ABSTRACT
Residents’ perceptions of neighbourhood crime are influenced by both the objective presence of crime and/or disorder and subjective factors like disadvantage and the presence of minorities. What is unclear is whether and how proximity to these factors shape perceptions. In this chapter, we utilise geocoded survey, census and crime data from approximately 4000 residents living across 1479 block groups in Brisbane. We use highly spatialised measures to capture the network distance between each resident and their nearest violent crime incident and non-violent crime hotspot and create weighted violent crime buffers to measure a resident's exposure to violent crimes. We find proximity and exposure to violent crime increases residents’ perceptions of violence. Yet even controlling for these effects, disadvantage and the presence of particular minority groups remain powerful predictors of perceived violence.
