ABSTRACT
An experiment in improved residential security on a difficult to let housing estate with a high burglary rate was evaluated by means of a two stage tenant survey of a target and control estate for the effect upon residents’ perception of crime, fear of crime and alterations in behaviour. The results were set against the real risk of crime as recorded in police statistics. On the target estate the risk of burglary remained high but static and other types of property crime increased. Fear of burglary, however, fell significantly. There was a reduction in fear across a range of subgroups examined. On the control estate the risk of burglary increased but there was no significant change in the level of fear.
