This paper asks what the role of fear of crime research plays in the conception and framing of the crime problem, by unpacking the theoretical assumptions inherent in fear of crime methodology and examining their function. It presents the empirical example of Sweden and discusses it in relation to accounts on fear of crime and its establishment in the USA and UK. This paper provides an empirical account of how the fear of crime research discourse was implemented and institutionalized in Sweden, and how the occurrence of governmental fear of crime surveys has developed over time. Secondly, it discusses the role the fear of crime discourse plays in the politics of punitivity, concluding fear of crime research rhetorically enables continued political exploitation of crime, constructs crime as a problem of order maintenance and legitimizes further expansions of state control. © The Author(s) 2024.