Mythbuster - Warning, you may find the following message disturbing...

... but you continued reading, didn't you? The same happens in many crime prevention initiatives warning people about the potential consequences of their behaviour, whether as an offender or a victim. Indeed, fear-based tactics are commonplace within crime prevention and raising awareness of the potential risks and harms is assumed to deter people from that particular behaviour. However, this is not always the case. In fact, it may even be counter-productive. Scary, right?