Feelings of Safety In The Presence Of the Police, Security Guards and Police Volunteers Maria Doyle
Master’s Program in Prevention Science Örebro University
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Master’s Program in Psychology with Prevention Focus
Science Independent Research Course (15 points) Spring 2014
Abstract
Uniformed presences are thought to create feelings of safety in people. However, do different uniformed people contribute to the same amount of safety and are there differences dependent on the situation? The present study examined the association between various types of
uniformed presence and people’s feelings of safety through a questionnaire among 352
respondents (18-86 years) (49.1 % women). The questionnaire contained pictures of relatively safe and unsafe situations with or without uniformed presence. The respondents estimated how safe they thought they would feel in these situations with and without two police officers, six police officers, a police car, two security guards, or two police volunteers. The results showed that uniformed presence does not increase feelings of safety in an already relatively safe situation, making patrol unnecessary. In relatively unsafe situations however, all types of uniformed presence increase feelings of safety. Foot patrolling police increased feelings of safety the most. Security guards and police volunteers created approximately the same amount of safety; making police volunteers a cost-effective alternative, although some situation, gender and age differences were found. All types of foot patrol were better than vehicle patrol (with some gender differences), making non-police groups an alternative to vehicle patrol.
Keywords: feelings of safety, policing, security guards, police volunteers, foot patrol, vehicle patrol
Feelings of Safety in the Presence of Police Officers, Security Guards and Police Volunteers An objective for some professionals and some non-professionals in society is to keep people feeling safe. One group of these professionals is the police. Already in the first paragraph of the police act, it is stated that the police should work to promote safety (Police law 1984:387). However, there are different types of groups that potentially can contribute to feelings of safety and possibly ease the workload of the police. The present study aims to examine if and to what degree different forms of visible uniformed presences, like patrolling police officers, a police car, security guards, and police volunteers, can influence peoples’ feelings of safety.
What Is Safety and How Can It Be Measured?
There are different definitions and different ways to measure feelings of safety (see e.g. Andreescu, 2010; Farrall, Bannister, Ditton, & Gilchrist, 1997; Ferraro, 1995; Ferraro & LaGrange, 1987; Hale, 1996; Heber, 2007; Wilson & Kelling, 1982; Zhao, Schneider, & Thurman, 2002). These different ways create issues concerning how to proceed
methodologically when measuring feelings of safety for example when it comes to definitions, data collection and analysis of the data (Farrall et al., 1997; Ferraro, 1995; LaGrange & Ferraro, 1987). For instance, fear of crime, is a common definition to use in research when measuring, among other things, feelings of safety (Hale, 1996; Heber, 2007). However, it can also be the other way around; the word unsafety is likewise used to measure fear of crime instead, and is done so frequently in Sweden (Heber, 2007).
Recently feelings of safety have also been used when measuring how unafraid people are (Heber, 2007). Feelings of safety, is a very wide concept and therefore hard to define, it encompasses everything from trust to feelings of security and that is only a part of it. It can be considered, among other things, a part of a criminological perspective as well as a public health perspective. Normally feelings of safety, is viewed as a lack of worry, risk and fear
(Heber, 2008). There is consequently an assumption that there is a link between fear of crime and feelings of safety. To feel safe is therefore sometimes equated to the individual not being afraid of being subjected to crime (NTU, 2014). The concept of feelings of safety is also used internationally (see e.g., Hinkle & Weisburd, 2008; Skogan & Maxfield, 1981).
Feelings of fear of crime as well as safety are both changeable and can be influenced by the situation. Thus, they can change depending on factors such as time, place and people in the situation (EUCPN, 2004; Farrall et al., 1997; Ferraro, 1995; LaGrange & Ferraro, 1987). This situational changeability is a reason that measuring feelings of safety becomes difficult. When not interested in peoples’ reactions and attitudes towards crime, but in peoples’ changes in feelings of safety when in the presence of different uniformed groups, feelings of safety seems like a more fitting focus. In sum, measuring feelings of safety has some difficulties, but to use the concept of safety still seems to be done frequently and therefore acceptable.
What Is the Relationship Between Fear of Crime And Health?
Feelings of safety, intertwined with fear of crime, are health concerns; however when one studies health in relation to these concepts one commonly studies the concept fear of crime. Because of this, both concepts (feelings of safety and fear of crime) will be used continuously in the introduction of the present study for the sake of a more comprehensive foundation. Fear of crime is considered “a major social problem” (Box et, al., 1988, p. 340) and is associated with both physical and mental health (Baum, Ziersch, Zhang, Osborne, 2009; Hale, 1996; Jackson & Stafford 2009; Stafford, Chandola & Marmot, 2007; Ziersch, Baum, MacDougall & Putland, 2005) as well as associated with a lessened quality of life (Cohen, Plecas, & McCormick, 2009; Dolan & Peasgood, 1997; Hale, 1988, Hale, 1996; Stafford, Chandola & Marmot, 2007; Ziersch, Baum, MacDougall & Putland, 2005). Fear of crime and perceived vulnerability trough risk-assessments, is further associated with life
satisfaction and subjective well-being (Adam & Serpe 2000) and can work as a stressor for the nervous and immune system, tearing it down (Stafford, et al., 2007).
Fear of crime affects peoples’ feeling of mastery; they tend to feel less in control (Adam & Serpe, 2000). In addition, fear of crime is also associated with increases in stress (Jackson & Stafford 2009), depression (Stafford, et al., 2007) and anxiety (Amerio & Roccato, 2007; Dolan & Peasgood, 1997; Jackson & Stafford 2009). Moreover, fear of crime is associated with distrust in people (Jackson & Stafford 2009; Skogan & Maxfield, 1981), reduced time spent on outside physical activities (Amerio & Roccato, 2007; Dolan & Peasgood, 1997; Hale, 1996; Jackson & Stafford 2009; Skogan & Maxfield, 1981 Stafford, et al., 2007) and time spent forming social ties and socializing (Dolan & Peasgood, 1997; Jackson & Stafford 2009; Stafford, et al., 2007).
A cycle of fear can also affect future crime in an area and thereby affect the
community’s overall health (Hale, 1996; Hinkle & Weisburd 2008; Skogan, 1986; Wilson & Kelling 1982; Ziersch et al., 2005). Finally, it does seem that fear of crime affects future health, and health affects future fear of crime, the relationship appears reciprocal (Jackson & Stafford 2009; Stafford, et al., 2007).In sum, to prevent feelings of unsafety and increase feelings of safety would be to prevent health issues.
What Influences People’s Feelings of Safety And Fear of Crime?
