Fear of Crime: Incivility and the Production of a Social Problem

Mass incarceration and lower crime rates have not made city dwellers feel safe. Programs designed to deal with this problem focus on increased police protection. In this study, Lewis and Salem question the validity of these assumptions and the effectiveness of this approach. Their five-year investigation challenged theories that focused only on the psychological responses to victimization and failed to take into account the social and political environments within which such fears are creat...