A report on the perception of safety in the Netherlands

1. How safe
is your city?
A report on the perception of
safety in the Netherlands
Dutch citizens respond

2. Contents
Intro
Methodology
Survey highlights
Results
• General concerns about safety and security
• Impact of perceived safety
• Community responsibility and actions needed
• Opinions on city surveillance
Conclusion
Axis Safe Cities solutions

3. How safe does
your city feel?
How can you judge a city’s safety? Crime mapping
and crime rates can give an accurate sense of risk,
but they miss a key element in the ’Safe City’ concept:
the perception of safety.
Part of developing a ’Safe City’ is creating a city that
feels secure to its citizens. The first step in that ­process
is knowing how secure citizens feel today. From there
steps can be taken to maintain or increase the sense
of security, so that both residents and ­businesses­con-
tinue to invest in their communities.
Axis conducted the following survey throughout the
Netherlands to understand how secure citizens feel
in their communities, and how they view the security
efforts of government and city officials.
Axis offers intelligent security solutions that enable a smarter,
safer world. As the global market leader in network video, the
company is driving the ongoing shift from analog to digital
video surveillance. Axis products and solutions focus on se-
curity surveillance and remote monitoring, and are based on
innovative, open technology platforms.

4. Methodology
The following results are based on the answers of
1000 respondents to an independently-conducted
online survey.
Respondents were all between 18 and 64 years of
age and currently living in the Netherlands.
The survey was conducted by the research company, Xtreme.

5. Survey
highlights

6. 46%
60%
70%
of respondents are worried about
crime in their community.
have felt unsafe in public spaces
over the past year.
don’t think that city officials are
doing enough about safety.
Almost
Almost
are positive towards camera
sur­veillance on public trans­
portation.
77%

7. Survey results:
General concerns about
safety and security

8. Question 1
Are you worried
about crime in your
community?
46%said they are worried
about crime
Older respondents (age 46-64) are more
worried about crime (51%) than younger
respondents (41%).
Those who live in densely populated areas are
more worried (47%) than those living in less
populated areas (41%).
*Percentages are based on answers of 5,6, or 7
on a scale of 1-7, with 1 being “not worried at
all” and 7 being “very worried”.

9. Question 2
Unsafe in your neighbourhood
Unsafe On a street or public square
Have you, at any point in the
past year, felt unsafe…
… in your neighbourhood during the daytime?
… in your neighbourhood during the evening/night?
… on a street or public square during the daytime?
… on a street or public square during the evening/night?
43%
58%
56%
58%
have felt unsafe during
the daytime
have felt unsafe during
the daytime
have felt unsafe during
the evening/night
have felt unsafe during
the evening/night
*Percentages are based on answers of “Yes, many times” or “Yes, occasionally.”

10. Question 3
Have you, at any point during the
past year, felt worried that...
… you or someone close to you will have a home break-in?
… you or someone close to you will be accosted, attacked or robbed?
… your car/bicycle/motorbike will be stolen, damaged or vandalised?
37%
48%
30%have worried that they or
someone close to them will
have a home break-in
have worried that their
car/­bicycle/motorbike
will be ­stolen, damaged or
­vandalised
have worried that they
or someone close to them
will be ­acosted, attacked
or robbed.
*Percentages are based on answers of “Yes, many times” or “Yes, occasionally.”

11. Survey results:
Impact of
perceived safety

12. Question 4
Have you, at any point during
the past year, not taken part in
an ­activity (a walk, exercising, the
movies, concert, bike ride, meeting
a friend or similar) because you
felt unsafe?
19%of respondents have chosen not to take part in an
activity during the past year because of safety
­concerns.

13. Question 5
Have you, at any point during
the past year, chosen an alternate
route or mode of transportation
­because you felt unsafe?
26%of respondents have chosen an alternate route
­because of safety concerns.

14. Question 6
Have you, at any point during
the past year, chosen not to use
­public transportation because
you felt ­unsafe?
13%of respondents have chosen not to use public trans-
portation because of safety concerns.
Young people (18-29) were the group most
likely to choose an alternate route due to
safety concerns (16%).

15. Question 7
To what level does your fear of
crime negatively impact your
quality of life?
16%of respondents say that feeling worried about crime
has negatively impacted their quality of life.
Older respondents (46-64) were the group
most impacted by fear of crime (18%).