Many different aspects such as demographics, earlier experience of victimization and individuals’ confidence in the justice system can potentially affect feelings of perceived safety and fear of crime (Hale, 1996; Heber, 2007; NTU, 2014). There are also wider perspectives, where the role of the current surroundings and society as a whole, is important in the
development of fear of crime and feelings of safety (Andreescu, 2010; Hale, 1996; Heber, 2007; Hinkle & Weisburd, 2008; Zhao et, al., 2002). If for example the media reports more crime during a period, it can be interpreted as an increase of crime, because peoples’
awareness and knowledge of crime has increased (Hale, 1996; Heber, 2007; Zhao et, al., 2002). This awareness and the interpretations in turn, can lead to citizens’ feeling that the authorities have failed at upholding law and order and that they do not have control over the problem, crime in this case (Hale, 1996; Hinkle & Weisburd, 2008). Thus, there are different aspects that can decrease people’ feelings of safety.
Can Feelings of Safety Be Created Through the Presence of Visible Uniforms?
One suggestion to reduce peoples’ fear of crime and through that increase feelings of safety, based on previous research (e.g., Hinkle & Weisburd, 2008), is that authorities have to take action and show people that they are in control. According to some researchers, a symbol of societal control is visible uniforms (Bahn, 1974; Hale, 1996; Jackson & Bradford, 2009; Wakefield, 2007; Winkel, 1986). The police, one example of a uniformed personnel group, can through visible patrol become the symbol that crime can be both predicted and controlled (Balkin & Houlden, 1983; Hale, 1996; Jackson & Bradford, 2009; Wakefield, 2007; Winkel, 1986) and thus reduce fear of crime and increase feelings of safety. Two theories that are at the foundation of many situational crime prevention efforts today are rational choice and routine activity theory. They build on deterrence and opportunity and state that potential criminals are deterred from committing a crime through different means such as police patrol or surveillance cameras (Clarke, 1995).
Crime prevention based on rational choice theory is about getting the risk associated with the crime (e.g. through patrols increase the risk of detection) to be greater than the benefits of the crime (such as stolen goods) and thus deter criminal acts (Clarke & Cornish, 1985; Clarke, 1995). Routine activity theory has three important key aspects that in
combination lead to crimes being committed: the absence of so-called capable guardians (person or object that reduces the likelihood of a crime being committed), access to
appropriate objects or victims, and a motivated offender (Clarke, 1995; Cohen & Felson, 1979).
Crime prevention according to the routine activity theory is to reduce the number of suitable objects or victims, for example by putting alarms on products in stores. Another measure could be to add capable guardians, such as patrols at specific locations. These measures make the items less available to potential perpetrators. In addition the increased risks of committing crimes make potential perpetrators less motivated to commit crimes (Braga & Weisburd, 2010; Clarke, 1995; Kelling & Moore, 1989). Perceptions of feelings of safety should follow the same logic; police presence reduces crime and shows symbolically that the police are in control and therefore make people feel safer (Bahn, 1974; Jackson & Bradford, 2009; Zhao et al., 2002). In sum, visible uniforms could theoretically counteract these feelings of unsafety and increase feelings of safety.
Patrolling as a Method When Working to Increase Feelings of Safety
The police work with crime prevention and the enhancement of feelings of safety through patrols, both on foot and in cars (Braga & Weisburd, 2010; Kelling & Moore, 1989). However, the rational choice theory and routine activity theory also support patrols of other groups, such as security guards and police volunteers. According to these theories, it is not only the presence of police that deter potential perpetrators it may also be neighbors or friends as well as patrolling security guards and police volunteers (Clarke & Felson, 1993; Cohen & Felson, 1979).
Different groups working to create feelings of safety. Security guards, police
volunteers and other groups could potentially help the police by handling patrols in relevant contexts. That way they could liberate police resources for other things. Some researchers state that if civilians took more responsibility for their own safety (e.g. hire private security
companies and become involved in patrolling), the workload would ease up for the police (Ayling, 2007).
Other researchers express concern about problems that can arise when civilians get involved in police work. People involved with neighborhood watch increase their awareness of crime, and also report more to the police. With an increase in the reported crime it is easy to conclude that even crime has increased and therefore increase fear (Pepinsky, 1989). Using security precautions is also associated with higher, not less fear (Adam & Serpe, 2000). Some people claim that patrols from groups, other than the police, may be insufficient when it comes to satisfy public demands for more protection; because they do not have the same "symbolic aura" that the police have (Loader, 1997). In sum, there are different attitudes among researchers as to the benefits of civilians partaking in police work.
It varies from country to country which specific groups are involved in this kind of work. The police, however, often have the official and state mandate to work with creating feelings of safety (i.e. Police law 1984:387). Meanwhile groups in the private sector, such as security guards, have different authority depending on country and sometimes, depending on city in the country. Other civil groups that get involved in the work with creating feelings of safety differ in everything from clothing and authority to collaboration with police (Jacobson & Saville, 1999; Pennell, Curtis, & Henderson, 1985). These civil groups could for example be police volunteers, Guardian Angels or Wardens (see below).
Swedish security guards. To be called a security guard in Sweden you need mandatory training by the police. Security guards are commissioned by the police and subject to police authority in their service districts (Law 1980:578 on security guards). Since December 1, 2012 all security guards in Sweden wear identical uniforms. Standard equipment for the security guards is baton and handcuffs, but in some cases this can be supplemented with firearms and dogs. The security guards have limited police powers and may apprehend, turn
away or remove persons who, because of their condition cannot take care of themselves, might disturb the public order or constitute a danger to him- or herself or to anyone else. The security guards can also use force if the task cannot be solved by any other means (Police, 2013a).
Security guards may be appointed by law to serve for instance in courts, at public meetings of various kinds and in premises where alcohol is served. It is not uncommon for security guards to be employed by the police in crime prevention interventions (Police, 2013a). In Sweden, Section 3 of the Act on security guards, gives police the right, where necessary, to appoint security guards to serve in limited areas not otherwise covered by the law (see e.g. Frogner, Andershed, Lindberg, & Johansson, 2013). Furthermore just as security guards are used for crime prevention, they could possibly be used to create feelings of safety.
American security guards. The difference between Swedish security guards and security guards in the U.S. is that American guards are more private-oriented. They focus on preventing shortcomings of the company that hire them, such as ensuring that buildings are locked after employees have left the premises and to protect the company's interests. Security guards are often non-specialized and they get their contracts from private customers and are for-profit. Security guards are not trained by the police and are not under the responsibility of the police when they are on duty, when they are employed by private companies and not by the state. It is not uncommon for the police to use security guards in crime prevention efforts (Berkley & Thayer, 2000; Shearing, 1996; Shearing & Stenning, 1983).
Security guards have the same authority as other civilian citizens regarding arrest and other penalties. But they can, however, prevent people from entering an area such as a
shopping center and other recreational areas owned by a specific group. They may also check individuals and their property when they go into an area (such as a shopping center) or leave
an area and monitor people when they are inside of an area (Berkley & Thayer, 2000; Shearing, 1996; Shearing & Stenning, 1983).
