Living Near Violence and Feeling Safe: What is the Role of Active Guardianship in the Home Territory?

Objectives Living in close proximity to recent, violent crime may undermine sense of safety in the home territory by increasing perceived crime risk. Yet it is also possible that practicing active guardianship by responding to local problems will moderate this association by reducing perceived vulnerability to crime. In this study we examine the association between residents’ proximity to recent violence, perceived safety and the moderating effect of active guardianship. Methods Controlling for individual characteristics and features of the individual’s home territory, we estimate mixed effects regression models to investigate the effect of proximity to violence and active guardianship on feelings of safety. We also examine the moderating effect of active guardianship. Results The findings indicate that individuals living in closer proximity to recent violence feel less safe and those who report taking action when they observe local problems feel safer than those who do not engage in guardianship action. Despite the direct association between active guardianship and feeling safer, active guardianship did not moderate the association between proximity to violence and feelings of safety. Conclusions While this study cannot ascertain temporal ordering, the findings suggest people who feel safer are more likely to engage in active guardianship, rather than active guardianship leading to reduced vulnerability. On a promising note, the direct association between active guardianship and feeling safer suggests that empowering residents via grass-roots crime prevention strategies has the potential to benefit communities by both addressing crime and improving perceived safety.