3.2. Describe the contribution of agencies to achieving social control.

Question 1

Some criminologists argue built environment can affect level of crime in 2 ways:

Answer 1

• Influencing potential offenders e.g. presenting them with opportunities to commit crime.
• Affecting people’s ability to exercise control over their surroundings.

Question 2

1. By Design: Environtmental design - C.R. Jeffrey (CPTED)

Answer 2

Introduced appraoch called Crime Prevention through Environment and Design (CPTED).
- Suggested the form and arrangements of buildings and open spaces can encourage or discourage crime.
- He claimed that fostering of positive use of space can help reduce crime. Approach has been adopted by some (e.g. In UK, the Birmingham City Bull Ring Market Stalls).
- Criticised - idea has little impact has been seen on reudcion of crime figures (Tim Newburn).

Question 3

(environmental design) Examples of CPTED:

Answer 3

• Design transparency, open space and green areas (reduces hiding spaces).
• Gated lanes/alley ways - restricts access to housing and prevents access to lanes for potential criminal activity.
• CCTV/cameras might make people think twice about committing a crime.
• Traffic lights to strengthen surveillance.
• Prison design (Panoptican, open prisons and super-max designs).

Question 4

(environmental design) What are indefensible spaces? (Newman)

Answer 4

Where crime is more likely to occur, in what he calls ‘confused’ areas of public space (anonymous walkways or stairwells). Belong to no one, cared for by no one, and observed by no one.

Question 5

(environmental design) What are defensible spaces? (Newman)

Answer 5

Areas where there are clear boundaries so it’s obvious who has the right to be there. Newman argues defensible spaces have low crime rates because of 4 key features:
1. Territorality - where environment encourages sense of ownership among residents.
2. Natrual surveillance - features of buildings allow residents to identity and observe strangers (street-level windows).
3. A safe image - building designs give impression of safe neighbourhood.
4. A safe location - neighbourhoods located in middle of wider crime-free area are insulated from outside worls by ‘moat’ of safety.

Question 6

(environmental design) Gated lanes - example of CPTED.

Answer 6

Are lockable gates installed to prevent offenders gaining access to alleyways. Used mostly to prevent burglaries, but may also stop anti-social behaviour by youths.

Question 7

(environmental design) Gated lanes - example of CPTED. How do they work?

Answer 7

In review of 43 studies, Sidebottom et al found gates reduced burglarly rates. Suggest this is for following reasons:
- Provide physical barrier, thus increasing effort required to commit a crime.
- Residents taking responsibility for closing gates increases guardianship and surveillance.
- Offenders no longer use excuse they thought it was a public space.

Question 8

(environmental design) Gated lanes - example of CPTED. Limitations:

Answer 8

• Don’t work against criminals who live within the gated area.
• In areas where neighbours don’t know/trust each other, residents may be less likely to install gates, or take responsibility for them.
• May be difficulties installing gates if alley is public right of way.
• Gate lanes can restrict emergency services and refuse collectors, which can be a problem.

Question 9

(environemtnal design) CPTED and theory. Has links with following right realist theory ideas:

Answer 9

• Situational crime prevention (SCP) - involves ‘target hardening’ by changing physical environment to make it harder to commit crime.
• Felson’s routine activity theory - emphasises importance of ‘capable guardian’ protecting potential crime targets. e.g. mutual surveillance by neighbours.
• Rational choice theory - CPTED sees offenders acting rationally e.g. if intruders fear they’ll be challenged by residents, they’re more likely to stay away from the area.

Question 10

(environmental design) Criticisms of CPTED:

Answer 10

• Focuses on defence from outsaiders who come into the area to offend, but insiders commit crime too.
• CPTED cannot prevent offences that don’t involve physical intrusion into neighbourhood.
• Some housing estates have high crime rates because of councils’ housing allocation policies, not how they are designed.

Question 11

(environmental design) Panoptican prisons:

Answer 11

• Is type of insitutional building and system of control designed by Jeremy Bentham in 18thC.
• Concept is to allow all prisoners of an institutions to be observed by single security guard without inmates being able to tell whether they’re being watched.

Question 12

(environmental design) Panoptican prisons: Foucault’s surveillance theory.

Answer 12

Argues that in today’s society, self-surveillance has become an important way of achieving social control. We know we might be being watched, so we monitor and control our behaviour e.g. CCTV cameras.

Question 13

2) Behavioural Tactics.

Answer 13

Are ways in which agencies of social control can deploy tactics which seek to change an individual’s behaviour.

