This study examines the trend of crime occurrence and spatial design, as well as the perceptions of fear and insecurity in Wurukum, Makurdi town, Nigeria. The study collected primary data by stratifying the study area into three categories based on residential density: low, medium, and high. Thereafter, the systematic sampling technique was used to select samples from each residential density. The perception of insecurity by residents during nighttime and daytime periods indicated the high-density residential neighbourhood in the study area had the highest rate of the insecurity index (RII), at 4.71 and 3.52, respectively. Moreover, the medium-density neighbourhood had RII values of 2.43 and 2.19, while the low-density residential neighbourhood had values of 2.10 and 2.01 during the night and daytime, respectively. Applying the stepwise regression analysis, the results showed that 86.5% of the variance in the perceptions of fear and insecurity among residents could be explained. The observed independent variables elucidate this result. The study concludes that there exists a significant variation in the perception of insecurity across the three residential densities of Gboko Town. Thus, indicating a significant variation in the occurrence rate of criminal activities in all the densities.
