Fear of crime has been a central issue in criminological research from the 1970s onward. The salience of geographic location in shaping individuals’ fear of crime has been well documented in the research literature. Most such research concerns neighborhood effects, but the specific location of home has been largely overlooked to date as a distinct influence. Using two waves of telephone survey data collected in Houston, TX, this study examines location-based fear of crime with respect to both neighborhood and location of one’s home. Results from a structural equation model analysis indicate that residents do distinguish between fear in the neighborhood and fear at home. Furthermore, location effects on fear of crime vary significantly across racial/ethnic groups. The importance of these findings and the policy implications that stem from them are highlighted.
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