Police volunteers. Police volunteers are adults that in their spare time and on a voluntary basis, help the police with various tasks to contribute to a safer society. They are selected after a suitability assessment and a recruitment process and they undergo a short training. Volunteers are not employed by the police and have no powers other than regular citizens. The only uniform they wear is a reflective vest with the text ”Police volunteers" written on the back and with a smaller text on one side of the chest. If a crime is committed, the volunteer should not intervene, but they play an important role as an extra pair of eyes and ears who can report directly to the police. Police volunteers' assignments may include
carrying out night walks, distribution of crime preventive information and assisting the police at various events, as well as guiding victims for example through providing advice on how they can get help. Police volunteers get their assignments from the police and have close contact with the responsible police officer before, during and after the assignments (Polisen, 2013b).
Other civilian groups. There are a number of other civilian groups like the police volunteers that patrol to increase feelings of safety, but not many of them have been thoroughly studied for their impact on feelings of safety. The only known civilian patrol group that has been studied rigorously in order to investigate the group's impact on crime and if the patrols of citizens' were related to a decrease in fear of crime, is the Guardian Angels (Welsh, Mudge, & Farrington, 2009) and these studies will be presented below. Another group of civilians that has been evaluated for their potential influence on feelings of safety are Wardens (Hauber, Hofstra, Toornvliet, & Zandbergen, 1996; Jacobson & Saville, 1999; Wakefield, 2006) and these studies will also be presented below. In sum, there are several different aspects that can decrease people’ feelings of safety and to prevent these feelings of
unsafety and increase feelings of safety would, according to research, be to prevent health issues. Visible uniforms, both police and civilians, could theoretically counteract these feelings of unsafety and increase feelings of safety, however there are still different attitudes among researchers as to the benefits of civilians partaking in police work. What does the empirical evidence show?
What Does the Literature Say About the Relationship Between Uniformed Presence And Feelings of Safety?
Is police presence related to an increase in feelings of safety? Earlier literature
regarding the relationship between police presence and feelings of safety is mostly cross-sectional but also quasi-experimental. Usually, with some variation, the typical way to study this is to increase the presence of the police in a certain area, through different methods such as patrol, crackdowns, community policing or problem oriented policing. Peoples’ feelings of safety are then measured through surveys either by questionnaires, or phone and face-to-face interviews.
The results show divided, but mostly a positive relationship where the police presence is related to an increase in feelings of safety, especially in unsafe areas (see e.g. Balkin &
Houlden, 1983; Cordner, 1986; Knutsson, 1995; Pate, Wycoff, Skogan, & Sherman, 1986; Police Foundation, 1981; Salmi, Grönroos, Keskinen, 2004; Trojanowicz & Baldwin, 1982; Van De Veer et al., 2012; Winkel, 1986). One problem that exists with a few of these studies is that different police procedures were implemented at the same time, not only for example foot patrol. The use of different police procedures simultaneously makes it hard to draw clear conclusions about what specifically had the intended influence on safety, was it the presence of the police alone, or something else (Cordner, 1986; Knutsson, 1995; Pate et, al., 1986; Salmi et, al., 2004).
A small number of studies show increased feelings of unsafety in the presence of police in unsafe areas (Cordner & Jones, 1995; Hinkle & Weisburd, 2008). However, in one of the studies, a police crackdown preceded the implementation and could therefore have affected the results of the current police effort (Cordner & Jones, 1995) making interpretation of the results tentative. A possible explanation for these unexpected findings might be that the increased presences of the police, without any information as to why, can make the people believe that something crime related has happened and therefore decrease the feelings of safety. The people might believe the increased police presence to be a sign of an increased crime rate and therefore assume that the area is more dangerous (Hinkle & Weisburd, 2008; Holmberg, 2004; Winkel, 1986).
Other studies, on the other hand, show no influence on feelings of safety regardless of an increased presence of the police and an increased citizen contact in unsafe areas (Bennett, 1991) or regardless of increased police vehicle patrol in various areas (Kelling, Pate,
Dieckman, Brown, 1974). These studies have some drawbacks though. These include a large area to cover and a limited number of police officers potentially affects how many residents saw the police officers and how often they saw them (Bennett, 1991) and not delivering the planned dosages of the patrol can also affect the potential effect of the implementation (Kelling, et al., 1974).
An important factor for feelings of safety seems to be how the police presence is implemented (Moore & Trojanowicz, 1988; Pate et al. 1986; Weisburd & Eck, 2004). Two research reviews show that when the police proactively focus on the specific problem in the area and then tailor the intervention after the specific problem(s) and when they work with other institutions and people in the community (e.g., using community resources such as neighborhood watch), they are effective in increasing feelings of safety, whilst just increasing
the presence of uniforms does not seem to have the same strong effect (Weisburd & Eck, 2004; Zhao et al., 2002).
Regarding foot versus vehicle patrol, earlier studies indicate that patrolling by vehicle is not as effective as foot-patrol when looking at different areas (Police Foundation, 1981). Patrolling by vehicle can actually increase feelings on unsafety (Salmi et al., 2004). One study also show that people are more positive towards foot patrol than vehicle patrol (Trojanowicz & Baldwin, 1982). Patrolling by vehicle is mainly reactive police work. The police in their vehicles respond to something that has already happened, hence it is not proactive and
problem-solving (Holgersson, 2008; Knutsson & Partanen, 1986; Rubinstein, 1980). Because of this, the police car can be associated with the fact that something has happened. A
possibility then is that people link the police car with rising crime and hence increase the fear of crime rather than increase feelings of safety (Holgersson, 2008; Salmi et al., 2004; Winkel, 1986).
A limitation in the previously mentioned studies is that only a few compare the difference in the relationship between police presence and feelings of safety depending on gender and age. The results are inconclusive when it comes to gender, with females feeling safer in police presence than men (Cordner, 1986) or men feeling safer in unsafe areas in the presence of police (Knutsson, 1995), or men feeling more unsafe in police presence in already safe areas (Van De Veer et al., 2012). Other studies show similar results in men and women (Winkel, 1986) or inconclusive results depending on what is measured (Cordner & Jones, 1995). One study measured the differences in age, both adults and teenagers feel safer in the presence of foot patrolling police officers when it comes to property crime, teenagers on the other hand also feel safer when it comes to crimes against persons. Both age groups feel more fearful in the presence of police cars (Salmi et, al., 2004).
Also, only one study compared the difference in the relationship between police presence and feelings of safety depending on safe and unsafe situations. This was done with an experimental part using photographs of different safe and unsafe situations as a measure of people’s feelings of safety and one cross-sectional part with interviews. The results indicate that the police do not increase feelings of safety in already safe situations, but fear rather increases with increased presence of the police especially for men. In unsafe areas on the other hand, the police increase feelings of safety (Van De Veer et al., 2012). In sum, it seems as the presence of the police are related to an increase in feelings of safety, although these results are not conclusive. The police presence is in some cases not related to feelings of safety and in some cases the presence is related to a decrease in feelings of safety.
