Perceived risk of criminal victimisation : exploring possible socio-demographic factors among students of the University of Malta

Abstract

The perceived risk of crime, while often found to not be reflective of the official crime rate, has been correlated with lower life satisfaction. While many studies have been conducted to examine what factors affect the perceived risk of crime, very few have been conducted on the Maltese islands. Using the students of the University of Malta, as my sample, this study aimed to fill this gap by exploring what factors play a role in determining the perceived risk of crime and how strongly each factor affects it. A survey was conducted to attempt to measure the perceived risk of crime among the sample and collect data on their gender, local crime rate, media consumption, their experience of victimisation and their perceived likelihood of encountering signs of crime and disorder. Each factor was examined separately using quantitative means. The results showed that being a female student, more frequently watching local news and news broadcasts as well as having a higher perceived likelihood of encountering signs of crime and disorder were correlated with a higher score for perceived risk.