Fear of crime affects quality of life
The current crime situation today creates public anxiety and is a constant source of discussion and debate along the corridors of academia, profesional and parties involved in the field. Almost every day we hear news of crime which increases our feelings of fear and highlights our concern regardi...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Conference or Workshop Item |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2008
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://eprints.usm.my/34840/1/HBP3.pdf http://eprints.usm.my/34840/ |
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| Summary: | The current crime situation today creates public anxiety and is a constant source of discussion
and debate along the corridors of academia, profesional and parties involved in the field.
Almost every day we hear news of crime which increases our feelings of fear and highlights our
concern regarding the level of public safety. This anxiety also reflects the Statistical Crime
Report from the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) indicating an increase in criminal cases from
the year 2005 to the year 2007. This fear concerns the dip in quality of life that could affect
social activities and the national economic well-being. Feelings of fear of crime exceeding
actual crime rate gives an illustration of the ebb of social life today and loss of faith in designs
for public safety. Fear of crime affects many people and needs to be taken seriously.
Although statistically most people have a low chance of becoming a victim of crime, many
people nevertheless fear crime. This scenario occurs because almost everyday we come
across reports of crime and violence in Malaysia. There have been many reports of crime:
snatch thefts, rapes, and other sex-related crimes, assaults and murders, child abuse and ill
treatment of foreign maids, hold-ups and petty thefts, kidnappings, fatal road accidents, etc.
With this barrage of media reporting, there is an air of anxiety and fear as to what the future will
hold for our Malaysian society and subsequently their quality of life. These reports give the
impression that our safety in Malaysia is decreased. This follows the depreciation of Public
Safety Index in the Malaysian Quality of Life Index (MQLI) 2004. Therefore, fear of crime has
become an important issue of public concern which detracts from the quality of life. This paper
will discuss the existing causes of fear of crime and trends of crime in Malaysia as important
aspects of deterioration in quality of life of Malaysians. Prevention of crime through
environmental design will also be discussed in this paper as it has now become a national
initiative in overcoming the stated problem in Malaysia. |
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