3.2- Contribution Of Agencies To Achive Social Control

Question 1

What are the 4 ways agencies have contributed to social control

Answer 1

• environmental design
• behavioural tactics
• institutional tactics
• gaps in state provisions

Question 2

Explain environmental design

Answer 2

The design of building can reduce crime
Indefensible space- uncared for/looks unowned= crime occur e.g. alleyway
Defensible space- cared for/owned= not attract crime e.g. public garden

Question 3

What was developed to showcase environmental design

Answer 3

Crime prevention through environmental design, developed by CR Jeffery

Question 4

What does CPTED showcase

Answer 4

Environments can create/deny opportunities for offenders

Question 5

Give a case study for environmental design

Answer 5

Alice Coleman- studied 4000 flats in London, found that poor design e.g. no surveillance= increased crime rate, she said that current flats being built need to have overhead walkways removed for visibility and to add public gardens
Caused council to design crime out (50% decrease in crime when overhead walkways removed)

Question 6

Explain gates lanes as a type of environmental design

Answer 6

Adds security, allows community to share a public space, decreases burglaries/antisocial groups using area

Question 7

What did sidebottom et al say about gates lanes

Answer 7

They help reduce crime, provides a physical barrier, increased territorlality
However doesn’t deter criminals who live in these areas, it requires community work, causes issues for emergency services trying to access area

Question 8

Theory links of environmental design

Answer 8

Right realism- overlap of CPTED and situational crime prevention- target hardening
- assumes rational choice theory is factor - offenders see crime as too much of a risk/effort so are less likely to attempt to commit an offence

Question 9

Criticisms of environmental design

Answer 9

• not help with crimes inside of the areas e.g. domestic abuse
• wont help many crimes, for example those that don’t need physical contact (fraud)
• council place families in area meaning problem families in the area create more crime

Question 10

What are behavioural tactics

Answer 10

Ways agencies modify behaviour so people conform to laws/norms

Question 11

Explain ASBO’s as a form of behavioural tactics

Answer 11

ASBOS- anti social behaviour orders, introduced by labour government to target vandalism/public disorder, they are civil orders but can lead to criminal conviction
Not effective( 51% breached conditions) so criminal behaviour order (CBO) and civil injunction ordered were introduced to replace ASBOs

Question 12

Explain CBOs and civil injunctions

Answer 12

Injunctions- target low level antisocial behaviour, prosecuted in breached
CBOs- deal with serious antisocial behaviour (harassment), last 2 years, up to 5 yrs prison if conditions breached

Question 13

Do ASBOs and CBOs work

Answer 13

They modify behaviour- negative requirements (for it behaviour), positive requirements (mandatory attendance to drug programme)

Question 14

Theory link for ASBOs and CBOs

Answer 14

Labelling theory- cause self fulfilling prophecy to occur, criminal adopts the label or they may gain Status from peers

Question 15

Explain token economy as a behavioural tactic

Answer 15

They modify behaviour, based on skinners positive reinforcement (desired behaviour rewarded=repeated)
Links to operant conditioning theory
Identify desirable behaviour (obey orders, not engage in violence), earn token when meet criteria, exchange for privilege e.g. tv

Question 16

Do token economies work

Answer 16

Hobbs and holt found that the behaviour of 125 boys in US correctional institution changed positively
Concerns that once individuals leave prison desirable behaviour will stop as their not rewarded
They are still likely to reoffend slower than other
Can control inmates, make prison run efficiently without modifying behaviour

Question 17

Explain institutional tactics

Answer 17

Institutions such as home/prion/work use tactics to shape behaviour
Use systems e.g. token economy/positive or negative sanctions to reward desired behaviour
Use negative sanctions to punish undesirable behaviour

Question 18

Give examples of institutional tactics in different environments

Answer 18

Work- late= warning from manager
Prison- fight=confined to cell
CJS- use tactics to enforce rules and reach social control
Courts- sentences given depending on crime ( with hopes of no reoffending)
Probation- must meet criteria of release, supervised by officer, failing to meet criteria=re sentenced
Prison- prison rules (not cause harm, not attempt to escape), fail to comply=cell confinement

Question 19

What type of discipline is used in all institutions

Answer 19

Phased discipline- where 1st offence is dealt with more leniently than future ones

Question 20

Explain gaps in state provisions and name the 4 gaps

Answer 20

Where agencies aims at achieving social control are ineffective:
- recources in demand
- new tech
- unreported crime
- existing laws

Question 21

Explain recourses in demand as a gap in state provisions

Answer 21

Taxes are used to pay some prison costs but are also used for other things such as the NHS, led to decrease in prison funding since 2018 (police budget was cut by 19% and prison cut by 16%)

Question 22

Explain new technology as a gap in state provisions

Answer 22

It hinders the effectiveness/efficiency of dealing with crime as its time consuming/ difficult/ costly to search through/ likely data evidence is missed

Question 23

Explain unreported crime as a gap in state provisions

Answer 23

Only 40% of crime is reported, this affects how effective police can be at reducing crime rates and achieving social control (1 in 4 rapes are reported, domestic abuse victims not report)

Question 24

Explain existing laws as a gap in state provisions

Answer 24

Existing laws don’t account for all behaviour- state agencies are not always able to prosecute crime (if behaviour is new/no current laws), e.g. social media hosts aren’t prosecuted for allowing hate speech as they are not the ones publishing it