Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law

Does social security protect again fear of crime? The impact of welfare state policies on crime-related feelings of insecurity

During the first phase of this project, we focussed on the analyses of fear of crime as an indicator of wider social insecurities in a multilevel, cross-country perspective. One of the focal points of the research project is to analyze fear of crime. Based on previous investigations, it is widely recognized that subjective perceptions of criminal risk are greatly affected by non-specific social threats that go far beyond a concrete fear of falling victim to crime. Although fear of crime varies significantly between different European countries, past research has mainly sought to explain differences through individual characteristics; social issues have up until now been largely ignored. However, the Welfare State Theory of Gosta Esping-Andersen suggests that a strong link exists between welfare policies and levels of crime related insecurities: Higher levels of fear of crime can be observed in liberal welfare states (such as in Ireland or Britain) as well as in Eastern Europe, while much lower levels exist in social-democratic welfare states (as epitomized by the Nordic countries). The Welfare State Theory argues that these country differences can be attributed to dissimilar welfare policies that not only moderate the extent but also the nature of fear of crime. The current research project has been able to confirm this hypothesis and demonstrates that a strong correlation exists between fear of crime and levels of welfare spending. Through the use of multilevel modeling and various data and country samples (European Social Survey 2004 and 2006, EUICS 2005) it has been found that public investment in early education and childcare facilities is able to mitigate fear of crime. It is therefore assumed that investment in families and children in the form of early education and care as well as the development of social and cognitive skills – and corresponding coping resources – will lead to a long-term reduction in the fear of crime.