Citation

Muratbegović E, Budimlić M, Memić F. J. Crim. Just. Iss. 2012; 12(1/2): 17-38.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Fakultet Kriminalistickih Nauka Univerziteta U Sarajevu)

DOI

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PMID

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Abstract

The aim of this article is to establish whether there are unique neighbourhood level variations in worry about criminal victimization, independent of neighbourhood composition. An additional purpose is to establish the extent to which proposed mechanisms at the individual level, prior local victimization and perceived disorder, act as mediators of a hypothesized effect of neighbourhood level disorder. This article tested a model of the effects of different predictors on individuals' levels of fear of crime in the neighbourhoods of the Kosovo capital Pristine. In this research, the authors used an interviewing method conducted in the households of the interviewees. The population consisted of the adult (18 years old and more) inhabitants of urban areas of Pristine. The sampling procedure was a multi-stage random probability method. The selection process was carried out through the following four stages defined: (1) city areas, (2) streets or parts of streets, (3) selection of a household, (4) "next birthday "selection-key. The common Neighbourhood Disorder and Safety feeling model has shown that well-developed Neighbourhood social disorder have a positive although non-significant impact on the neighbourhood fear of crime in Pristine.. This does not come as a surprise considering that the people in the post-socialist societies are traditionally more reliant on their family and friends. The above trend was somewhat strong in Kosovo, because observation shows that nearly a half of respondents from Pristine live in households with more than five members while one fifth of them live in house- holds with seven and more members. Residents of EU capitals and capitals in the former Republic of Yugoslavia have greater tendency than residents of Pristine to mention everyday crime as one of the factors that feed their fears. The most serious objection that can be raised in relation to this survey is the application of the interview as the sole data collection technique. Most certainly, the inclusion of other techniques (Focus Groups, etc.) and methods would have achieved more valid results. The limitation of the factor models is that the input variables are mainly non-Normal Likert's scales. This means that the theoretical requirements for the application of the factor model are not fully fulfilled which consecutively reduces possibility to generalize the findings of the factor models further analysis using non parametric tools are the results of the factor analysis. In order to fully generalize the findings of the factor models, further analysis using non parametric tools are necessary. The police enjoyed the highest level of trust of all public institutions, which is maybe the most important for our study because the work of police has a direct impact on citizens' sense of security. Such results could have been expected in Pristine given that the police in Kosovo are controlled by the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) operation there. Trust in the police forms is good basis for study of other factors which influence citizens' sense of security, that is, their fear of crime at a local level.

Keywords: Human trafficking