Fear of Crime Among Students of Kalasin Rajabhat University

Abstract

While students in higher education have become a trending sample group for researches on fear of crime in academic circles of international affairs in areas of criminology, hardly any concerning research in case of Thailand has been carried out. This research therefore intends to explore the level of fear of crime, attitude toward seriousness of crimes, along with causes thereof, in Kalasin Rajabhat University among the students, as well as conducting comparative analysis and testing correlation between the level of fear of crime and personal factors and prior experience and awareness of crime in Kalasin Rajabhat University, by quantitative research methodology; utilizing a questionnaire to gather data from 400 samples of undergraduates of Kalasin Rajabhat University.

The result has revealed that the majority of the respondents were female of average age 20, single, with monthly income between 5,001-10,000 baht, considered their physical health as great, highly involved with factors of campus social networks, and trusted in public institutions, as well as perceived risk of victimization on campus at marginal levels. During past 12 months, most of the respondents had never experienced crime by themselves, had no relative or any close friend who had experience crime, or even acknowledged any crime within Kalasin Rajabhat University. The respondents considered occurrences of crime in Kalasin Rajabhat University as infrequent, caused by alcohol sales, and had a low overall fear of crime.

The comparative analysis of level of fear of crime among Kalasin Rajabhat University students by gender, age, marital status, crime experience, and perception of crime in Kalasin Rajabhat University has pointed out varying degrees of fear of crime. Also the test of correlation between levels of fear has revealed a relationship between the confidence in public institutions and perceived risk of victimisation on campus.

Keywords: Fear of Crime, Student, Kalasin Rajabhat University, Faith in Public Institution, Perceived Risk of Victimisation