TY - JOUR
T1 - Can information about “safe places” reduce female victimisation in Honduras? a quasi-experimental evaluation of the safeWalking app
AU - Capellan, Joel
AU - Kim, Chunrye
AU - Porter, Jeremy
AU - Sung, Hung En
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the Rutgers Center on Public Security, and its RTMDX Gratis Award for providing access to the RTMDx software used in conducting this analysis. Their fast, robust technical support was key to the success of this project. We also like to thank La Secretaria de Seguridad de Honduras, especially Juan Carlos Velasquez Espino, and Lisveth Madrid, for their leadership in this project.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - SafeWalking is of a prevention tool that identifies safe areas for women in public spaces in the City of Santa Rosa de Copan, Honduras. The current study examines the effect of using this phone app on users’ self-rated information about “safe places,” the number of precautionary behaviours, and victimisation. This study also examines its effect on constructs, such as fear of crime, perceived safety, and risk of victimisation. Using a pre-test and post-test design, we find that those assigned in the treatment group (i.e., the app users) experienced a significant increase in self-reported knowledge of the dangerous areas in Santa Rosa de Copan. Despite increased knowledge, there was no statistically significant effect on the number of precautionary behaviours and odds of victimisation of the app users. We discuss lessons learned, implications, and ways to improve future iterations of this and similar crime prevention applications.
AB - SafeWalking is of a prevention tool that identifies safe areas for women in public spaces in the City of Santa Rosa de Copan, Honduras. The current study examines the effect of using this phone app on users’ self-rated information about “safe places,” the number of precautionary behaviours, and victimisation. This study also examines its effect on constructs, such as fear of crime, perceived safety, and risk of victimisation. Using a pre-test and post-test design, we find that those assigned in the treatment group (i.e., the app users) experienced a significant increase in self-reported knowledge of the dangerous areas in Santa Rosa de Copan. Despite increased knowledge, there was no statistically significant effect on the number of precautionary behaviours and odds of victimisation of the app users. We discuss lessons learned, implications, and ways to improve future iterations of this and similar crime prevention applications.
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U2 - 10.1080/01924036.2021.1930564
DO - 10.1080/01924036.2021.1930564
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85107496504
SN - 0192-4036
VL - 46
SP - 357
EP - 370
JO - International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice
JF - International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice
IS - 4
ER -