Is the presence of security guards related to an increase in feelings of safety? Few
studies have examined the relationship between non-police groups and feelings of safety among people. Earlier literature regarding the relationship between the presence of security guards and feelings of safety is mostly based on citizen surveys, in areas where security guards are often seen. Questions are asked about the security guards impact on feelings of safety and fear of crime, as well as general opinions about the security guards. The results show that seeing security guards is related to an increase in feelings of safety (Klein,
Luxenburg & King, 1989; Noaks, 2000; Van Steden & Nalla, 2010; Walsh & Donovan, 1989) but these results are non-conclusive. The results also show that some people recorded
increased feelings of unsafety, due to the increased presence of the security guards in the area (Noaks, 2000; Noaks, 2004) or they had the attitude that security guards were not a good substitute for the police (Van Steden & Nalla, 2010).
Only one study compared the difference in the relationship between the presence of security guards and feelings of safety depending on gender and age. The results showed no significant difference depending on gender or age (Van Steden & Nalla, 2010). Finally, no
study has compared the difference in the relationship between presence of security guards and feelings of safety in safe and unsafe situations.
Is the presence of civil groups related to an increase in feelings of safety? Earlier
literature on the relationship between the presence of different civilian groups and feelings of safety is usually, with some variation, studied through the presence of the civilian groups in a certain area. This presence can for example be through patrol or through promotion of
neighborhood watch. Peoples’ feelings of safety are then measured through surveys. The results show that the presence these other groups are related to an increase in feelings of safety in various areas (Hauber et al., 1996; Unit, 2004). However other studies contradict this (Kenney, 1986; Pennell et al., 1989). On the other hand, one study did not implement the patrol according to the plan (Kenney, 1986) and in another it is unclear if the results were significant (Unit, 2004).
The studies on the presence of civil groups related to an increase in feelings of safety did compare the difference in the relationship between different civilian groups and feelings of safety depending on gender and age. The results were inconclusive concerning gender, for example, females felt safer than men in the presence of patrolling civilian groups (Hauber et al., 1996), females did not feel safer in the presence of patrolling civilian groups (Unit, 2004), no differences between men and women in feelings of safety (Pennell et al., 1985, Pennell et al., 1989), or inconclusive results depending on what was measured (Kenney, 1986).
The results were more conclusive concerning age, older people seem to feel safer by the presence of civil patrolling groups, or have more positive opinions about them, than the younger people do (Hauber et al., 1996; Pennell et al., 1985, Pennell et al., 1989; Unit, 2004), however one study showed no age differences (Kenney, 1986). No studies compared the difference in the relationship between the presence of civil groups and feelings of safety in relatively safe and unsafe situations. In addition, some studies showed that when civilians
themselves engage in crime prevention activities fear rather seems to increase (Adam & Serpe, 2000; Scheider, Rowell, & Veh, 2003) as the civilians increase their awareness of crime (Scheider, et al., 2003).
Studies That Compare the Police With Other Groups. One study compared different
uniformed groups and groups of civilians in regards to peoples´ feelings of safety, using pictures of relatively unsafe situations as the implementation. The result showed that the groups of people in uniform were more related to an increase in feelings of safety than people not in uniform, in the relatively unsafe situations. In addition, the police were the ones most related to an increase in feelings of safety, closely followed by firefighters and soldiers (Balkin & Houlden, 1983).
The respondents were asked to imagine their own presence and the presence of the different uniformed groups and groups of civilians in the situations. This task of imagining can give subjective responses, as the respondents themselves had to visualize what the different uniformed groups and groups of civilians looked like. It therefore becomes difficult to interpret the respondents' perceptions of safety in the presence of the different groups of people. The study did neither compare the difference in the relationship between the presence of the different groups and feelings of safety depending on gender and age, nor did it compare the difference in the relationship between the presence of different groups and feelings of safety, in safe and unsafe situations.
Another study used pictures of police officers, police community support officers, accredited community safety officers (both previously mentioned non-police groups have less authority than police officers) and private security guards, to compare the recognition and the effectiveness of these patrolling groups. The method of data collection was interviews with people in shopping malls. The results showed that police officers were the ones most related to an increase in feelings of safety, closely followed by community support officers, private
security guards, and accredited community safety officers, in order. Police officers did however also increase worry of crime. Moreover, the results showed that the recognition of the uniforms of the policing groups was of less importance. The uniforms of these non-policing groups seemed to impart similar levels of feelings of safety. A conclusion drawn was that a uniform increases feelings of safety more or less no matter who wears it, but a police uniform seems to be held at a higher regard (Rowland & Coupe, 2013).
The study did compare the difference between the presence of the different groups and feelings of safety depending on gender and age. Generally, younger women worried more about crime in the presence of police officers than younger men did. Moreover, younger women worried about crime in the presence of security guards when younger men did not. When the different groups were identified by uniform, older people felt safer in the presence of community support officers, accredited community safety officers and security guards than younger people did. The study did not compare the difference between the different groups in safe and unsafe situations (Rowland & Coupe, 2013).
What We Know And What We Need To Know More About
In summary, the number of studies that focus primarily on increasing feelings of safety in the presence of police officers is somewhat limited. The results of the available studies including those with creating feelings of safety as a secondary goal, show divided but mostly a positive relationship of increased feelings of safety in police presence, especially in
relatively unsafe situations. In already relatively safe situations, previous literature indicates that police presence is to some extent related to a decrease of feelings of safety, especially in men.
It is hard to draw any clear conclusions based on some of the previously mentioned studies, concerning the relationship between patrol and increased feelings of safety. Different police procedures were implemented at the same time and what specifically had the effect on
feelings of safety is therefore hard to say. Future studies should examine the potential impact of uniformed presence while controlling for other factors that may confound the relationship between police presence and feelings of safety.
There are also very few previous studies that have examined the relationship between various police groups and people's feelings of safety. Some studies show that these non-police groups are related to an increase in feelings of safety, while other studies show
different results. No study has yet compared the impact of these the various non-police groups in different situations, such as safe and unsafe situations. The few studies that exist, call for more research about the possible influences of security guards and various civil groups such as police volunteers on feelings of safety. More research is also definitely needed that compares different groups such as security guards and police volunteers with the police, preferably in one study, because few such studies were found. Such studies may be useful when drawing conclusions about the differences between the different groups in creating feelings of safety and drawing conclusions about if and when these non-police groups can ease the work-load of the police.
There is also a need to more thoroughly examine the differences in feelings of safety depending on the patrol method used by the police, such as comparing foot patrol with vehicle patrol. Such studies may be useful in drawing conclusions about what procedures are most useful and when, while working to increase feelings of safety. Research is also needed that investigates whether the amount of police officers is related to an increase or decrease in feelings of safety. No earlier literature was found that measures the feelings of safety depending on the actual number of police officers present. Such studies may be useful for example when working events, if a great amount of police officers creates a great deal of unsafety maybe spreading out police sources could be more beneficial in making the people
feel safer. Or maybe social hubs for patrol officers out on patrol are disadvantageous in creating reassurance and therefore should be avoided.
