Introducing fear of crime to risk research

This paper introduces the fear of crime to risk research, noting a number of areas for future interdisciplinary study. First, the paper analyses the career of the concept of fear of crime and the politics of fear. Second, it considers research and theory on the psychology of risk, and particularly a risk as image perspective and interplay between emotion and cognition. Third, it speculates how people learn about risk and suggests how to customise a Social Amplification of Risk Framework to fear of crime. Finally, the paper argues that fear of crime may be an individual response to community social order and a generalised attitude toward the moral trajectory of society. Each of these areas of discussion has implications for future theoretical developments within risk research; each highlights how risk research can contribute to the social scientific understanding of an important issue of the day.