ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on people’s perceptions of safety when returning home in the dark, which has strong overlaps with their fear of crime. Fear of crime and for personal safety in general are serious problems throughout Europe, and indeed most of the world, although the International Crime Victim Survey (ICVS) carried out through the UN indicates that this varies markedly by country. Results from the 2000 survey showed that in Finland and Sweden just 3% of those questioned said that they felt very unsafe walking alone after dark, compared with 10% in Poland and Switzerland and 14% in Australia (Van Kesteren et al 2000).
