Taking a snapshot of anti-social behaviour
A study hoping to create a picture of how different neighbourhoods across England feel about anti-social behaviour caused by alcohol and drugs is being carried out at the University of Portsmouth.
Joanna Taylor has been awarded £62,000 for her three year study to complete her PhD from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
She hopes to use data from the British Crime Survey, Census and police reports as well as using her own advanced analysis skills to help provide a clear picture of how every neighbour across England feels about anti-social behaviour.
Her study plans to give a clear picture of neighbourhoods with about 7,000 people participating across England. It will be the smallest, most focused study ever to be carried out on a national scale.
Joanna said: “The British Crime Survey gives detailed information about experiences of crime. However, to date it has been unable to be used to calculate findings at the neighbourhood level.” She added: “I am hoping my studies will result in a statistical model that uses the British Crime Survey and other data sources to provide a useful picture of peoples’ perceptions of anti-social behaviour caused by drugs and alcohol in their neighbourhood which can then be put into use by agencies at all levels.”
She was chosen for the project by her supervisor, Dr Liz Twigg, due to her ‘incredible’ skills in analysing data. Before the project she worked as a researcher in the geography department at the university. Joanna plans on using and improving methods Dr Twigg has developed to help pinpoint health-related behaviour involving alcohol, obesity and smoking.
Dr Twigg said: “Someone might live in an area where drugs are dealt nearby or where there is frequent alcohol-related rowdiness and not see it as a major threat to their own well-being, while another person might find much lower levels of anti-social behaviour as very threatening.” She also added: “Perceptions of crime can be just as problematic as actual or observed levels of neighbourhood disorder”.
The results are to be circulated in conferences and workshops over the next few months whilst the full results will be published in the next three years.
Find out more