Fear of Crime in Local Communities after School Shootings

This study examines how adult populations express fear of mass violence in two Finnish local communities that have both faced school shooting incidents. The main focus is on the respondents' fear about the recurrence of school shootings. Our hypothesis is that socio-demographic factors, crime victimization, and depressive mood explain individual variation in fear of mass violence. Empirical analysis is based on cross-sectional data (n = 1,266). The postal surveys were collected from the Jokela and Kauhajoki local communities approximately 6 and 18 months after the school shooting incidents had taken place in 2007 and 2008. Descriptive analysis and ordered logistic regression analysis are used as analysis methods. The results highlight that fear of mass violence was associated with the female gender, low income, and households with school-aged children. Young women aged 18–34 were among the most concerned, whereas young men aged 18–34 were the least concerned, also when compared to older males. Finally, the individuals who knew a victim of the incident or reported depressive mood were twice as likely to express worry about crime compared to others. The findings support earlier findings on socio-demographic variation in fear of crime. However, the findings have important contextual significance, as in recent years we have seen collective-targeted attacks in small communities in many European countries and in the United States.