3.2 - describe contribution of agencies to achieving social control Flashcards
Environmental design
Newman - territoriality (cul-de-sacs etc show sense of ownership, everyone protects, everyone can see each other’s homes and help defend them), natural surveillance (use of CCTV enhances view where no natural sight line, criminals don’t like to be seen, get rid of trees), safe image (broken window principle, no visible signs of crime), safe location (in a crime free area, safewise UK recommends knowing police and being cautious)
Defensible home - clear boundaries
Indefensible space - somewhere crime is likely to happen, 55% happens in these spaces, Damilola Taylor stabbed in stairwell of flats
CPTED - use CCTV to avoid blind corners, use low thorny bushes (don’t want to climb/hard, protect utilities), lighting
RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY
Gated lanes
Put up lockable gates in alleys and passages, looked after by surrounding home owners, difficult to climb over/crawl under
Sidebottom et al - lower perceived likelihood of crime, harder to enter homes, creates safe play areas (bonds with community), reduces uncertainty of ownership
However - more sophisticated crime methods to overcome, costly to install, doesn’t prevent crime just moves it
RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY
CCTV
camera surveillance system set up to mnitor activities or areas
Help secure conviction as proved who is at crime scene
Help with blind corners
acts as a deterrent as increases risk of being caught, therefore increasing fear of punishment (discourages crime)
Example - London riots over 100,000 hours of footage leading to around 5,000 arrests
However - often bad quality if know won’t be caught then not deterred, lack of social control continue to rebel with no fear
RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY
Prison design
Panopticon prison - with guard tower in middle of cells with 360 degree vision, building of control, know they’re being watched so reinforces conformity due to fear of being caught and punished
Bastoy prison - focus on offender freedom to imitate outside life, huge focus on rehabilitation, given the chance to reform in a controlled environment
ASBO
Anti-social behaviour order
Sanctions to stop certain behaviours such as graffiti or drunken behaviour on streets
Used to modify or change criminal behaviour, don’t alter the environment
Persuading people to conform
Part of the crime and disorder act 1998
Breaching an ASBO is a criminal offence that receives a custodial sentence, fear of punishment
However - people breached them repeatedly (58%), no deterrent as people weren’t going to prison for breaching them, labelling theory once received an ASBO labelled by society leading to the self fulfilling prophecy
Token economy
Rewards prisoners who behave well (conform) with a fake prison currency
Observe inmates being rewarded for conforming, encourage them to act the same
However - may not lead to long term changes as aren’t rewarded in society for conforming so may stop once not rewarded
Institutional tactics
Different organisations use their own tactics for reducing any criminal behaviour
Often use sanctions, imposed by an authority, based on operant conditioning (reward desirable and punish undesirable)
Prison - prisoner service has its own rules for all prisons, a prison governor can add their own rules, examples preventing staff from doing job or escaping prison etc, loss of perks (TV) for up to 42 days/ loss of earnings up to 84 days/ solitary confinement up to 32 days
These may be staged - where authorities apply sanctions in a staged way, a first offence/misdemeanour may receive more lenient sentence, example - police may issue caution or warning first but may be charged if they re-offend, repeat offending leads to stronger punishment
Gaps in state provision leading to less social control
Funding for social control agencies comes from taxes but there’s demand from other sectors (NHS, education)
Police - 2010-2018 down 19%, 10,000 front line officers
CPS - 25% cut and lost 1/3 of staff
Prison - 3% cut in day-to-day budget (2007-2023)
Probation - private contracts ended (2021), $4.6 between prison and probation, £342M in CRCs with no progress
New technology - extra burden imposed by digital technology and evidence to cases (mobile phone records etc), head of CPS said it took 600 police hours to look through digital of one rape case
Unreported crime - 40% go unreported, only 1/4 rape cases reported in 2018
Existing laws - new types of crime emerge with no laws to prosecute, limited laws around publishing scenes of rape and other crimes via social media but there is laws on sharing in books/films
