The feeling of insecurity when going out in one’s own residential area at night has increased in the last ten years, a new survey from BRÅ shows.
– I like to avoid going to the store late at night, so when it starts to get closer to ten I like to have someone on the phone or for someone to go with me, says Saga, 24 years old.
It is above all among young women that the feeling of insecurity increases. Today, almost every second woman between the ages of 16 and 19 feels unsafe when they are outside in the evening.
Insecurity has also increased among men. Insecurity has increased most among men between the ages of 45-54. In that group, one in five feels unsafe when they are out in the evening.
– Sometimes when I have worked at night and am on my way home and sometimes when there have been police helicopters circling and you don’t know why, says Erik, 35 years old.
Attention to serious crimes increases the feeling of insecurity
Caroline Mellgren, professor of criminology at Malmö University sees several reasons for the increased insecurity. She believes that the increased attention to criminal policy and serious violent crimes that can be linked to criminal networks can be a contributing factor to more people feeling insecure.
– We see that there are more completely innocent people in the public who are affected. It affects the feeling that this is something that can happen to anyone, anywhere, says Caroline Mellgren and continues.
– You have to remember that the risk for the individual to be affected is very small, but at the same time the consequences are so great that it results in a greater level of insecurity for many.
Link to crime trends
Although the perceived insecurity has increased, it is not certain that it is justified by the actual development of crime.
– We do not see a dramatic increase in general crime that would justify increased insecurity, says Caroline Mellgren.
According to crime statistics from BRÅ, murders and attempted murders have increased in the last ten years, while reported cases of assault, robbery and rape, outdoors, have decreased, per 100,000 inhabitants.
– Insecurity is an individual feeling where more people experience a concern about crime in society in general and a concern that relatives will be exposed to crime when they are out and about in different environments, says Mellgren.