Common objective characteristics of local crime and natural hazards are rarity, ecological patterning in terms of space and time, unpredictable intervals between events, and an inverse relationship between the seriousness and frequency of the event. However, natural hazards differ from crime in that victims can sometimes be forewarned and the damage occurs to a large number of people during a short time period. Perceptions of hazards and crimes also contain several similarities. Thus, rare and memorable events are overestimated, common and minor events are underestimated, and people are unrealistically optimistic regarding their risks of victimization. These points and the empirical results on the subject indicate the need for policymakers to be aware that focused crime prevention efforts may increase fear levels and that an approach focused on social problems may be more useful in higher crime areas than are victimization prevention strategies such as Block Watch. Footnotes, figure, and 61 references