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Introduction
This study focuses on investigating the impacts of shootings on fear of crime on campus. It discusses whether awareness has any impact on students’ behavior and decision-making processes. The results indicated that information with regard to shootings increased fear of crime among university students. The role played by both print and non-print media is emphasized in the study.
Increased shootings on campuses have become global issues. Fear of crime has been an issue that has drawn attention of many scholars, especially in relation to shootings in colleges and other institutions of learning (Kaminski et al. 89). The way learners perceive fear of shootings has been a focus on the literature. The increase in fear results from an increase in mass shootings in colleges and universities in many nations across the world. For example, the shootings in Virginia Polytechnic and State University, whereby 32 learners died and 17 others were injured, are among a few shootings that have become well known in the media (Kaminski et al. 90). This has been one of the sources of influence on fear among learners. Learners are concerned about whether there is safety on campus. Media play key roles in influencing learners’ decision-making processes regarding crimes (Muschert 67). The knowledge acquired from the media, especially television and newspapers could make learners aware of crimes and their effects on campus, and influence changes in behavior. Campus shootings influence perceived fear and feelings of safety. This is based on how killings have been displayed (Muschert 70). To investigate whether information regarding killings that is passed through the media has any impact on fear on a campus, a study was conducted on university grounds to find out if there is a link between awareness through the media and crime on institutions of higher education (Schafer, Huebner and Bynum 289). The study concentrated on investigating the number of shootings that have taken place and learners’ reactions to them. From the study, it was found that the more the number of shootings that the students had experienced, the much they feared (Schafer et al. 300).
It is evident that certain behaviors can lead to an increase in fear of a victimized individual. It is worth to note that victimization of colleagues makes an individual change the attitude toward some behaviors and avoid crime (Woolnough 45). For example, possession of a dangerous weapon, reducing time of moving from one place to another, and movements at night have great impacts. According to crime theories, such as routine activity theory, crime is not a random event (Woolnough 47). The theory posits that a crime originates from lifestyles and continuous activities of an individual (Woolnough 48). In addition, for a crime to take place, there must be an offender, i.e., person who begins committing criminal activity (Woolnough 49). Moreover, there should be conducive surroundings in which crime would occur.
Therefore, it is important to investigate if there is a relationship between campus shootings and fear of crime. This study focused on answering the following research questions.
- What are the effects of campus killings on fear of crime on campus
- Does students’ awareness have any influence on their attitudes toward fear of crime?
- What are the effects of media on crime on campus?
In the study, the following hypotheses were tested. First, there is a relationship between campus shootings and fear on crime. Second, there is a relationship between students’ awareness and fear of crime. Finally, there is a relationship between media and crime on campus.
Method
To find out the impacts of campus shootings on crime on campus, the researcher conducted a survey at the University of Central Florida, which constitutes the largest population, gaining more insights about learners’ understanding of fear of crime on campus. A sample of 436 students was used for the study. The survey was distributed among learners in a classroom on the campus, and the respondents were informed that it was voluntary. The participants were expected to be 18 and above. The survey was advertised online to make students aware of what would be taking place on campus. After the survey was done, the data were recorded and analyzed statistically through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).
In the study, the fact of whether a learner owns any weapon was independent because it focused on allowing multiple items to be selected. Follow-up questions were asked learners who used the options that were provided. Thus, these acted as independent variables. After the application of the independent variables, learners were requested to write how afraid they were using a scale that ranged from “not afraid” to “very afraid”. Later, the learners were asked to rank themselves based on how fearful they were during the day and at night. In addition, learners ranked their familiarity with campus shooting that ranged from “never heard about it” to “often hear of it”. This concentrated on evaluating whether there were mass shootings on the campus. Questions were styled in three different ways to authenticate learners’ answers. A five-point Likert scale was used to examine the amount of time wasted by students in thinking about the mass killings on campus. This utilized a scale that ranged from “never” to “often”.
