Challenging integration and police presence: determinants of subjective safety for persons with a turkish migration background

Feeling safe and secure is a core need of human beings. As belonging to an ethnic minority can be associated with decreased subjective security, the question as to whether integration and police presence can positively contribute to the subjective security of persons with a Turkish migration background (TMB) naturally arises. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of 17 interviews with persons with a TMB showed that most felt very safe in Germany. Although police presence positively correlated with subjective security in the quantitative analysis, integration into the family and the neighbourhood was the main explanation for the high degree of subjective security in the qualitative analysis. Practical recommendations based on these findings are given, as are the implications for future security research.