Security and Perceived Security in Terni: A Sociological Analysis

Abstract

This article examines the gap between objective and subjective security in Terni (Umbria, Italy) in the light of the current debates on risk society, moral panics and the culture of fear. Using the methodology worked out by Niccolò Cusano University (2023-2025), mixing deep analysis of the available data, surveys, interviews and direct observation, it points out that, in spite of the declining of criminal activities after the recent pandemic period, the fear of crime remains high, though unevenly distributed.

Qualitative findings attribute the persistence of fear to: (1) environmental outbreaks of disorder; (2) their amplification by mass media and social media, which increases their perception; (3) low trust in institutions, which incresases the demand for visible police control; and (4) advanced marginality, which erodes social cohesion. Private video surveillance is widely accepted, but it helps increase concerns about security. The authors advocate a participatory model of security integrating municipal police, urban regeneration, youth engagement and the use of digital tools with safeguards against exclusion and vigilantism. Their recommendations include clear and objective reporting of crime data, media literacy initiatives, improved public lighting and intersectoral coordination between police activities, social services, housing and education. Terni’s experience shows how aligning objective security with its perceived need requires interventions addressed to structural inequalities and institutional trust, which could offer good lessons to other medium-sized European cities undergoing post-industrial change.