Fear of crime rises even as crime rates fall when concealed-carry is legalized

Evidence

Crime rates have been declining but, paradoxically, fear of criminal victimization is rising. A campaign to arm the populous requires high arousal of public fear. Carrying concealed guns in public places has been legalized by state and local legislatures. The fact that people are walking around with concealed weapons renders more of the public environment threatening. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1150

Categorization

Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims

• XREF: Connects to moral-panic and manufactured-fear literature; echoes the claim that threats are socially constructed.
• QUESTION: To what extent is the fear-of-crime paradox driven by media coverage versus policy framings like concealed carry?

Related

• Fear of violent crime is manufactured politically and rises independent of actual crime rates. (similarity 0.89)
• Self-defense justifies only 3 percent of concealed-carry shootings. (similarity 0.80)
• Self-defense justification for concealed carry rarely matches actual gun use. (similarity 0.79)