The impact of surveillance cameras and community safety activities on crime prevention: Evidence from Kakogawa City, Japan

• Safety perception is related to both physical and social prevention measures. • Surveillance camera acceptance depends on government practices and collective trust. • Despite limited community participation, willingness to improve exists. • Crime prevention requires both surveillance cameras and community safety activities. While surveillance cameras are widely used for crime prevention in living environments, the interplay between such physical measures and community safety activities remains less understood. This study is grounded in Kakogawa city in Japan, which was once noted for a high crime rate and is now one of the most-surveilled cities in the nation. A questionnaire survey was conducted to assess public attitudes towards local security, surveillance cameras and community safety activities among 116 citizens, with data analysed through both quantitative (ANOVA, t -test, and Pearson correlation) and qualitative (Kawakita-Jiro method) approaches. The study reveals a high level of safety perception, with both physical and social measures contributing. The acceptance of cameras is notably high and scarcely affected by demographics or personal experiences, largely due to local government's efforts to build collective trust. While the current level of community participation is insufficient, citizens perceive safety activities as irreplaceable by surveillance cameras, indicating that both should be concurrently promoted to enhance crime prevention initiatives. This study provides insights into the non-substitutable relationship between physical and social prevention measures and offers policy recommendations, including emphasising public involvement in implementing security devices and promoting the publicity of localised safety activities.