Research on Humanities and Social Sciences www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1719 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2863 (Online) Vol.3, No.10, 2013 96 Residential Differentials in Incidence and Fear of Crime Perception in Ibadan Adigun, Folasade Oyenike Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso foadigun@lautech.edu.ng Abstract The paper examines crime experienced by residents and the fear of crime events in residential areas of Ibadan. It was observed that households of the high and medium densities have higher average residential crime experience (ARCE) than average crime experienced by any household in Ibadan while households in the low density residential area have a lower ARCE. Findings on fear of crime indicate that the low density residential area has the highest mean FCEI value (1.1) followed by the medium (0.8) then the high density (0.5). The pattern of fear of crime events (FCEI) observed in Ibadan is a reverse of the pattern of residential crime magnitude (RCM) and average crime experienced (ARCE) among the three residential areas. The study suggests that strategies of dealing with crime and its fear should be done in collaboration with local communities so as to reflect the experiences and concerns of residents. Keywords: crime, events, fear, residential area 1. Introduction The problem of skyrocketing, daunting and seemingly untameable urban crime has become a nerve-racking phenomenon to all and sundry. The consequences of crime are evident on the residents, quality of life and the liveability of cities. This manifests in the loss of investment, lives and properties. Coupled with these is the resulting conducive terrain for strengthening of deeply rooted crime cultures and other socio- economic implications on the residents and image of cities. Besides, there are countless emotional consequences of crime on human beings; chief among which is fear and insecurity. Fear has been regarded as the immediate ‘within’ (or internal) response that poses threat to human safety (Afon 2001). Fear of crime is conceived to arise from concern about crime, the consequences of victimization, the probability of being victimized, feelings of vulnerability and wider social and situational influences (Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform 2009). Several factors influence fear of crime. These are: gender, age, nationality, marital status, education level, locality, official crime rate, perception of crime in local area, prior experience of victimization among others (Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform 2009). Repeatedly in the literature, studies of fear of crime point to a paradox that those groups that expressed the highest level of fear of crime typically have the lowest victimization rates (Stafford & Galle 1984). Women and the elderly are more fearful of crime while better educated and prosperous people are less fearful of crime (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research). While fear of crime can be differentiated into public feelings, thoughts and behaviours about the personal risk of criminal victimization, distinctions can also be made between the tendency to see situations as fearful, the actual experience while in those situations, and broader expressions about the cultural and social significance of crime and symbols of crime in people's neighbourhoods and in their daily symbolic lives (Encyclopaedia). Crimes and its consequences occur not only within, but are also influenced and may indeed be compounded by a wide range socio-economic and environmental context, summarized in urban residential patterns (Faris & Dunham 1939; Shaw & McKay 1942; Bagley et al 1976; Aguda 1994; Agbola 1997; Afon 2001; Phillip 2008, Adigun 2012). For instance in the study carried out by Shaw & McKay (1942) in the city of Chicago, it was documented that juvenile delinquency conforms to a regular spatial pattern in Chicago; with the highest rates at the inner-city zones (i.e. around the central business district) and a declining rate with increasing distance from the centre. Thus the areas with low delinquency are located mostly near the city’s periphery. Afon (2001) in his analyses of occurrence of criminal activities in Ilorin found that all categories of crime investigated occurred in the high density area. Nonetheless, some criminal activities are peculiar to certain densities with different degrees of incidence. This is attributed to varying social and economic attributes of the residents as well as the environmental characteristics of the residential areas in Ilorin. 'House breaking' was observed to be more in the low density area than in the remaining two densities. This supports earlier findings of Aguda (1994). Using residential densities as basis for data collection, Agbola (1997) explored the impact of the increasing urban violence in Nigerian cities on physical planning, urban design and building construction practices. Among cases reviewed, the incidence of burglary and other crimes such as armed robbery, loitering, street fighting, hooliganism, prostitution, drug dealing and gambling are found to be more in the high density (22.11percent) and