Criminal Victimisation in Greece and the Fear of Crime: A ‘Paradox’ for Interpretation

Abstract

The measurement ofvictimisation was rare and sporadic in Greece until2005 when it was included in the EU International Crime Survey (EUICS). Many findings are highly interesting as for example those concerning corruption. There are also high ratings of feeling unsafe among the inhabitants of Greece, in particular those in Athens, in spite of the relatively low rates of their victimisation. This paper focuses on this point, trying to reveal the factors which could explain this 'paradox'.

Anxieties About Modernization, Concerns About Community, and Fear of Crime

“…Usually, these studies report unsatisfactory low proportions of explained variance in worries about criminal victimization. Sometimes, when admitting the low explanatory power of their models, the authors of these studies refer to social anxieties as an important but omitted predictor variable (e.g., Hirtenlehner, 2008b;Zarafonitou, 2009). Quantitative research directly assessing the impact of broader anxieties on fear of crime, however, has remained scarce up to now.…”

Worry about crime in Europe: A model-based small area estimation from the European Social Survey

“…The regions most worried about violent crime are the Greek regions of Ionia Nisia ( δ true^ S E B L U P = 51.1%), Attiki ( δ true^ S E B L U P = 49.5%), Sterea Ellada ( δ true^ S E B L U P = 46.4%) and Peloponnisos ( δ true^ S E B L U P = 45.2%). Again, 8 of the 10 regions most worried about violent crime are Greek, as discussed by Zarafonitou (2009). Descriptive statistics of the estimates are shown in Table 5.…”

“…Further research might explore in greater depth the particularly high worry about crime in Greece. Zarafonitou (2009) argued that high fear of crime in Greece between 2004 and 2005, and in particular in Athens, could be related to high social and economic insecurities and a perceived decline in the quality of life. The growth in unemployment experienced in Greece after 2009 might be interpreted as a signal for low social protection that increased concerns about the social and economic situation, and in turn the worry about crime.…”

“…Further research might explore in greater depth the particularly high worry about crime in Greece. Zarafonitou (2009) , and s =∪ d s d . r d denotes the non-sampled units for the small area d of N d − n d dimension.…”

Η Τιμωρητικότητα Του Κοινού Σε Περιοχές Με Διαβάθμιση Εγκληματικότητας Στην Αθήνα Και Οι Στάσεις Του Απέναντι Στην Αντεγκληματική Πολιτική

“…(Αυστηροποίηση, η οποία συνδέεται με την αδυναμία του κράτους να ελέγξει επαρκώς το έγκλημα και να παράσχει ασφάλεια στους πολίτες του).206 Θα πρέπει, ωστόσο, να αναφερθεί ότι τα δύο παραπάνω χαρακτηριστικά205 Βλ. αντί άλλων βιβλιογραφία Ζαραφωνίτου, Χρ., όπως παρατίθεται στο Κεφ.1 και τη σχετική με το φόβο του εγκλήματος, ειδ Zarafonitou, Ch. (2009γ).…”