Kozyreva P.M., Smirnov A.I. How Dangerous are the Streets in the Neiborhood

Текст статьи.

Abstract

This article – based on the respondents’ estimation – analyzes the dynamics of the current state of how well protected common Russians are against threats determined by the situation with crime in their places of permanent residence. Primarily this implies how secure civilians are against such threats as street crime, which is considered to be one of the most common and dangerous types of crime. Analysis is based on data from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring survey of HSE (RLMS-HSE). It was revealed that people’s evaluation of how protected they are against such threats is mostly determined by such factors as gender, age, type of settlement, level of material prosperity, and to a lesser extent by factors such as level of education and professional occupation. During the last ten years there has been a marked increase in the sense of security in places of permanent residence among people from various social groups. However, despite the aforementioned positive trends, the dangers and anxiety associated with such threats is still quite prevalent in the minds of people from various layers of the population. Challenges posed by a period of crisis and increased uncertainty, which have become critical factors in everyday life, have hampered an even more substantial decrease in the acuity of perceiving issues with maintaining secure streets and public spaces, while preventing the development of integration processes within society. Certain negative aspects in the fi eld of providing security against threats determined by the situation with crime in places of permanent residence have become stagnant, while certain issues have worsened to the point where they pose an even greater threat. A critical parameter in the attitudes of a signifi - cant part of the population turns out to be lack of confi dence in oneself, and in one’s ability to fi rmly confront criminal threats. It is highlighted that a sense of safety is not only associated with a certain perception of those threats determined by the situation with crime in places of permanent residence, but is also linked with the level of trust in law enforcement, which, despite being on the rise, still remains quite low.