The authors examine models of the perceived increased risk of crime in the Czech Republic derived from both American criminology and research on the perception of risk. The sample is 740 households in the 1994 Czech Republic, with 577 husband and wife respondents, 146 single female household heads, and 17 single male household heads. Measures include criminal victimization, personal characteristics associated with exposure and vulnerability to crime, trust in government, economic stress, as well as perceived increased risk of crime since the postcommunist transformation. A victimology model of the perceived increased risk of crime based on exposure and vulnerability to crime is confirmed for the Czech Republic. Trust in government is also an independent and complementary contribution to explaining perceived increased risk of crime. The discussion includes an interpretation of the findings and their relevance to cross-national comparisons of perceived risk of crime.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Adam, J.1993. “Transformation to a Market Economy in the Former Czechoslovakia.”Europe-Asia Studies45:627-645.
2.
Baba, Yoko
and D. Mark Austin. 1989. “Neighborhood Environmental Satisfaction, Victimization, and Social Participation as Determinants of Perceived Neighborhood Safety.”Environment & Behavior21:763-780.
3.
Barnes, Samuel H.
and Francesco Mattioli. 1982. “US Politics and Public Opinion in the 1970s.”Sociologia e Ricerca Sociale3:61-85.
4.
Bauer, Petra
. 1991. “Political Orientations in Transition, An Analysis of Political Attitudes of the Citizens of West and East Germany 1990/91.”Kolner Zeitschrift fur Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie43:433-453.
5.
Bisanz, Charles F.1977. “Brief Communications—The Anatomy of a Mass Public Protest Action: A Shutdown by Independent Truck Drivers.”Human Organization36:62-66.
6.
Block, M. S.
and G. J. Lond. 1973. “Subjective Probability of Victimization and Crime Levels: An Econometric Approach.”Criminology, May, pp. 87-93.
7.
Bord, R. J.
and R. E. O'Conner. 1990. “Risk Communication, Knowledge, and Attitudes: Explaining Reactions to a Technology Perceived as Risky.”Risk Analysis10:499.
8.
Buriánek, Jiří
. 1994a. “The Relatively Minimal-Anomic Czech Transition: The Case of Prague.”Czech Sociological Review2:229-247.
9.
Buriánek, Jiří
. 1994b. “Názory občanů na kriminologické aspekty prostředi v Praze.”SociologickýČasopis30:201-214.
10.
Český Statisticka urad
. 1995. Statiskicky rocenka, 1995. Praha, Czechoslovakia: Český Statistica urad.
11.
Conger, Rand D.
and Glen H. Elder Jr. 1994. Families in Troubled Times: Adapting to Change in Rural America. Hawthorne, NY: de Gruyter.
12.
Conklin, J. E.
1976. “Robbery, the Elderly, and Fear: An Urban Problem in Search of a Solution.” In Crime and the Elderly, edited by J. Goldsmith and S. Goldsmith. Lexington, MA: Lexington.
13.
DuBow, Fredric
, Edward McCabe, and Gail Kaplan. 1979. Reactions to Crime: A Critical Review of the Literature. Washington, DC: National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, Government Printing Office.
14.
Erikson, Robert S.
and Kent L. Tedin. 1995. American Public Opinion: Its Origins, Content, and Impact. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
15.
Ferraro, Kenneth F.
1995. Fear of Crime: Interpreting Victimization Risk. Albany: State University of New York Press.
16.
Fowler, Floyd J.
and Thomas W. Mangione. 1974. “The Nature of Fear.” Survey Research Program, University of Massachusetts, and Joint Center for Urban Studies of MIT and Harvard University.
17.
Furstenberg, Frank F.
1972. “Fear of Crime and Its Effects on Citizen Behavior.” In Crime and Justice: A Symposium, edited by A. Biderman. New York: Nailburg.
18.
Giles-Sims, Jean
. 1984. “A Multivariate Analysis of Perceived Likelihood of Victimization and Degree of Worry about Crime among Older People.”Victimology9:222-233.
19.
Hartnagel, Timothy F.1979. “The Perception and Fear of Crime: Implications for Neighborhood Cohesion, Social Activity, and Community Affect.”Social Forces58:176-193.
20.
Institute of Sociology
. 1990. Economic Expectations and Attitudes. Prague: Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences.
21.
Kasperson, Roger E.
, Dominic Golding, and Seth Tuler. 1992. “Social Distrust as a Factor in Sitting Hazardous Facilities and Communicating Risks.”Journal of Social Issues4:161-187.
22.
LaGrange, Randy L.
and Kenneth F. Ferraro. 1989. “Assessing Age and Gender Differences in Perceived Risk and Fear of Crime.”Criminology27:697-719.
23.
LaGrange, Randy L.
, Kenneth F. Ferraro, and Michael Supancic. 1992. “Perceived Risk and Fear of Crime: Role of Social and Physical Incivilities.”Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency29:311-334.
