Neylan Ziyalar

Unraveling the Determinants of Fear of Crime Among Men and Women in Istanbul Examining the Impact of Perceived Risk and Fear of Sexual Assault

Studies have examined university students’ fear of crime focusing on the relationship between the fear of sexual assault and fear of other crimes, termed the shadow of sexual assault hypothesis; however, no study to date has examined the shadow thesis in a Turkish context. Drawing on the shadow thesis, using a sample of 723 university students in Istanbul, this study focuses on the effect of fear of sexual assault and perceived risk of crime to general fear of crime among university students in Istanbul. Also, the predictors of fear of crime are explored to examine the relationship between lifestyle characteristics, constrained behaviors, and fear. The findings of the study supported the shadow thesis, indicating that fear of sexual assault shaped the nonsexual crimes, especially crimes involving face-to-face confrontations between the victim and offender. Furthermore, lifestyle characteristics are correlated with the men’s fear of nonsexual crimes, particularly fear of robbery, aggravated assault, and burglary home.

Perceptions of police among adolescents in Istanbul An emphasis on interactions between demographic, police contact, neighbourhood safety and police perception

During the past three decades there has been increasing interest in the perception of police among adolescents. Despite their being disproportionately subjected to police contact and arrest, little is known about adolescents’ perception of police. The current study, using data collected through a questionnaire administered to a school-based sample of 1789 adolescents, examined the relationship between adolescents’ police perception and police contact, neighbourhood safety and demographic characteristics. The findings generally suggest that adolescents hold positive views toward the police. Consistent with the literature on adult perception of police, dimensions of police perception were extracted which coincided with competence, reliability and the police-citizen relationship. The current study found a strong relationship between neighbourhood safety, perceived social integration and all three dimensions of police perception that have appeared in previous studies of police perception among the adult population.