Fear of Crime among Gang and Non-Gang Offenders: Comparing the Effects of Perpetration, Victimization, and Neighborhood Factors

Abstract

This is the first study to examine adult offenders’ fear of property, personal, and gang crime. We examine five research questions among 2,414 jail inmates, focusing on how afraid offenders are of crime. We compare current, ex-gang, and non-gang members. We ask if more experience with crime perpetration and victimization and more perceptions of social disorganization increase offenders’ fear of crime. Finally, we ask if the importance of these factors in predicting fear varies by gang status. Results show that offenders, generally, were not very afraid of crime. Although ex-gang and current gang members believed they were more likely to experience property, personal, and gang crime, they reported less fear than non-gang members. Crime perpetration did not influence offenders’ fear, but less experience with personal crime victimization predicted fear of personal and gang crime among non-gang members. The results also indicate that perceptions of social disorganization better explain fear among non-gang members than ex-gang and current gang members.

Keywords:

• gang members
• fear of crime
• social disorganization
• crime
• victimization
• perceived risk

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Corrigendum

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues for funding this research. Views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the funding agency. The authors wish to thank the jail administrators and inmates who participated in this research and Kathy Zambrana and Jen Klein for their valuable research assistance.

Notes

1. Some argue that risk, fear, and constrained behaviors are part of a larger concept called the “threat of victimization” and that they affect each other (see Rader, 2004; Rader et al., 2007).

2. Due to limited staff availability to escort the research team, two jails restricted the number of housing units and inmates who were able to participate.

3. Ineligible inmates in all jails included those housed in disciplinary confinement and psychiatric and communicable disease units. Additionally, four jails did not permit high-security inmates to participate and three jails deemed federal inmates ineligible for participation.

4. The data presented in Table 2 were dichotomized for ease of interpretation; however, the variables with original variation preserved were used to determine statistical differences.