A Sociological Study of the Relationship between Situational and Law Enforcement Prevention of Crime and Social Damages and Sense of Security in Noshahr City

Noshahr city has been immigrating destination in recent decades due to its proximity to the sea, being touristic and entrepreneurship, and its population has been multiplied, the unnecessary population growth has driven the growth of unincorporated settlements, resulting in a variety of crimes and social damage and consequently it has brought a sense of insecurity among the citizens. The present study, using sociological theories, examines the relationship between situational and law enforcement prevention of crimes and social injuries and the sense of security of citizens in Noshahr in 2018.

In terms of its objectives this study is of an applied research type and in terms of its nature it is considered as a descriptive-analytic study which has been conducted in survey method. A researcher-made questionnaire with a five-option Likert scale was used for data collection. The reliability of the questionnaire was estimated using Cronbach's alpha for all variables higher than 0.85. The sample consisted of 392 citizens of Noshahr who were selected from 14 urban and suburbs of Noshahr using multistage cluster sampling method.

There is a significant difference between the types of insecurity among citizens in terms of non-preventive and preventive areas. Regression analysis showed that independent variables; inappropriate design and architecture of urban areas and lack of continuous monitoring of urban spaces account for 0.74 of changes in insecurity.

As the results of the study show, proper architecture and design of urban areas can have a significant role in enhancing citizens' sense of security. When combined with continuous monitoring of urban areas, it has a dual impact on citizens' sense of security. Thus, in order to enhance the citizens' sense of security in urban areas without prevention it is imperative to pay more attention to the physical design of these areas and urban surveillance.