Crime-Related Fear - Essay Sample

Introduction

It is not known between male and female that fear various criminal activities committed by some people. Different people perceive the threat of crimes differently, and these happen in such a way that the kind of fear and anxiety they have is not related to the actual risk of victimization. There is various status such as gender, age, and race which are closely associated with the level of fear of crime as compared to the security in the neighborhood. To determine the level of fear of crime between different gender, it is essential to collect and analyze various data that can show the degree of fear of crime that either women or men build when exposed to different criminal activity. Data were collected from a diverse group of people of different races such as whites, blacks and even Hispanic. The respondents were given the opportunity to respond to questions in the questionnaires. Data were collected from 10 male respondents and ten female respondents so that it is easy to depict which gender group fear crime incident most. The respondents were of the same age group but different race or ethnic group.

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Data Analysis

Descriptive statistics were used when analyzing the data. During the analysis, mean and averages were used to describe the fear of crime that male and female experience when there is an attack.

The result of the analysis showed that female group has a lower average of fear of crime than their counterpart male. Based on the results above male have a mean of 4.05625 of fear of crime while the female has a mean of 7.59375 fear of crime. This indicates that male respondents have a lower rate of fear of crime than female (Princiotta & Morris, 2009).

The result showed that female has a higher average fear of crime than male when someone breaks into their home while they are away (Godfrey, 2017). The female has an average fear of crime of 8.3 while male only has 4.6. This is an indication that female fear to encounter any crime than male. At the same time, male respondents showed a very low mean in response to rape crimes. Male only have a mean of 0.5 fear of crime while the female has a mean of 8.5 fear of crime (Henig & Maxfield, 2017). This means that male have a lower incidence of rape than female. Therefore male has no reason to fear rape crimes - furthermore, female fear being hit by a drunken driver while driving a car than male. The mean of a male for being hit by a drunk driver was only 4.8 while that of a female was 8.7. This showed that female is more afraid than male when it comes to being hit by a drunken driver.

Female also fear more when someone breaks into their homes while they are at home as compared to male counterparts (Ferraro & LaGrange, 2017). Based on the result of the analysis, the female has a mean of 8.6 while the male has 3.9 which is an indication that male believe that nothing can happen while someone breaks into their home while they are within (LaGrange & Ferraro, 2017). They think that they can protect what they have while at home than while they are away. Although both male and female fear when someone takes something from them by force, the result indicates that female is more afraid (8.9) than male (2.7). Male human beings have a stronger power and strength to resist someone from taking something from them by force, and therefore they are less afraid to face such crimes.

Also, the result also highlights that female are more afraid than male when they see a stranger loiter near their homes late at night. The mean for female (8.1) showing it is higher than that of male (1.8). This is because female human beings depend on the security that their male counterpart provides. They further have more fear when there are a group of juveniles disturbing peace near their homes. The mean for fear of the incident (8.1) while the male only has a mean of 2.7. Both female and male fear being beaten up by stranger almost at the same rate. Female has a mean of 8.1 while ale has a mean of 7.4.

Summary of the Analysis

The result of the analysis comparing the level of fear of crime between male and female reveal that female are more afraid than male in all incidences of crime. Female fear being raped, being killed and being beaten by a stranger than their counterpart male. The overall mean summarizing the result of suspicion of crimes for female (7.594) and male (4.05625) showed that female get more tensed than male when there is an incident threatening their lives around and within their homes.

Ranking of Offences

There are similarities and differences between gender in terms of offense ranking. There are some offenses which appear first in the list for both male and female groups. An offense like murder is feared by both male and female, and it tops the least. It is a crime that each group considers very dangerous as it involves loss of life (Geis, Gordon & Riger,1989). The only difference is in an offense of rape which appears second after the murder for the female but appears last for a male. It means that female fear being raped than male because they are at a higher risk of rape than their counterpart male (Atkinson & Blandy, 2016). Other offenses have the same ranking although the degree of fear each of them pose on an individual gender group is different. Both male and female fear being beaten by a stranger and least fear being approached by someone begging for money. Such crimes or offenses appear last in the list because it is a small offense.

Conclusion

The purpose of the survey was to compare the difference in the level of fear of crime between male and female. Descriptive statistics were used in the analysis to describe the findings of the result. The result showed that female is more afraid than male when exposed to different incidences of crime. In the same study, the different offenses were also ranked based on the level of fear each group has towards them. The result indicates that there is a slight difference between crimes as both female and male list them the same.

References

Atkinson, R., & Blandy, S. (2016). Fear, crime and the home. Domestic Fortress. doi:10.7228/manchester/9781784995300.003.0005

Ferraro, K. F., & LaGrange, R. (2017). The Measurement of Fear of Crime*. The Fear of Crime, 277-308. doi:10.4324/9781315086613-15

Geis, G., Gordon, M. T., & Riger, S. (1989). The Female Fear. Contemporary Sociology, 18(5), 765. doi:10.2307/2073351

Godfrey, B. (2017). Fear of crime before 'fear of crime?'. The Routledge International Handbook on Fear of Crime, 7-19. doi:10.4324/9781315651781-2

Henig, J., & Maxfield, M. G. (2017). Reducing Fear of Crime: Strategies for Intervention. The Fear of Crime, 489-505. doi:10.4324/9781315086613-25

LaGrange, R. L., & Ferraro, K. F. (2017). The Elderly's Fear of Crime. The Fear of Crime, 77-96. doi:10.4324/9781315086613-5

Princiotta, D. K., & Morris, R. J. (2009). Differences Between Female and Male Juvenile Delinquents. PsycEXTRA Dataset. doi:10.1037/e604342009-001