Fear of Crime and Voting Behavior

Abstract

In the context of municipal crime prevention, the reduction of unfounded fear of crime has become more important, as this fear corresponds to numerous negative phenomena. This study examines whether the fear of crime has an impact on voting behavior and leads to a strengthening of authoritarian-conservative parties and a weakening of innovation-oriented parties. To this end, a population survey in Stuttgart was used to examine the relationship between fear of crime and voting behavior, and whether this relationship could be explained by control variables. The results indicate a relationship between fear of crime and voting behavior with regard to the AfD and Bündnis 90/Die Grünen. This association cannot be explained by causes of fear of crime and anxiety. For the other parties, no significant connection was found between fear of crime and voting behavior. The findings suggest that individuals with a strongly fear of crime prefer authoritarian-conservative parties and reject progressive ones.