It is clear that research is needed that compares the impact of uniformed persons on feelings of safety in various types of situations. Such as, in relatively safe versus relatively unsafe situations as well as in different types of unsafe situations such as unsafe places that contain the presence of other people versus unsafe places that does not contain other people. Such studies may be useful in finding out whether there are places where patrolling with uniformed persons might be unnecessary or potentially counteractive in creating feelings of safety. It might also be useful to find out if there are places and times when uniformed persons are more necessary than others.
Finally, since the studies previously mentioned show inconclusive results concerning gender and age it is necessary in the future to further investigate this. If for example younger people feel safer by the police than by other non-police groups, then it might be beneficial to patrol with the police rather than non-police groups at times when a lot of young people are out.
Purpose and Hypotheses of the Present Study
The overall purpose of the present study was to examine if and how the presence of uniformed persons and a police car was related to an increase in people’s feelings of safety. Based on theories and previous research, the hypotheses are: Individuals will not feel significantly safer in the presence of uniformed people and a police car as compared to without such presence, in an already relatively safe situation. Individuals will feel significantly safer in the presence of uniformed people and a police car as compared to without such presence, in different types of relatively unsafe situations (situations such as a vibrant downtown area at night, with other people present and deserted situations such as a park and a tunnel without other people present). Individuals will feel significantly safer in the
presence of foot patrol as compared to patrol with a police car. Individuals will feel significantly safer in the presence of the police as compared to by the security guards and police volunteers. Individuals will feel significantly less safe by six foot patrolling police officers as compared to two foot patrolling police officers.
Although not hypothesized about, comparisons were also made about if individuals felt equally safe by security guards and police volunteers as compared to without such presence, as well as if these non-policing groups contributed to more safety than the police car did. Also studied are potential gender or age differences in feelings of safety in the presence of
uniformed people and a police car as compared to without such presence in all the different situations.
Method Respondents
Respondents were recruited via university students on campus at a Swedish university and out in the city in a mid-sized Swedish city. The aim was to recruit equal numbers of men and women in different age groups from 18 years and older. Of the 352 respondents, 179 (50.9 %) were males and 173 (49.1%) were females. Sixty-four (18.5 %) respondents were either born outside of Sweden or had at least one foreign-born parent. The age-range of the respondents were 18 to 86 years (M = 34. 7, SD = 15.38). Of the respondents 148 (42.2 %) were currently employed and 175 (49. 9 %) were currently students. The other respondents were retired 18 (4.1 %), unemployed 5 (1.4 %) or other 5 (1.4 %). Twenty-five (7.1 %) of the respondents had finished elementary school or less, 198 (56.4 %) had finished high school, 40 (11.4 %) had finished vocational school and 88 (25 %) had at least a bachelor degree.
In cases where the questionnaire was not filled out correctly, for example the
respondent had failed to fill in gender or age (N = 2), or the questionnaire was found not to have been filled out face-to-face with the person in charge of data collection (N = 11) they
were excluded from analysis. When a questionnaire is not filled out face-to-face, this can affect the results, because the respondent could have had the opportunity to look ahead in the questionnaire and also to have filled out the questionnaire in sections and/or not in
consecutive order. The analyses was originally made with 395 questionnaires/respondents, but due to the uneven number of respondents responding to the A and B questionnaires (which will be described in detail below under the heading: the questionnaire), respondents were randomly removed (N = 43), so that there would be an equal number of people in each questionnaire (A & B) group so that any effects of the A and B questionnaire would be counterbalanced.
The Questionnaire
The present study is of cross-sectional design and the respondents' perceptions of feelings of safety were measured with a questionnaire. This measurement was done by letting the respondents look at pictures of relatively safe and relatively unsafe situations with and without various types of uniformed people and a police car (see Figure 1-4). For each picture, the respondents were asked to rate their perception of safety on a six point scale, where 0 represented "Not at all safe" and 5 representing "Very safe." Then the different pictures, without uniformed people present and with different types of uniformed persons present or a police car present, were compared to each other in terms of the respondents’ estimated safety. Before the present study the questionnaire was piloted twice (N = 30, N = 28) with
subsequent interviews, for optimal design and understanding of the questionnaire.
The pictures contained three urban environments daytime and nighttime. One picture daytime represented a relatively safe situation (see Figure 1), the same environment at night represented a relatively unsafe situation with an added threat in the form of a gang of youths (see Figure 2). The other two environments represented relatively unsafe situations at night, but without other people present (see Figure 3 and 4). As is evident in Figure 1-4, all
situations with and without uniformed persons in different configurations were shown to all respondents. However, not all types of uniformed persons were present in all the different situations, as seen in Figures 1-4.
The respondents were instructed to estimate the situations in the pictures according to how safe they thought they would feel if they were in the specific situation, using a scale of 0-5, as described above. There was information about which of the uniformed persons were present in the specific picture above every picture, for clarification. Below is an example of one of the pages of the questionnaire. The example shows how all the different situations was shown to the respondent and how the respondents stated how safe they would feel if they were in the situation.
To prevent a potential order effect, two forms of questionnaires A and B, were
form, A, the pictures started from no uniform and ended with six police officers. In the other form, B, the pictures were shown in opposite order, starting with the six police officers and ending with no uniform. The intent was for 50 % of the respondents to fill out one form of the questionnaire A, and the other 50 % of respondents to fill out the second form of the
questionnaire, B. This was done to counterbalance any effects of the order of the pictures in the questionnaire.
Prior to analyses of the main effects a split plot repeated measures ANOVA was used, with the different pictures presented in the Figure 1-4 as the within subjects variables, and the two forms of the questionnaire (A and B) as between subjects factors (N = 395). The results showed interaction effects for two of the situations (Figure 2 and Figure 4), meaning the order of the pictures (i.e., questionnaire A and B) might have an effect. Thus, counterbalancing was important to accomplish. There was an uneven number of people responding to the
questionnaires A and B (A= 179, 45.3 % and B = 216, 54.7 %) and also an uneven number depending on gender and age in the different questionnaires; women in the B group (N= 125, 57.9 %) compared to women in the A group (N = 90, 50.3 %) as well as young people (18-25 years) in the B group (N = 121, 56 %) compared to the A group (N = 77, 43 %). Due to this disproportion of the A and B questionnaires, respondents were removed from the B group, to get an equal number of respondents in each group (A and B) and a similar number of men and women as well as similar amounts of young people in each group (A and B). This removal was done randomly. When there was 50 % respondents in group A and 50 % respondents of group B there was no longer an interaction effect of A and B and hence no order effects. In conclusion it is important to note that complementary analyses showed that the main results remained the same no matter what amount of respondents (N = 395, N = 352) was used, but the later number of respondents was chosen for the study because it counterbalances the
effects of the order of the pictures through having 50% respondents filling out questionnaire A and the other 50% questionnaire B.1
Procedure for Collection of the Questionnaires
The data collection was carried out in the city and on campus in a medium-sized Swedish city. All questionnaires were filled out under the supervision of the person who recruited the respondents. Respondents were anonymous and they were informed both verbally and in writing about the study's purpose and implementation. Participation was voluntary and the respondents were informed that they could withdraw their participation if they so wished. The questionnaire took about twenty minutes to complete and an opportunity was given to the respondents to take part in the study's results, by submitting their email address on the last page of the questionnaire. Respondents were thanked but received no compensation for their participation. The data collection was conducted in late fall 2012 and spring 2013.
