BMC Public Health 2009, 9:221 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/9/221 Table 2: Police reported crime in the housing areas studied1 Setting Alpha Setting Beta Setting Gamma Alpha-house Alpha-flat Beta-mix Beta-flat Gamma-house Gamma-flat Mean number of police reported crime/1000 inhabitants per year (%) (a) Crime against life and health (homicide, manslaughter, maltreatment) (b) Crime against freedom and serenity (unlawful threat, molest) (c) Theft and robbery (d) Crime of damage (e) Other crimes Total 1Data source: Local police office. Based on the years 2003–2005. and Gamma, the mean total crime rates in the areas with blocks of flats were five to six times those in the small- scale areas. In setting Beta only a comparatively small dif- ference in crime rates was observed between Beta-flat and the mixed tenure area, Beta-mix. Theft and robbery were the most frequently reported crimes in all areas. The rates of reported violence and other crimes against personal safety were ten (setting Alpha) to four (setting Beta) times as high in the areas with blocks of flats than in the small- scale or mixed areas within those two settings. The resi- dents in the small-scale areas and in the mixed area, Alpha-house, Beta-mix and Gamma-house, had organized Neighbourhood Watch programmes against crime and signposts in those areas were visible. Study population A cross-sectional study was conducted among the resi- dents living in the six neighbourhoods. A sample was ran- domly selected from the census records by Statistics Sweden and residents aged 20–79 years were invited to participate in a survey. The questionnaire was sent by post in October 2005. The questionnaire was followed up by a reminder 4 weeks later and a further questionnaire was posted to non-respondents. A total of 1390 residents par- ticipated, accounting for 56% of the 2476 individuals who received the questionnaire. Measurements As there is no consensus on the term 'safety-related con- cerns' [8,35], alternative concepts describing the term are derived from a set of relevant variables. Safety-related concerns The items of perceived neighbourhood disorder were adapted from the Swedish Living Conditions survey [36] (items a-f) or original for this study (g), but developed by 0.7 (2.4) 10.6 (5.8) 2.3 (3.1) 10 (9.8) 0.9 (2.5) 7.8 (5.2) 2.6 (8.9) 23.5 (12.9) 3.3 (6.2) 12.4 (12.2) 4.2 (12.7) 21.1 (12.7) 16.7 (58.5) 5.1 (17.9) 3.5 (12.2) 88.3 (48.5) 36.1 (48.7) 49.3 (48.2) 30.8 (16.9) 13.7 (18.5) 10.8 (10.6) 28.8 (15.9) 17.5 (23.5) 19.6 (19.2) 20.4 (60.8) 3.4 (10.1) 4.7 (13.9) 81.2 (48.7) 18.6 (11.2) 36.9 (22.1) 28.6 (100) 182 (100) 72.9 (100) 102.1 (100) 33.6 (100) 165.6 (100) the WHO [37]. The participants were asked to assess each question using a five-point Likert scale: to what extent they perceived (a) damage and/or graffiti, (b) littering, (c) car theft, (d) disturbance from neighbours. Participants were asked to respond using a measurement scale from 'Yes, very annoying' to 'None'. The respondents were also asked to what extent they perceived (e) tobacco smoking and (f) consumption of alcohol or use of other drugs to be an annoyance in their housing area. The respondents were also asked to estimate (g) how often their sleep was dis- turbed because of street noise or noisy neighbours. Questions about general safety and fear of crime were asked to measure perceived safety based on previously used questions (with minor modifications). The item, 'Do you feel safe or insecure in your housing area in the daytime?' and the item 'Do you feel safe or insecure in your housing area during the evening and at night?' was intended to capture time and space aspects of perceived safety in the residential environment. To measure fear of crime the question, 'Do you refrain from going outdoors because of fear of crime?' was used as in previous research [11,37- 39]. Environmental and personal correlates The respondents were categorized according to geographic housing area and neighbourhood setting. A question was asked on whether the residents had personal experience as a victim of crime during the last 12 months within the housing area. The reply option was 'yes' or 'no' and the item was original but modified from Statistics Sweden [36]. The participants were also asked to rate their per- ceived area reputation using a Likert scale: from 'very good' to 'very bad'. This question is original, but developed from studies in the west of Scotland [40]. Page 4 of 11 (page number not for citation purposes)