Question 14

(behavioural tactics) ASBOs and Criminal Behaviour Orders. What is ASBOs?

Answer 14

• ASBO = anti-social behaviour order issued by magistrates court to prevent crimes.
• ASBO comes in different varieties: ban, curfew, limit or restrict behaviour.
• Puts limit on behaviour.
• Breaching terms could result in anything from a fine, to time in custody.

Question 15

(behavioural tactics) ASBOs and Criminal Behaviour Orders. What is CBOs?

Answer 15

• Similar to ASBO, but expects something more of offender, which is to encourage them to change their behaviour.
• If offender was displaying anti-social behaviour due to drugs or alcohol, then courts could require them to embark on drug rehabilitation order.
• For younger offenders, courts issue many Education Orders, so prevent them being out on streets causing trouble.

Question 16

(behavioural tactics) Token Economy Strategies.

Answer 16

• Is behaviour modification method that uses tokens to achieve social control by reinforcing desired behaviour.
• Linked to Operant learning theory (Skinner’s) - if a particular behaviour results in a reward, its likely to be repeated. Reward acts as reinforcement of the behaviour.
• Aims to achieve social control by: obeying the rules, interacting positively with staff and inmates, staying drug-free, engaging is ‘purposeful activity’.
• When prisoner behaves in desired way, they earn a token. The prisoner can exchange the token for a reward. Through this selective reinforcement, the behaviour the institution desires become more likely and undesired behaviour less likely.

Question 17

(behavioural tactics) How effective are token economies?

Answer 17

• Hobbs and Holt’s study of 125 boys (12-15) in correlational insitution in USA found that behaviou change lasted throughout the 14-month study.
• However, other studies found when the offender leaves prison and the reinforcement stops, the desired behaviours disappear.
• Makes prisoners more managable whilst in prison, but there’s risk their behaviour is being modified to suit the institution.

Question 18

3) Institutional tactics.

Answer 18

• Institutions can use variety of methods for reducing deviant behaviour and achieving social control.
• Institutions such as prisons and young offender institutions may use token economies as way of encouraging desirable behaviour among inmates.
• Instutions vary from families, schools, religious organisations, prison.
• All institutions have rules about how their members must behave, along with punishments for breaking these rules, and rewards for conforming.

Question 19

(institutional tactics) Examples of different sanctions:

Answer 19

• Not following rules in the family will result in sanction of witholding pocket money.
• Not following rules in school will result in sanction of detention.
• Not following rules in workplace result in sanction of pay docked for lateness.

Question 20

(institutional tactics) Criminal justice institutions:

Answer 20

• Courts can sentence offenders to various punishments for their offences.
• Courts also use Community Order to require offenders to rehabiliate. Aim here is to enable them to change their problem behaviour patterns.
• Probation service supervises and monitors the behaviour of offenders, whether serving community sentence/released from prison on license. If offender fails to meet requirements, they can be returned to prison or to court for re-sentencing.

Question 21

(insitutional tactics) Phased discipline.

Answer 21

Phased/staged discipline is common way of attempting to achieve social control. A first offence is often dealt with more leniently e.g. warning, or police caution.
- Repeat offending more likely to be met with stronger sanctions e.g. probation or prison, in an attempt to deter future misbehaviour.

Question 22

4) Gaps in state provision.

Answer 22

Looks at flaws in social control agencies and why they are not able to achieve complete social control.
- Although many agencies use tactics and mechanisms to help to contribute to social control, sometimes these fail because of gaps in state provision.

Question 23

4) Gaps in state provision. - Lack of government funding:

Answer 23

• Lack of government funding in policing has resulted in less police officers on the beat and smaller budgets for investigations.
• Police left with no choice but to prioritise certain crimes more than others. This can impact crime rates and cause lack of social control.

Question 24

4) Gaps in state provision. - Unreported crime.

Answer 24

• Limits social control of the police (the dark figure of crime).
• If a crime is not reported, the police aren’t able to act on this and therefore recording crime stats don’t reflet the amount of crime happening.

Question 25

4) Gaps in state provision. - Technology.

Answer 25

• Increasing amounts of social media platforms can consume much of criminal investigation and amount of time it takes to present evidence to jury.
• Can take hours to go through email/text messages to search for crucial pieces of evidence.

Question 26

4) Gaps in state provision. - Social media.

Answer 26

• Also consume much of police time.
• Companies who own social media sites aren’t legally classed as ‘publishers’, so aren’t culpable for crimes that are published.