1. ^aSociology Department, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 899 Tenth Avenue, Room 520.10, New York, New York 10019, USA. E-mail: rbarberet@jjay.cuny.edu
2. ^bDivision of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati, ML 210389, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0389, USA. E-mail: Bonnie.Fisher@uc.edu

Correspondence: Rosemary Barberet, Corresponding author.

Abstract

Contrary to the heightened awareness surrounding university student safety and security in the United States, it is only recently that attention has been given to these issues in England. In 2002, the Home Office of England and Wales commissioned a study of student victimisation and fear of crime at nine universities in the East Midlands region. Using self-report data from this study, the present study examined the influence of student awareness of institutional security and crime prevention efforts on levels of student fear of burglary in university-owned or -operated accommodation. Awareness of some types of security features and crime prevention efforts was related to students being less fearful, whereas for others, students were more fearful of burglary. Awareness of measures designed to increase the efforts of would-be offenders generated mixed fear results, whereas measures to increase their risks were associated with less fear among those students who were aware of them. The awareness–fear of burglary relationship was particularly pronounced for women students. The implications for university security and crime prevention are discussed.