The impact of a local community engagement intervention on residents’ fear of crime and perceptions of the police

What is it about?

This paper reviews a community engagement initiative and shows that, compared to an area that did not experience Police-led community engagement, residents' perception of the police improved and fear of crime decreased. Analyses demonstrate that we can confidently attribute most of these improvements to the intervention effect. Further, we hypothesized and empirically supported a model which indicates that improvements in the outcomes are driven by increased social capital, which in turn makes residents feel that they, as a community, are capable of overcoming issues and problems that they face.

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Why is it important?

There are few empirical studies on the effectiveness of Police-led community engagement initiatives in the United Kingdom. This paper contributes to the sparse evidence base and indicates that community engagement can improve perceptions of the police and reduce fear of crime.