ABSTRACT

Feelings of safety vary by context, with disordered, high-crime areas typically generating more fear among residents. However, scholars have suggested that when violence permeates the daily routines in an area, it can begin to feel ‘normal.’ Residents may become desensitized to the risky conditions and grow accustomed to a high police presence, more aggressive tactics, and being stopped by police. Thus, lived differences with crime and police may alter the lens through which residents interpret environmental cues about their safety. The current study draws on 820 household surveys of residents from high-, moderate- and low-violence areas in an effort to inform police and communities about strategies that promote feelings of safety within different contexts. Our findings demonstrate that collective efficacy is consistently important to residents’ feelings of safety, across all contexts. Hearing gunfire reduces feelings of safety most in the area with moderate levels of gun violence. The results imply a need to tailor safety strategies to what makes people feel safer in areas with different levels of violence.

摘要

安全感因环境而异，无序、犯罪率高的地区通常会在居民中产生更多恐惧。然而，学者们认为，当暴力渗透到一个地区的日常生活中时，它就会开始让人感觉“正常”。居民可能会对危险的环境变得不敏感，并习惯于警察的高度存在、更具侵略性的策略以及被警察拦截。因此，与犯罪和警察的生活差异可能会改变居民解释有关其安全的环境线索的视角。目前的研究利用了对来自高、中和低暴力地区居民的 820 份家庭调查，旨在向警方和社区通报在不同环境中促进安全感的策略。我们的研究结果表明，在所有情况下，集体效能对居民的安全感始终很重要。在枪支暴力程度中等的地区，听到枪声最能降低安全感。结果意味着需要制定安全策略，使人们在不同暴力程度的地区感到更安全。