The research

Through this research, we aim to gain a clear understanding of perceptions of safety in Leiden. The results will provide us with information about current perceptions. As Leiden’s City Criminologist Marianne Franken explains: ‘This research really focuses on Leiden’s residents. That’s why want to ask anyone who lives in the city and values their safety to participate in our survey. We want to hear from you!’

Share your perceptions of safety in Leiden

If you live in Leiden and you would like to contribute to this research, please complete the online survey about your perceptions of safety in Leiden.  

Important: 

• To be able to participate, it’s essential that you currently live in Leiden. 

• You also have to be aged 18 or over. 

• It will take around 5 to 10 minutes to complete the online survey. 

• Your responses will remain completely anonymous and your privacy will be respected.  

• Once you have completed the survey, the website will update you on the progress of the research.  

• If you want to contribute even more to the research, we would really appreciate it if you could complete these surveys more regularly. However, this is by no means a requirement. 

Why does Leiden need a City Criminologist?

De Leidse Stadscriminoloog (Leiden’s City Criminologist) is a collaboration between Leiden University, the municipality of Leiden and the police. Below, they explain why they feel this research project is important. 

‘What I mainly want to emphasise is that the responses from Leiden’s residents could really trigger changes in the city,’ says Franken. ‘Are there any specific situations on the streets that make Leiden’s residents feel unsafe? If these situations do exist, the municipality and police can work together to investigate whether – and if so, how – these situations can be addressed. The responses will also tell us where in the city Leiden’s residents do feel safe and why.’ 

When this project was launched, Leiden’s mayor at the time, Henri Lenferink, shared his high expectations about the research findings and his hope that many of Leiden’s residents would give their input. He said: ‘Thanks to previous research, we already have lots of information about perceptions of safety. The Veiligheidsmonitor (Safety Monitor), for example, which is conducted every two years, provides us with valuable information, but these surveys are only a snapshot of a specific moment in time. This longer-term study offers us the unique opportunity to delve deeper into the matter at hand and identify causes. As well as more general perceptions of safety across the city and its districts, this research also analyses perceptions of safety in concrete situations. Residents can specify where they have felt safe, unsafe and most on their guard within the past 24 hours and they can then describe those situations in detail. This information will provide us with a proper understanding of these types of situations. Next, we will be able to implement and assess potential interventions.’  
 
Marieke van den Bosch, Police Leiden-Bollenstreek Section Head, says, ‘Perceptions of safety are very broad. After all, even if you’ve never been a victim of crime yourself, you may still feel unsafe. And vice versa: just because someone has been a victim of burglary in the past, it doesn’t necessarily mean they feel unsafe in the city. This research gives us as broad an idea as possible of perceptions of safety in Leiden, enabling us to work with the municipality to make targeted decisions in the future.