Finds fear of crime is contagious

0 Rafael Prieto Curiel led the study into crime perceptions ulations are created. Even those that have never been a victim of crime can be seriously worried about it.

“Most studies about the fear of crime and perception of security are static observations of the current situa- tion in a particular region or country.

“We wanted to find out how collective perception of insecurity emerges and changes over time, and how it compares among victims and nonvictims of crime.”

The study, which is published in Proceedings of the Royal Society A, was developed through a mathematical model which simulated the perception of security among a population of 10,000 individuals.

Three different groups were established to mimic the distribution observed in a city: a large majority which is “statistically immune” to crime; a group that experiences a small amount of crime, and a small population that experiences the majority of crimes.

They found that when individuals who never suffer crime only interact with people from their own group, they feel secure. However, only a small amount of interactions between groups is enough to change their perceptions of security.

Mr Curiel added: “Fear of crime is not a negative feeling, in fact it creates healthy precautions, like locking the door of our house, but it becomes an issue if it is disproportionate and unmanageable.

“From a policy perspective, we hope the findings of this study can be used to improve communication and knowledge of crime at regional levels.”