Abstract
Background
Fear of crime is associated with negative
health and wellbeing outcomes, and may
mediate some impacts of the built
environment on public health. A range of
environmental interventions have been
hypothesized to reduce the fear of crime.
Methods
This review aimed to synthesize the
literature on the effectiveness of
interventions in the built environment to
reduce the fear of crime. Systematic
review methodology, following Preferred
Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews
and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidance,
was used. Studies of environmental
interventions which reported a fear of
crime outcome and used any prospective
evaluation design (randomized controlled
trial (RCT), trial or uncontrolled beforeand-
after study) were included. Eighteen
databases were searched. The Hamilton
tool was used to assess quality. A
narrative synthesis of findings was
undertaken.
Results
A total of 47 studies were included, 22
controlled and 25 uncontrolled, with total
sample sizes ranging from n = 52 to
approximately n = 23,000. Thirty-six
studies were conducted in the UK, ten
studies in the USA and one study in the
Netherlands. The quality of the evidence
overall is low. There are some indications
that home security improvements and
non-crime-related environmental
improvements may be effective for some
fear of crime outcomes. There is little
evidence that the following reduce fear of
crime: street lighting improvements,
closed-circuit television (CCTV), multicomponent
environmental crime
prevention programs or regeneration
programs.
Conclusions
There is some evidence for the
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effectiveness of specific environmental
interventions in reducing some indicators
of fear of crime, but more attention to the
context and possible confounders is
needed in future evaluations of complex
social interventions such as these.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Systematic Reviews |
Volume | 2 |
Issue number | 30 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 12 May 2013 |
Keywords
- Fear of crime
- Systematic review
- Builtenvironment
- Intervention effectiveness