Coping with crime: Individual female responses

Freedom from personal attack and security of one's personal possessions are goals to which almost everyone subscribes ¾ from the derelicts clutching their bottles of cheap wine to millionaires worried about intrusions into their mansions. Reducing the risk of crime against our homes, our property and ourselves is a goal about which much consensus exists (Levine, et al., 1980: 22). Since formal means of crime control through the Criminal Justice Agencies only have been found to be ineffective, women must turn to community‐oriented policing as a welcome alternative for self‐protection. This article discusses the strategies women employ to cope with the rising incidence of crime.