Statistical Analyses
Since all respondents answered questions about all the different pictures, the same people contributed to the different means in the different pictures. Therefore a repeated measures design was needed. The data for the main results was consequently analyzed through one-way repeated measures ANOVAs with the different pictures (shown in Figure 1-4) as the within subject variables. If there are any differences in feelings of safety in the different pictures, it will be seen in the within subject variance, hence the pictures (shown in Figure 1-4) were used as the within subject variables. If Mauchly´s test indicated that the assumption of sphericity had been violated, the degrees of freedom were corrected using Greenhouse-Geisser estimates of sphericity.
1 The A and B questionnaire variable was also analyzed as a covariate in the split plot repeated measures ANOVA to control for the order effect; the main results were the same.
The main effects were then compared using Bonferroni confidence interval adjustments. In some of the analyses testing for age differences, the respondents are grouped according to age in which 18-25 years will be one group, 26-40 years one group and 41-86 years one group. For questions regarding these different groups such as gender and age, split plot repeated measures ANOVA were used, with the different pictures (shown in Figure 1-4) as the within subject variables, and gender and age as between subjects factors. The between subjects factors compared the results between the different groups (i.e., gender and age) on feelings of safety in the different pictures (shown in Figure 1-4). If Mauchly´s test indicated that the assumption of sphericity had been violated, the degrees of freedom were corrected using Greenhouse-Geisser estimates of sphericity. These effects were then compared using Bonferroni confidence interval adjustments.
The results presented in Figures 1 to 4 show the mean values and standard deviation for how many respondents, per picture, indicated that they felt safe. If the differences were significant, it is presented in the figures with the help of letters, such as a <bcd, showing significant difference (p <.05) in feelings of safety between picture a and picture b, c and d.
Results Feelings of Safety In a Relatively Safe Situation
The results of the analyses that test the hypotheses concerning feelings of safety in the relatively safe situation are presented in Figure 1. Using repeated measures ANOVA, the results show that there was a significant difference in feelings of safety between the different pictures F(4, 1402) = 4.92, p = .001, ηp2 = .014.
The Bonferroni pairwise comparisons revealed (as shown in Figure 1) that the presence of uniformed persons or a police car does not significantly make the respondents feel safer as compared to no presence of uniformed persons at all. When comparing the different groups,
two foot patrolling police officers made the respondents feel safer than the police volunteers (p < .000), security guards (p < .000) and the police car (p =.004).
Additional analyzes (not shown in Figure 1) using split plot repeated measures ANOVA with the different pictures (shown in Figure 1) as the within subjects variables, and gender and age as between subjects factors also showed interaction effects for gender (F(4.01, 1400) = 3.93, p = .004, ηp2 = .011) and for age (F(8.07, 1405) = 2.17, p = .027, ηp2 = .012), meaning
that there are differences in the respondents answers depending on gender and age.
The Bonferroni pairwise comparisons revealed that when men and women and different age groups were studied separately in the already relatively safe situation (i.e. in Figure 1) the men felt less safe in the presence of two foot patrolling security guards (p = .031), compared to no uniformed presence at all; this is different from the main results. Other differences from the main results is that men also felt safer by the police car than by the security guards (p = .033) and safer by the two foot patrolling police than by six police officers (p = .012). Women, on the other hand, felt similarly to the main results that no uniformed person increased
feelings of safety, compared to when no uniformed persons are present and that the two foot patrolling officers provided more safety than all the other patrol groups, but the six police officers.
When looking at how the different age groups differ from the main results, the youngest (18-25 years) thought that the two foot patrolling police officers only contributed to more safety in the situation than what police volunteers (p = .004) did. Another difference is that the middle aged people (26-40 years) thought that the two foot patrolling police officers contributed to more safety in the situation than what six foot patrolling police officers (p = .025) did. When looking at the oldest people (41-86 years) the results showed that two foot patrolling police officers made these respondents feel safer than the police volunteers (p = .020) and security guards (p = .001) but not the police car.
4,47 4,45 4,4 4,56 4,47 4,43 0 1 2 3 4 5
Without uniformed persons (a)
Two police volunteers (b) Two security guards( c) Two police officers (d) Six police officers ( e) Police car (f)
(SD = 1) (SD = 1.04) (SD = .85) (SD = 1) (SD = .88)
Figure 1. Mean differences in perceived safety with and without uniformed persons and a police car in a relatively safe situation. The letters, for example d> f, indicate significant difference (p <.05) in mean values of safety between pictures d and f using Bonferroni pairwise comparisons.
Without uniformed persons (a) Two police volunteers (b) Two security guards ( c)
Six police officers (e) Police car (f)
Two police officers (d)
b < d c < d d > bcf f < d
Feelings of Safety In a Relatively Unsafe Situation With Other People Present
The results of the analyses that test the hypotheses concerning feelings of safety in the relatively unsafe situation with other people present are presented in Figure 2. Using repeated measures ANOVA, the results show that there was a significant difference in feelings of safety between the different pictures F(3.76, 1315) = 148.46, p < .001, ηp2 = .30.
The Bonferroni pairwise comparisons revealed (as shown in Figure 2) that feelings of safety are significantly higher in the presence of uniformed persons and a police car,
compared to when no uniformed persons are present, in this relatively unsafe situation (p < .001). The respondents rate themselves as much safer in the presence of all uniformed persons (police, security guards and police volunteers) and of the police car, in this relatively unsafe situation with the presence of a group of "menacing" youths (p < .001).
As shown in Figure 2 the respondents felt significantly safer in the presence of all the different foot patrolling people, in comparison to the police car (p < .001). Figure 2 also shows that the foot patrolling police officers are the ones that generate the most feelings of safety (p < .001). No significant difference in feelings of safety was found between two and six patrolling police officers. Furthermore, no significant difference was found in feelings of safety in the presence of security guards in comparison to police volunteers (see Figure 2).
Additional analyzes (not shown in Figure 2) using split plot repeated measures ANOVA with the different pictures (shown in Figure 2) as the within subjects variables, and gender and age as between subjects factors, showed an interaction effect for gender (F(3.88, 1245) = 13.64, p < .001, ηp2 = .038) but not for age, meaning that there are differences in the
respondents answers, depending on gender but not for age.
The Bonferroni pairwise comparisons revealed that when looking at gender, men and women felt equally safe by foot patrolling security guards as they did by the police volunteers (hence, the difference between these groups was n.s), just as the main results showed. The
difference from the main results was shown when these non-police foot patrolling groups were compared to the police car, it turns out that men felt equally safe in the presence of the police car, as in the presence of two foot patrolling security guards and two foot patrolling police volunteers (the difference between these groups and the police car was n.s). The women on the other hand did not differ from the main results but felt safer by the foot patrolling security guards (p < .001) and police volunteers (p < .001) than they felt by the police car. Finally, no interaction effect was found for age. Thus, the results were the same as the main results, regardless of age.
