Summary
Fear of crime was at or near the top of the list of police priorities in the United States more
than 2 decades ago, in the early 1980s. Many police executives had accepted the premise that
reducing fear of crime was an important objective, and several promising practices had been
identified. This situation helped spur the development of community policing in the 1980s and
1990s but, paradoxically, the importance of fear of crime within the explicit missions of most
police departments seemed to recede even as community policing expanded. More recently,
however, the gap between (1) falling crime rates and (2) stable or even increasing levels of fear
(what some call the reassurance gap) has led to renewed interest among police in strategies
for reducing fear of crime. Also, fear of terrorism arose in America post-9/11, making fear
reduction even more salient for local, state, and national officials.
This Guide briefly reviews information about the phenomenon of fear of crime as well as
historical and contemporary police efforts to reduce fear. The main focus, however, is on tools
and techniques that police can use to target and reduce fear of crime, and institutionalize
fear reduction within their agencies. Some promising practices and best practices have been
identified—these are strategies and programs that have been implemented and that have been
tested and shown to be effective.
Fear of crime is a different animal from crime, disorder, or traffic, but it is not really all that
esoteric. This Guide will help police understand what fear of crime is, why it matters, and why
it should be an important target of police attention. The Guide provides a number of tools and
techniques that should enable any police department to successfully add fear reduction to its
operational strategy and organizational bottom line.