It can prevent people from leading normal lives and distort their perceptions as to the safety of the communities in which they live. There is a clear expectation on the part of Government that the strategies should address fear of crime and disorder as well as actual levels thereof. (Home Office 1998)

People’s fear of crime varies depending on their own personal experiences, where they are, the time of day or night and who else is around them. It is surprising but young people are more fearful of crime than most other groups.

Older people are less fearful of crime and more afraid of household burglary possibly because they tend to stay indoors after dark.

The public consultation exercise undertaken in connection with the Community Safety Strategy 2002-2005 revealed that the fear of crime was given a low priority by all groups, however, the high prioritisation of violent crime which is one of the least likely crimes to occur to someone, could imply that there is in fact a high fear of crime.

Vale Royal is a safe place to live, work and visit and the Partnership will actively promote the objectives and actions it will be carrying out over the next 3 years to encourage people to be less fearful of all aspects of crime.

The Fear of Crime is a difficult subject to define and therefore address. For some people may fear a particular crime and others not; likewise those who fear one type of offence may not fear others. An individual's personal experience of crime or knowledge of someone else's experience will colour their overall perception. Quite often this fear is affected by the media and fictional television series.

In order to assess how the residents of Vale Royal feel about crime and disorder and their own personal safety an initial survey of nearly 1000 people was conducted in October 2001 and this was followed by a survey of a similar number of residents in October and November 2002. Here are just some of the results,

A full copy of the results can be obtained by contacting the Community Safety Co-ordinator on 01606 867517.

Crime and Disorder Priorities
Respondents were asked to prioritise crime and disorder issues from a list of fourteen issues. The chart below gives the percentage of those who considered a particular issue to be the most important. Violent crime scored top with burglary in the home and drug related crime as second and third. The figures in brackets relate to the results obtained last year; 'Road Safety' and 'Drinking and Driving' were not previously separated and together accounted for 3% last year. ASB refers to Anti-social Behaviour.

Despite the concerns expressed in the survey violent crime is not as common as people think. Based on current figures there is 1 offence recorded for every 100 people and these often involve parties known to one another. Violent Crime is defined as all forms of assault, including sexual assault, robbery, kidnapping and incidents of race hatred or homophobia: more than one offence may be recorded arising out of a single incident. The violence people fear most is that committed on the street by strangers - this accounts for less than one offence per 1000 people.

Current statistics suggest that the most common crime is Criminal Damage (vandalism and arson) affecting nearly 16 people in every 1000 and yet it is shown as of low concern. Nearly 7 people in every 1000 area affected by burglary in the home, and 13 in every 1000 suffer from vehicle crime.

Fear of Crime
When people in Vale Royal were asked what they feared when they left their homes to go to work, go shopping, or for some other reason, then they had particular concerns: often people were worried about more than one matter.

Fear of Crime / Actual Crime

Percentage of residents who are worried about becoming a victim of burglary in their home	66%	Percentage of the population who were a victim of burglary during 2002-3	1%
Percentage of residents who are worried about being a victim of vehicle crime	60%	Percentage of the population who were victims of vehicle crime during 2002-3	1.3%
Percentage of residents who are very worried about being a victim of violence	66%	Percentage of the population who were a victim of violence during	1%

Another question posed was how safe do people feel when they go out either during the day or at night. The results can be summarised as follows:

Overall the message has to be that Vale Royal is a safe place in which to live, work and enjoy yourselves.

© Copyright 2002, Vale Royal Community Safety Partnership.
Last modified: October 2003

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