<p><?tk 4?>Children’s independent mobility is considered important for the healthy development of children. One of the known barriers to children’s independent mobility is parental fear of strangers. The present study investigated the effectiveness of school-based crime prevention programs on parental fear of strangers in Japan. An online survey administered through an online research panel company was conducted. We analyzed responses from 275 mothers living in Tokyo with their female elementary school children in the range of third grade to sixth grade. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the associations between the implementation and participation in school-based crime prevention programs and mothers’ fear of strangers, while controlling for parental factors, child factors, and neighborhood characteristics. Overall, no crime prevention programs were found to reduce fear of strangers. Paradoxically, however, three school-based crime prevention programs were associated with a significant increase in mothers’ fear.</p>