ABSTRACT
When people from the United States visit Europe, they are often surprised at how safe they feel as they wander about. Basketball player Charles Barkley may have felt this way during the 1992 Olympics when he observed: "I miss crime, murder. I haven't heard about any good shootings or stabbings. I miss Philadelphia'' (Messner and Rosenfeld, 1997: 17). Behind his sarcasm, of course, lay fear. Unlike the Europeans, Americans have an inordinate fear of crime; it is a national obsession. About 42 percent of the public say they are afraid to walk alone near their home at night (GSS, 1996). Minority persons are especially afraid. About three-fourths of African Americans are "very concerned" about being a victim of a crime (BJS, 1996:127).
