Citation

Hill J, Pollet TV, Nettle D. PeerJ 2014; 2: e287.

Affiliation

Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle , UK.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, PeerJ)

DOI

10.7717/peerj.287

PMID

24688864

PMCID

PMC3961159

Abstract

Many police forces operate a policy of high visibility in disordered neighbourhoods with high crime. However, little is known about whether increased police presence influences people's beliefs about a neighbourhood's social environment or their fear of crime. Three experimental studies compared people's perceptions of social capital and fear of crime in disordered and ordered neighbourhoods, either with a police presence or no police presence. In all studies, neighbourhood disorder lowered perceptions of social capital, resulting in a higher fear of crime. Police presence or absence had no significant effect. The pervasive effects of disorder above other environmental cues are discussed.

Language: en