Geography of fear of crime: Examining intra-urban differentials in Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, Ghana

Abstract

Fear of crime continues to be a concern for state security agencies, city planners, and residents living in urban areas. While significant strides have been made by way of research to understand the correlates of fear of crime, which include mainly socio-spatial characteristics of the environment, few of these studies have focused on the intra-urban differentials of fear of crime and its correlates, most especially in a developing country context. Therefore, drawing on a sample population of 544 respondents across three different socio-economic neighbourhoods and with the use of multivariate statistical techniques, the study examines the geography of fear of crime in Sekondi-Takoradi, an emerging city in Ghana. The findings reveal a spatial variation of neighbourhood effect on fear of crime across the three socioeconomic neighbourhoods selected. On this basis, we propose a context-specific solution to address fear of crime and also recommend stronger social cohesion, community effort in crime prevention, and building of confidence in the police as measures for reducing crime and fear of crime.

Keywords: fear of crime; collective efficacy; social cohesion; property victimization; Sekondi-Takoradi