16. Question 8
Which of the following actions
have you taken to increase your
security?
14%Installed an alarm
in your home
24%Purchased ­insurance
21%Cooperation with
neighbours
55%None of the above
8%Installed ­camera(s)
in your home

17. Survey results:
Community
responsibility and
actions needed

18. Question 9
Do you think that the deci­sion-
makers in your community are
doing enough to increase ­safety
and security?
70% says
no
Almost 70% say no, city officials are not ­doing
enough about safety. Mostly ­older respondents
and those living in highly ­populated areas.
Almost

19. Question 10
Which of the following actions
could decision-makers take in
order to improve safety?
54%Tougher prison
­sentences
35%Increase presence of
security cameras
16%Inform me of ways
to protect myself
49%Better lighting on
streets, squares and
public places
57%
Hire more police
­officers

20. Survey results:
Opinions on
camera surveillance

21. Question 11
… on streets, squares and public places
… on public transportation
Do you think that the presence
of security cameras has a
negative impact on privacy?
19%*
18%*
60%**
63%**
Security cameras have a negative
impact on privacy/19% said yes
Security cameras have a negative
impact on privacy/18% said yes
Security cameras do not have a
negative impact on privacy/
60% said no
Security cameras do not have a
negative impact on privacy/
63% said no
*Percentages are based on answers of 5,6, or 7 on a scale of 1-7, with 1 being “no, not at all” and 7 being “Yes, a significant
negative impact”.
**Percentages are based on answers of 1,2, or 3 on a scale of 1-7, with 1 being “no, not at all” and 7 being “Yes, a significant
negative impact”.
said yes
said yes
said no
said no

22. Question 12
What is your attitude towards
camera surveillaince?
72%* 77%*
are positive toward cam-
era surveillance in streets,
squares and public places
are positive toward cam-
era surveillance on public
transportation
Percentages are based on answers of 5,6, or 7 on a scale of 1-7, with 1 being
“Very negative” and 7 being “Very positive”.

23. This survey shows that there is
room for improvement in helping the
­citizens of the Netherlands feel ­safer
and more secure. More than half of
the population feels unsafe in pub-
lic spaces and what’s more, they are
disappointed in the response of local
governments.
Risk groups:
Older respondents and those living in densely
populated areas are the most worried about
crime in their communities. The Netherlands, a
country with high population density, is therefore
at a particular risk for its citizens feeling unsafe.
As the population increases – and ages – feelings
of insecurity may become even more widespread.
The survey shows that young people and those
living in densely populated areas are the groups
most likely to change their behaviour due to
safety concerns in their city. Already, more
than 10% of respondents have chosen to not
­partake in a community activity or have avoided
­public transportation out of security concerns.
The ­consequences on city economies could be
­significant if citizens in large numbers choose
not to partake in city activities.
Conclusion
Actionable
statistics:
Over a third of all respondents think more
­security cameras are needed. One low-risk area
for potential action and change is within the
transportation sector. 77% of the respondents
said they feel positively towards security
cameras in public transportation.

24. Axis Safe Cities
Solutions
Making
your city
safer
together
Your responsibility.
Our area of expertise.

25. Feeling safe and secure is one of the main
rights of any citizen. Community leaders have
a responsibility to reduce crime and increase a
feeling of well-being. Unfortunately, the feeling
of well-­being does not always correspond to the
work done to decrease crime. In fact, the Safe
Cities Index cites translating ”progress on safety
into changing public perceptions” as one of the
biggest challenges facing city leaders across the
globe.1
At Axis, we’ve helped community leaders across
the globe make their cities safer. From traffic
problems to personal safety, from preventing
vandalism to crowd control, our integrated,
digital surveillance systems tell you what’s going
on across your whole city – right now and at
any time.
And importantly, increased digital surveil-
lance doesn’t just deter criminals and reduce
­investigation time. Our surveillance systems are
a concrete action you can take give citizens a
greater sense of security and help enhance your
city’s image.
1. http://safecities.economist.com/whitepapers/safe-cities-index-
white-paper/
Small
steps,
big
changes
pletely replace equipment. You can start off with
a few small changes that make a big difference.
And you can move towards making your city and
its people even safer.
Read more about how we make cities safer
http://www.axis.com/se/sv/solutions-by-industry/safe-cities
See our products and solutions
http://www.axis.com/se/sv/solutions-by-industry/safe-cities/prod-
ucts-and-solutions
See the results in other world cities, from Japan to Brazil
http://www.axis.com/se/sv/solutions-by-industry/safe-cities/cus-
tomer-stories
Would you like to be contacted by one of our system
integrators in the Netherlands?
http://www.axis.com/se/sv/where-to-buy/results?cc=n-
l&pushed=1&type=1
With Axis, creating a safer city doesn’t have to be
an expensive, time-consuming project. All of our
flexible solutions can be integrated into existing
analog systems – so there’s no need to com-
Being safe.
Feeling safe.

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Axis o ers intelligent security solutions that enable a smarter, safer world. As the global market
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