24.
Lewis, Dan A.
and Michael G. Maxfield. 1980. “Fear in the Neighborhoods: An Investigation of the Impact of Crime.”Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency17:160-198.
25.
Luttbeg, Norman R.
and Michael M. Gant. 1995. American Electorial Behavior 1952-1992. Itasca, IL: F. E. Peacock.
26.
Matějů, Petr
. 1995. “In Search of Explanations for Recent Left-Turns in Post-Communist Countries.”International Review of Comparative Public Policy7:43-82.
27.
Matějů, Petr
. 1996. “Sociální třídy, postaje k neovnostem a politické orientace, vijvoj letech 1991--1995.” Unpublished manuscript, Sociological Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague.
28.
Matějů, Petr
and Nelson Lim. 1995. “Who Has Gotten Ahead after the Fall of Communism? The Case of the Czech Republic.”Czech Sociological Review3:117-136.
29.
Matějů, Petr
and Blanka Rěháková. 1996. “Education as a Strategy for Life Success in the Post-communist Transformation: The Case of the Czech Republic.”Comparative Education Review40:158-176.
30.
Mawby, R. I.
and S. Walklate. 1994. Critical Victimology: International Perspectives. London: Sage.
31.
Miethe, Terance D.
and Gary R. Lee. 1984. “Fear of Crime among Older People: A Reassessment of the Predictive Power of Crime-Related Factors.”Sociological Quarterly25:397-415.
32.
Mullen, Robert E.
and Joseph F. Donner-Meyer. 1985. “Age, Trust, and Perceived Safety from Crime in Rural Areas.”The Gerontologist25:237-242.
33.
Musil, Jiři
. 1992. “Czechoslovakia in the Middle of Transition.”Daedalus121:175-195.
34.
RAND Corporation Health Sciences Program
. 1992. “Rand 36-Item Health Survey 1.0.”Los Angeles. CA.
35.
Ross, Catherine E.1993. “Fear of Victimization and Health.”Journal of Quantitative Criminology9:159-175.
36.
Roundtree, Pamela Wilcox
and Kenneth C. Land. 1996a. “Burglary Victimization, Perception of Crime Risk, and Routine Activities: A Multilevel Analysis across Seattle Neighborhoods and Census Tracts.”Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency33:147-180.
37.
Roundtree, Pamela Wilcox
and Kenneth C. Land. 1996b. “Perceived Risk versus Fear of Crime: Empirical Evidence of Conceptually Distinct Reactions in Survey Data.”Social Forces74:1353-1376.
38.
Sapp, Stephen G.
, Wendy J. Harrod, and LiJun Zhao. 1995. “Social Demographic and Attitudinal Determinants of Consumer Acceptance of Food Irradiation.”Agribusiness2:117-130.
39.
Seligson, Mitchell A.1979. “The Impact of Agrarian Reform: A Study of Costa Rica.”Journal of Developing Areas13:161-174.
40.
Shapiro, Susan P.
1987a. “Policing Trust.” Pp. 194-220 in Private Policing, edited by Clifford D. Shearing and Philip C. Stenning. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
41.
Shapiro, Susan P.1987b. “The Social Control of Impersonal Trust.”American Journal of Sociology93:623-658.
42.
Short, James, F. Jr.
1992. “Defining, Explaining, and Managing Risks.” Pp. 3-23 in Organizations, Uncertainties, and Risk, edited by James F. Short Jr. and Lee Clarke. Boulder, CO: Westview.
43.
Siemaszko, Andrzej
. 1993. “Central and Eastern European Victimization Rates: To Compare or Not to Compare?” Pp. 87-92 in Understanding Crime: Experiences of Crime and Crime Control, edited by Anna Alvazzi del Frate, Uglijesa Zvekic, and Jan J. M. van Dijk. The Hague: Ministry of Justice, the Netherlands.
44.
Slovic, Paul
. 1993. “Perceived Risk, Trust, and Democracy.”Risk Analysis6:675-682.
45.
Smith, Lynn Newhart
and Gary D. Hill. 1991. “Perceptions of Crime Seriousness and Fear of Crime.”Sociological Focus24:315-327.
46.
Taylor, Ralph B.
and Margaret Hale. 1986. “Testing Alternative Models of Fear of Crime.”Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology77:151-189.
47.
Večrník, Jiří
. n.d. “Changing Earnings Distribution in the Czech Republic: Survey Evidence from 1988-1994.” Unpublished manuscript.
48.
Večrník, Jiří
. 1996. Markets and People: The Czech Reform Experience in Comparative Perspective. Aldershot, UK: Avebury.
49.
Warr, Mark
and Mark Stafford. 1983. “Fear of Victimization: A Look at the Proximate Causes.”Social Forces61:1033-1043.
