Abstract

Despite mixed research findings, increasing police visibility has long been assumed to reduce crime and citizen fear of crime. Surveying 1,175 respondents from Malatya, a midsize city in Turkey, this paper examines the effects of citizens’ perceptions of police visibility and success on fear of crime during the daytime and at night. Consistent with some previous research, ordered logistic regression analyses revealed that perceived police visibility had no effect on citizens' fear of crime. However, perceived police success significantly reduced fear of crime at night. Consistent with previous research, females were more likely than males to fear crime during the day, and this effect increased exponentially at night. Previous personal crime victimization was a strong predictor of fear of crime during daytime but not at night, and reading local newspapers increased fear of crime during daytime only, suggesting that victims of personal crimes are more likely to limit their exposure to nighttime contexts. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.