Figure 2. Mean differences in perceived safety with and without uniformed persons and a police car in a relatively
unsafe situation. The letters, for example d> f, indicate significant difference (p <.05) in mean values of safety
between pictures d and f using Bonferroni pairwise comparisons.
2,53 3,58 3,71 4,05 4,01 3,34 0 1 2 3 4 5
Without uniformed persons (a)
Two police volunteers (b) Two security guards ( c) Two police officers (d) Six police officers ( e) Police car (f) (SD = 1.45) (SD =1.10) (SD = 1.10) (SD = .97) (SD = 1.21) (SD = 1.19)
Two police volunteers (b)
Without uniformed persons (a) Two security guards ( c)
Two police officers (d) Six police officers (e) Police car (f)
a < bcdef b > af b < de c > af c < de d > abcf f > a f < bcde e > abcf
Feelings of Safety In a Deserted and Relatively Unsafe Situation (a Park) That Does Not Contain Other People
The results of the analyses that test the hypotheses concerning feelings of safety in the deserted and relatively unsafe situation in a park, which does not contain other people, are presented in Figure 3. Using repeated measures ANOVA, the results show that there was a significant difference in feelings of safety between the different pictures F(1.63, 570) = 432.10, p < .001, ηp2 = .553.
The Bonferroni pairwise comparisons revealed (as shown in Figure 3) that feelings of safety are significantly higher in the presence of two foot patrolling police officers compared to no police presence (p < .001) and compared to the presence of a police car (p < .001), in this relatively unsafe situation without other people present. Evident in Figure 3 is also that in this situation respondents felt significantly safer by the presence of a police car as compared to no police presence (p < .001).
Additional analyzes (not shown in Figure 3) using split plot repeated measures ANOVA with the different pictures (shown in Figure 3) as the within subjects variables, and gender and age as between subjects factors, showed interaction effects for gender (F(1.78, 619) = 89.03, p < .001, ηp2 = .204) and for age (F(3.27, 567) = 3.12, p = .022, ηp2 = .018), meaning
that there are differences in the respondents answers, depending on gender and age. The differences found are only nuance differences; therefore the differences are in the level of safety and not a difference between the pictures. Hence, there are no differences from the main results concerning feelings of safety in the different pictures, only a difference in how safe the respondents became, depending on gender and age.
The Bonferroni pairwise comparisons revealed that men felt slightly safer than women in all the pictures, that is without any uniform present (p < .001), in the presence of a police car (p < .001) as well as in the presence of two foot patrolling police officers (p = .005). The
younger age groups (18-25 years and 26-40 years) felt safer than the oldest age group (41-86 years) in the picture without any uniform present (p = .031 and p = .011, in order).
Figure 3. Mean differences in perceived safety with and without police officers and a police car in
a relatively unsafe situation without other people present. The letters, for example a> b, indicate
significant difference (p <.05) in mean values of safety between pictures a and b using Bonferroni pairwise comparisons. 1,87 4,15 3,36 0 1 2 3 4 5
Without uniformed persons (a) Two police officers (b) Police car ( c) (SD = 1.63)
(SD = 1)
(SD = 1.25) a < bc
Police car (c ) Two police officers (b) Without uniformed persons (a)
b > ac
c > a c < b
Feelings of Safety In a Deserted and Relatively Unsafe Situation (a Tunnel) That Does Not Contain Other People
The results of the analyses that test the hypotheses concerning feelings of safety in a relatively unsafe situation that does not contain other people are presented in Figure 4. Using repeated measures ANOVA, the results show that there was a significant difference in feelings of safety between the different pictures F(1.90, 667) = 380.98, p < .001, ηp2 = .520.
The Bonferroni pairwise comparisons revealed (as shown in Figure 4) that respondents felt significantly safer in this situation in the presence of all forms of foot patrol; they felt safer in the presence of police officers, security guards and police volunteers in comparison to without uniformed presence (p < .001). As shown in Figure 4, respondents felt significantly safer by the police compared to the security guards and the police volunteers (p < .001), and safer by the security guards than the police volunteers (p = .047).
Additional analyzes (not shown in Figure 4) using split plot repeated measures ANOVA with the different pictures (shown in Figure 4) as the within subjects variables, and gender and age as between subjects factors, showed interaction effects for gender (F(2.20, 770) = 85.16, p < .001, ηp2 = .196) and for age (F(3.87, 676) = 5.43, p < .000, ηp2 = .030), meaning
that there are differences in the respondents answers, depending on gender and age. The Bonferroni pairwise comparisons revealed that both the men and the women's results did differ from the main results, (i.e. in Figure 4), they felt that the police contributed to the most feelings of safety (p < .001) but then it did not matter if it was the security guards or the police volunteers that were present (n.s.).
Similarly, the differences found in the results depending on age showed that all the age groups felt that the police contributed to the most feelings of safety (p < .001) but then it did not matter if it was the security guards or the police volunteers that were present (hence the difference between these groups were n.s.).
Figure 4. Mean differences in perceived safety with and without uniformed presence and a police car in a relatively unsafe situation without other people present. The letters, for example a> b, indicate significant difference (p <.05) in mean values of safety between pictures a and b using Bonferroni pairwise comparisons.
Without uniformed persons (a) Two police volunteers (b)
1,84 3,76 3,89 4,25 0 1 2 3 4 5
Without uniformed persons (a) Two police volunteers (b) Two security guards ( c) Two police officers (d) (SD = 1.65)
Two police officers (d) Two security guards ( c)
a<bcd (SD = 1.07) (SD = 1.08) (SD = 1.03) b>a b<cd c>ab c<d d>abc
Discussion Results in Relation to Hypotheses and Conclusions
The overall purpose of the present study was to examine if and how the presence of uniformed persons and a police car was related to an increase in people’s feelings of safety, this was examined through repeated measures and split plot ANOVAs. The hypothesis that individuals would not feel significantly safer in the presence of uniformed people and a police car as compared to without such presence, in an already relatively safe situation, was
supported. It should also be noted that an effect size analysis showed that the effect of two police officers was very small (i.e., Figure 1) (Cohen's d = 0.11; equivalent to a two percent change in safety) and much smaller as compared to the corresponding effect of two police officers in a relatively unsafe situation (i.e., Figure 2) (Cohen's d = 1.63; equivalent to a 60 percent change in safety). Thus, it can be concluded that people do not feel safer by the presence of uniformed people and a police car as compared to having no uniformed presence at all in the situation, and the non-significant ”effect” is also negligible.
The hypothesis that individuals would feel significantly safer in the presence of
uniformed people and a police car as compared to without such presence, in different types of relatively unsafe situations (situations such as a vibrant downtown area at night, with other people present and deserted situations such as a park and a tunnel without other people present), was supported. The results showed that patrols in relatively unsafe situations create safety regardless of the type of unsafe situation. This is true whether it is patrol by two police officers, six police officers, police car, security guards and police volunteers. Thus, it can be concluded that people do feel safer by all types of uniformed presence (i.e., the police, security guards and police volunteers) as compared to having no uniformed presence at all in relatively unsafe situations and this “effect” is quite large (Cohen's d = 1.63; equivalent to a 60 percent change in safety in the presence of two foot patrolling officers).
