Topic: fear of crime

Order Description

Critically evaluate this statement: “The fear of crime is not rational.”

You will need to:
Have a focus. For this question there is a possibility of focusing in a number of ways. You can focus on one element of fear of crime (age, gender, socio-economic status, etc.) and construct your answer around that.
Within this question you can also choose a focus based on crime rates and their relationship to fear of crime, chances of victimisation and fear of crime, geographic location and fear of crime etc. You may also choose to focus on the potential impact fear of crime can have on people’s lives. This can be in the extreme. Some people fear crime to a degree that appears to be above and beyond their chances of victimisation (the elderly). Some people fear crime to a degree that appears to be far below what might be expected (young men). You should include a discussion about the fear/crime paradox within your answer.
However you decide to focus you will need to evaluate the evidence to decide whether the levels of fear, the causes of that fear and the impending actions (or inactions) in relation to that fear are rational. This can include elements of target hardening, personal protection, routine activities or the non-existence of any of these measures. However you choose to narrow your essay focus, the reading and preparation are essential.
You will need to:
Explain what fear of crime is within the context of your chosen focus. There are many different academic approaches to this and you will need to choose which definition of fear of crime is most appropriate to answer your essay question. This explanation need not be overly verbose but it is essential to explain how you understand the concept and this will support all of your arguments concerning any possible impact media can have on the phenomenon of fear of crime. Failure to properly outline what this concept means makes it very difficult to understand any possible impacts upon it.
You will need to:
Explain or seek to better understand within the context of the essay what you consider ‘rational’ to be. This should relate directly to your focus. This will help you to conclude your arguments later in the essay.
You will need to:
Set out the parameters of your essay within the introduction. Be explicit about the focuses of your essay straight away. Explain why you are focusing on specific areas and why. Your introduction should let the reader know what to expect from the essay and guide them through towards your discussion and conclusions.