A guide was made using learners’ perceptions about mass killings, specifically in the institution. Four options were provided. They included “I have never heard”, “I have once heard of them”, “I have always heard of them”, and “not very familiar”.
The study included a control variable with the aim of determining learners’ fear in their residential places. Learners were asked about their locations in relation to the university. The options that were included were campus dormitory, society house, and off-campus.
Findings
The sample population of 465 that was used in the university of Central Florida is reported in figure one. Out of 465 learners, 30.2% were male, and 69.8% were females. Their average age was 21 years. Among the many races, Caucasians were composed of 62%, Blacks 14%, Hispanic 15%, Asians 5%, and other races were 4%. Many of the students were freshmen (36%), juniors were (25%), seniors (15%), and graduate (4%). The students identified their locations while attending school as follows: dormitories housed 36%, and 61% lived off-campus, and 3% lived in society houses. With regard to possession of weapons, out of 465 learners, 44.2% possessed weapons, and 54.8% did not own a weapon.
Representation of findings in the tables
Figure 1: sample demographics of 465 people
Not that all numbers are expressed as percentages except the average age.
The frequency of fear of crime for the sample population
Figure 2: A table, showing how frequent students fear crime
Note that all figures are expressed in percentages.
Figure 3. A table showing students’ exposure to campus shootings
Students who acquire information from the media regarding massive killings
Figure 4. A table showing different media that are used by students
Conclusion
As aforementioned, the study focused on investigating whether knowledge of shootings on campus has any impact on an increase in fear of crime in learners. In the first hypothesis, it is clear that there is a relationship between campus shootings and fear of crime. This is evident in figure 2, whereby a large number of students demonstrated that they were very afraid of crimes. This could be attributed to the effects, such as suspension and expulsion, which students are subjected to after they commit a crime. However, it is notable that they do not fear possessing weapons, despite the fact that they are attributed to crime. From figure 1, the number of learners who owned weapons is quite large, although it is not larger than that of those who did not own. Arguably, it implied that learners were concerned about their safety, and they had to keep weapons to protect themselves. It was also deduced that massive shootings on campus have increased fear of crime in students. This is indicated in figure 3, which shows that rarely do students waste time in starting fires on campus. From the results, members of society and teachers seem to have been sensitized. This is for the reason that there are fewer cases of fires in the institutions that are opened by the community and instructors.
Regarding the role of media in informing learners about the effects of shootings, the study found out that many students utilize both print and non-print media. However, the non-print media, the internet and audio-visual media platforms were the most used types. Thus, the second and the third hypotheses are correct. The media could have brought about more fear of crime in learners through their sensitization programs, leading to fewer fires in the institution of learning.
Therefore, it is hoped that this study will form a basis for other studies to investigate the impacts of mass shootings on campuses. It is advisable to involve many institutions in future studies to compare the results and make better conclusions. Nonetheless, the time for conducting the research should be adequate to allow adequate collection and analysis of data. Finally, it is important to recognize the role played by the media in sensitizing students in relation to crime. This is for the reason that a relatively large number of students that uses media could be a factor for the decrease in crime rates among learners.
Works Cited
Kaminski, Robert , Barbara, Koons-Witt, Norma Stewart Thompson, and Douglas Weiss. “The impacts of the Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University shootings on fear of crime on campus.” Journal of Criminal Justice 38.1 (2010): 88-98. Print.
Muschert, Glenn. “Research in school shootings.” Sociology Compass 1.1 (2007): 60-80. Print.
Schafer, Joseph, Beth, Huebner, and Timothy, Bynum. “Fear of crime and criminal victimization: Gender-based contrasts.” Journal of Criminal Justice 34.3 (2006): 285-301. Print.
Woolnough, April. “Fear of crime on campus: gender differences in use of self-protective behaviors at an urban university.” Security Journal 22.1 (2009): 40-55. Print.
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