Fear of Crime of Sole Proprietor in South Korea: Moderating Effect of Confidence in Police

Abstract

The majority of research on the causes and consequences of fear of crime have focused on personal fears. Even though the widespread crime rate and damage in Sole Proprietors, Sole Proprietor's fear of crime as distinct from personal fear of crime is an understudied phenomenon. The present paper sought to identifying the determinant of sole proprietor's fear of crime under three theoretical models(incivility, victimization, and confidence in the police). Using the Korea Institute of Criminology’s “Safety Survey of Commercial Victimization Survey in Korea, 2016” data, multiple regression analysis was conducted on 5,080 sole proprietors. Results indicate that incivility and victimization have a significant effect on sole proprietor's fear of crime. Furthermore, confidence in police has a significant moderating effect on relationship between incivility and sole proprietor's fear of crime. This results suggest that sole proprietor who perceives more incivility has more fear of crime and even though confidence in police high level has increased the level of fear of crime. Based on the results of the study, Policy implications and future limitations of the study are discussed.