The Development of Sense of Safety and Fear of Crime in Lithuania
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Abstract
This article consists of comparing research of development of fear of crime in Lithuania and in other European Union countries and sense of safety in Lithuanian society and in societies of other European and European Union countries.
The definition of safety consists from three components: individual level, national level and international level from one side; and political safety, economical safety and security of national defence from another side. The sense of individual safety is subjective feeling, while the level of national security is objective circumstance. These two definitions are non identic.
The sense of safety and fear of crime in this article are analysed as consequences of crime victimisation. The International Crime Victim Survey in Lithuania in 1997 revealed, that crime victimisation in Lithuania is on the average level among the European and European Union countries. The crime victimisation average in the European Union and other European and non European countries is 24,4 per cent per one year.
In Lithuania the same indicator is 26,9 per cent. The indicator in Lithuania is identical to the level of crime victimisation, i.e. in Switzerland (26,7 per cent).
But Lithuanian inhabitants have much more fear of crime that in other European countries and other industrialised countries of the world. The fear of crime per one year in Lithuania is round twice as much than in other abovementioned countries, and three-three and a half times as much as in Scandinavian countries.
Some reasons are important to explain such unique situation in Lithuania: the „jump” of criminality in Lithuania till 1995-1996; there where no information about criminality in the newspapers and television or radio during the all soviet times. After the restoration of independence suddenly much information about crime in all those means occured. And Lithuanian inhabitants got a shock because of each day information about murders, rapes, robberies. In market economy all participants of market are looking for profit. Information about cruel crimes is very good for this purpose. So, information about murders, rapes, robberies, that creates only 1-2 per cent of all registered crimes in Lithuania, takes 80 per cent of all information about criminality in Lithuanian means of information.
The definition of safety consists from three components: individual level, national level and international level from one side; and political safety, economical safety and security of national defence from another side. The sense of individual safety is subjective feeling, while the level of national security is objective circumstance. These two definitions are non identic.
The sense of safety and fear of crime in this article are analysed as consequences of crime victimisation. The International Crime Victim Survey in Lithuania in 1997 revealed, that crime victimisation in Lithuania is on the average level among the European and European Union countries. The crime victimisation average in the European Union and other European and non European countries is 24,4 per cent per one year.
In Lithuania the same indicator is 26,9 per cent. The indicator in Lithuania is identical to the level of crime victimisation, i.e. in Switzerland (26,7 per cent).
But Lithuanian inhabitants have much more fear of crime that in other European countries and other industrialised countries of the world. The fear of crime per one year in Lithuania is round twice as much than in other abovementioned countries, and three-three and a half times as much as in Scandinavian countries.
Some reasons are important to explain such unique situation in Lithuania: the „jump” of criminality in Lithuania till 1995-1996; there where no information about criminality in the newspapers and television or radio during the all soviet times. After the restoration of independence suddenly much information about crime in all those means occured. And Lithuanian inhabitants got a shock because of each day information about murders, rapes, robberies. In market economy all participants of market are looking for profit. Information about cruel crimes is very good for this purpose. So, information about murders, rapes, robberies, that creates only 1-2 per cent of all registered crimes in Lithuania, takes 80 per cent of all information about criminality in Lithuanian means of information.
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Please see Copyright and Licence Agreement for further details.
