Perceived Neighbourhood Social Disorder and Attitudes toward Feeling Safe in Sarajevo

• Published in: Varstvoslovje Vol. 14; no. 4; p. 460
• Main Authors: Muratbegovic, Elmedin, Memic, Fahrudin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Maribor Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security - University of Maribor 01.10.2012
• Subjects: Attitudes; Living conditions; Neighborhoods; Perceptions; Public safety; Sarajevo Bosnia-Hercegovina
• ISSN: 1580-0253; 2232-2981

In this article, the authors examine how fear of crime levels vary depending upon the degree of quality of living conditions within neighbourhoods. Additionally, the intervening mechanisms that link the degree of living quality with the level of fear of crime within neighbourhoods of Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be explored. This article shows the impact which neighbourly relations and social (dis) organization have on citizens' perceptions of the so-called fear of crime. In order to measure the fear of crime in general, the authors relied on Van der Wurff's model which has already been widely used in criminology and which is based on six vignettes describing six different social situations. The authors used a multi-stage random probability method to select a representative sample of households living in urban zones of Sarajevo. The sample population (N = 400) consisted of adult (18 years or older) inhabitants of urban areas comprising Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Neighbourhood Disorder and Fear of Crime models indicate that welldeveloped social networks have a significant impact on feeling safe within Sarajevo's neighbourhoods. The most serious objection that can be raised with regard to this survey is the application of the interview as the only data collection technique. Most certainly, the inclusion of other techniques (e.g. focus groups) and methods would achieve more valid results. From the perspectives of practical implications, fear of crime can negatively impact citizens' lives, and it is important to prevent this phenomenon in our communities, through everyday police activities and activities of other institutions of formal and informal social control. The incidence and perceptions of safety in Sarajevo has become linked with perceived problems of social stability, moral consensus, and the collective informal control processes that underpin the social order of neighborhoods. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]