Fear of Crime among Inhabitants of Skopje
Purpose:
The article gives basic notes about fear of crime as an important issue in contemporary criminology, describes certain characteristics of fear of crime in Skopje, and compares socio-demographic variables and the socio-psychological model of fear of crime proposed by Van der Wurff, Van Staalduinen and Stringer (1989).
Design/Methods/Approach:
The study employed a multi-stage random probability sampling method for a survey among citizens of urban areas of the capital of the Republic of Macedonia (Skopje) using face-to- face interviews conducted in March, 2009.
Findings:
The results showed that the respondents felt relatively safe in their neighbourhood; however, 67% of them pointed out that there were certain parts in the city where they didn’t want to go.The results show that greater fear of crime occurs among women, the elderly, those who think that woods are unsafe, those who fear they are not capable of chasing potential assailants, and those who sometimes imagine that someone would obstruct their path and when they go out make sure to take a safe route. Comparing the results of the regression analysis, the socio-psychological model does not explain fear of crime among respondents (R-Square, adj- 0.25) more than socio-demographic model. This indicates that further research should employ new psychological variables for better operationalization of existing models.
Research Limitations/Implications:
The results refer only to urban areas of Skopje. Improvements should be made to the questions used in the questionnaire paying special attention to the operationalization of the impact of the media on fear of crime.
Originality/Value:
The article will contribute to raising the importance of the issue of fear of crime as a significant part of criminal policy especially in the Republic of Macedonia.
UDC: 343.9(497.7)
Keywords: fear of crime, survey, Skopje, Macedonia