The hypothesis that individuals would feel significantly safer in the presence of foot patrol as compared to patrol with a police car was supported. People did feel safer in the presence of foot patrolling police officers than they did by the police car. The hypothesis that individuals would feel significantly safer in the presence of the police as compared to by the security guards and police volunteers was also supported. It was clear from the present study that people feel safest by foot patrolling police officers, and feels less safe by security guards and police volunteers. The hypothesis that individuals would feel significantly less safe by six foot patrolling police officers as compared to two foot patrolling police officers was
disproven. There was no difference between two and six foot patrolling officers in neither a relatively safe nor a relatively unsafe situation. Thus, it can be concluded that people do feel safer by foot patrolling police officers (regardless of the amount of police officers, two or six) as compared to the police car, security guards and the police volunteers.
The comparison made regarding if individuals felt equally safe by security guards and police volunteers, as compared to without such presence, showed that it indeed was so, in some situations. The security guards and police volunteers contributed to equally much safety in a relatively unsafe area with other people present, but in a relatively unsafe area without other people present security guards are preferred, however although significant the difference between these two groups is very small (Cohen's d = 0.1; equivalent to a three percent change difference in safety in the presence of two foot patrolling security guards and police
volunteers). The comparison made regarding if these non-policing groups contributed to more safety than the police car did showed that this was indeed so. Thus, it can be concluded that non-police groups such as the security guards and police volunteers are both equally preferred by people in enhancing feelings of safety in comparison to patrol by police car.
When examining the potential gender and age differences in feelings of safety in the presence of uniformed people and a police car, as compared to without such presence (in all
the different situations), it showed that some of these previously mentioned results were influenced by gender or age. In the relatively safe environment (i.e. in Figure 1) men felt more unsafe in the presence of two security guards, compared to no uniformed presence at all, they also rather see a patrolling police car than security guards to increase their sense of safety; this was different from the main results. Men also did not feel as safe in the presence of six foot patrolling police officers as they did in the presence of two foot patrolling police officers. The women’s feelings however, did not differ from the main results.
Looking at age differences, 18-25 year olds prefer two foot patrolling police officers over police volunteers and 26-40 year olds prefer two foot patrolling police officers over six foot patrolling police officers. The 41-86 year olds preferred two foot patrolling police officers over police volunteers and security guards but not the police car. Thus, it can be concluded that in already relatively safe situations it is not necessary to patrol to increase feelings of safety and where a lot of men are present security guards should be avoided.
In the relatively unsafe situation with other people present (i.e. in Figure 2) men felt equally safe in the presence of the police car as they did with two foot patrolling security guards and two foot patrolling police volunteers, while women on the other hand felt safer by the foot patrolling security guards and police volunteers than they did by the police car. In the relatively unsafe situations without other people (i.e. Figures 3 and 4) men and younger felt somewhat safer in both these unsafe situations than the women and the elderly did. Since the significant difference in the main results between security guards and police volunteers (in Figure 4) is so small (tree percent difference) the difference disappears when looking at men and women and all ages separately; when studies separately men and women of all ages felt safer just to see a person with a uniform; the police increased feelings of safety the most but then it did not matter whether it was a security guard or a police volunteer.
Thus, it can be concluded that if a lot of men are present in populated and relatively unsafe situations the police car is as beneficial as the other non-police groups at enhancing safety. If on the other hand a lot of women are present in the same situation, it would be more beneficial to use foot-patrol with non-police groups than the police car. If a men and women of all ages are present in relatively unsafe deserted situations, police volunteers are pretty much as beneficial as security guards in enhancing feelings of safety.
The Present Study in Relation to Previous Research and Theories
Something that sets the present study apart from the majority of previous studies is that a comparison is made concerning the relationship between various uniformed groups and feelings of safety. Two previous studies found have done this (see Balkin & Houlden, 1983; Rowland & Coupe, 2013). Another important and new contribution is whether the number of police officers, have an impact on feelings of safety. It is something that previous research has not yet covered (see for example Balkin & Houlden, 1983; Bennett, 1991; Cordner, 1986; Hinkle & Weiseburd, 2008; Holmberg, 2004; Kelling et al., 1974; Knutsson, 1995; Pate et al., 1986; Rowland & Coupe, 2013; Salmi et al., 2004; Winkel, 1986).
Additionally, the majority of previous studies were conducted in other countries than Sweden (particularly in the U.S. and England). It is not certain that one can apply the results from a study conducted in the United States directly to the context in Sweden. For example, in the Nordic countries there is already a relatively high level of perceived safety and also a relatively high level of satisfaction with the police work. Also in comparison to people in other countries, Swedes have a lot of confidence in the legal system (Heber, 2007; Holmberg, 2005; Salmi et al., 2004). This confidence and satisfaction can affect the transferability of interventions and results.
The present study also contributes to research regarding patrol with police car. Previous research shows that patrols with a police car and patrols in the "wrong” places can produce
opposite effects, in the form of increased fear of crime (Salmi et al., 2004; Van de Veer et al., 2012). One explanation given for this is that police cars are associated with responses to 911-calls and that something already has happened. It is essentially a reactive police work, not proactive (Holgersson, 2008; Knutsson & Partanen, 1986; Rubinstein, 1980). Because of this, it is no surprise that the police car is associated with the indication of risen crime in the area and thus decreases safety instead of increasing it (Holgersson, 2008; Salmi et al., 2004; Winkel, 1986).
Somewhat surprisingly and in contrast to previous research, the present study’s results show that people do feel safer by the police car, when compared to no patrol at all. Possibly, Sweden’s relatively high level of perceived safety, high level of satisfaction with the police work and the confidence in the legal system (Heber, 2007; Holmberg, 2005; Salmi et al., 2004) contributed to this result, police cars might not be associated with elevated crime here. This goes to show how important it is to implement and evaluate police procedures in the relevant contexts, and not just taking results from other countries for granted. However, the results of the present study also show that foot patrol is preferred because it contributes to more safety. Even the foot patrol of uniformed non-police groups contributes to more safety than the police car does, according to the present study.
The results of the present study provide support for the theories and research about visible uniforms as a symbol that may increase the safety of people (Balkin & Houlden, 1983: Hale, 1996; Jackson & Bradford, 2009; Winkel, 1986). The present study also supports the idea and the previous research that it is not only the police that can contribute to safety. It may in some situations be the patrol of the security guards and police volunteers that promote safety as well (Balkin & Houlden, 1983; Clarke & Felson, 1993; Cohen & Felson, 1979; Rowland & Coupe, 2013). The results of the present study coincides with previous research that the presence of a non-police uniform brings reassurance to the public, but that the police
