Perceptions of Risk Amongst Minority Groups: Causes and Consequences

The Crime and Disorder Act (1998) has placed a responsibility upon local Community Safety Partnerships to examine victimization amongst minority groups, and to plan effectively to combat harassment on the basis of ethnicity or sexuality. This paper examines perceived risk of victimization, experience of crime and threat, and associated avoidance strategies. Data obtained from the local Council for Racial Equality and from Gay and Lesbian Switchboard, and through a series of focus groups and qualitative interviews undertaken with minorities, show weaknesses in police data relating to victimization on the basis of ethnicity and sexuality. The qualitative research suggests that harassment and threat are commonplace amongst the minorities interviewed, and that concern for personal safety does constrain behaviour. Respondents stated a lack of confidence in the police due to a perceived prejudice against their own minority group.