Police patrols and feelings of safety: addressing the influencing factors

The reassurance policing model is based on increasing visible patrols and, in turn, increasing the publics’ feelings of safety. However, previous research has shown that the presence of police may not always be seen as reassuring. For example, research suggests that increased police patrols may have an adverse effect in areas where perceived risk of crime is already high. Furthermore, across the literature, many factors that affect feelings of safety in the presence of police patrols have been discovered. Age, gender and previous victimization are amongst the factors that have been investigated, as well as external factors such as street lighting. The present study aimed to address the effect that three different patrol types, namely the police helicopter, foot patrol and police cars, have on feelings of safety through a questionnaire among 531 participants (18-81 years, 73.8% female). Furthermore, the relevance of location and time of day were also investigated. Several demographic variables, such as employment status and ethnicity, were also recorded to address any impacts that these may have on feelings of safety. The questionnaire presented the participants with hypothetical scenarios and asked them to gauge how they might feel in those situations. Results showed that, overall, gender had little effect on feelings of safety across the scenarios. However, several age differences were uncovered. Furthermore, factors such as media consumption, previous victimization and perceived level of crime were also identified as causal factors influencing feelings of safety. The discussion addresses the potential for future research.