The use of crime prevention technology continues to expand within the urban environments of postindustrial cities (Loader, 1997; Crawford, 1998; Prenzler et al., 2009). Target-hardening technologies such as alarms, shutters, bars, gates, walls and CCTV are increasingly being used to protect retail, industrial and residential properties (Loader 1999; Nelson, 1999; Prenzler et al., 2009; Whattam, 2011). The use of security shutters on windows in residential settings in Western Australia (WA) is a relatively recent development. This trend is increasing, despite a lack of evidence to support their effectiveness in reducing crime. This paper investigates crime and security shutters in a residential setting and reports on the perceptions of 353 respondents (residents in a Perth suburb). The survey explores perceptions of crime and 'eyes on the street' (Jacobs, 1961) and contrasts perceptions of crime associated with shuttered and non-shuttered properties. Respondents were shown photographs of properties as environmental stimuli to elicit insights into their perceptions of burglary risk, levels of surveillance of the street, levels of social interaction and levels of safety. Although shutters were perceived to reduce burglary in individual properties, this was believed to be at the cost of reduced surveillance, social interaction and personal safety at the street level.

Ethnic minority officers continue to be underrepresented across UK police forces. Further, some ethnic minority groups consistently report lower levels of confidence in police compared to their White British counterparts. Although there is consensus that a more ethnically representative police service is a good idea, there is limited evidence in the UK on how the public perceives officers of different ethnic appearance, and how this relates to trust, confidence and legitimacy. This paper presents findings from an online experiment (n=260) exploring how ethnic appearance affects perceptions of police. Our findings offer rare empirical support for a more ethnically representative police force. First, across respondents, we found that Black officers were perceived significantly more favourably than White or Asian officers.Second, we found that Black respondents had more negative responses to White officers, yet there was little evidence that Black officers elicited more negative reactions from White or Asian respondents. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the findings.

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