Television Viewing and Perceptions of Crime among London Residents.

The purposes of this survey of television viewers were to investigate their personal experiences with crime and perceived competence to deal with it, and to study their perceptions of the likelihood of crime and fears of personal victimization. Members of a London Panel maintained by the Independent Broadcasting Authority's Research Department for the purpose of routine program appreciation measurement were surveyed through the use of television viewing diaries and questionnaires. A total of 448 usable diaries and questionnaires (47% response rate) were returned. Major findings included: (1) the perceived likelihood of victimization for others and for self, and fear of victimization for self, varied with location, demographic characteristics of respondents, their direct experience with crime, and confidence in their personal ability to defend themselves in the face of an assault, while television viewing patterns were only weak and inconsistent indicators of judgments about crime; (2) no evidence emerged here that perceived risks for others were more strongly linked to media experiences than were perceived risks for self; (3) in the presence of demographic controls only, soap opera viewing emerged more often than any other program type as linked significantly to judgments about crime; and (4) viewing of particular categories of programs seemed to be less relevant to fear of crime than how much television was consumed overall. Seventeen tables, six with multiple classification or multiple regression analyses, summarize study results. (16 references) (CGD)