8.control, punishment & victims (c&d) Flashcards
left realism- social and community crime prevention
-cause of crime= social issues. they look at social solutions
-sense of community= by creating this, reduce some reasons for crime, thus reducing crime
-community projects eg youth groups
-hirschis bond theory- sense of belonging & involvement in community will prevent ppl committing crime
-community form informal agents of social control
perry pre school program
-longitudinal study by david weikart et al
-african american students split into two groups:
-groups who received program, and control group
-group who got program met with teacher weekdays for 2.5 hours, developed soft skills, home visits
-findings:
•71% high school graduates compared to 54% in control group
•more kids went to higher education
•2.3 juvenile arrests in preschool group compared to 4.6 in control group
troubled family program
-aim to turn around 120000 troubled families by may 2015
-criteria:
•involvement in crime
•children who were out of school
•adults on out of work benefits
•families causing high cost to tax payer
-interventions: family key worker assigned to family “from inside out”, unique to individual family
-gov claimed it was success
-outcomes: over 90% of families turned round
-limitations: gov stats can be manipulated to show it’s working
social and community crime prevention
-about changing social circumstances of individuals so they don’t turn to crime
nature of crime
-crime is social construction based on legal definitions that are outdated
-crime is idea that ppl with power have over how ppl should behave
-in post modern society, ppl are free of social bonds & constraints to others
-postmodernists think crime should be based on justice & respect for others
transgressive approach: crime as a social harm
-henry and milovanovic 1996- crime should defined as ppl using power to show disrespect for others by causing them harm. two forms of harm:
•harms of reduction-power used to cause victim to experience immediate loss
•harms of repression-wider range of actions into criminal net, either not illegal or not traditionally taken seriously
causes of crime
-society characterised by fragmentation of social structures
-meta narrative of social class, work & family, formed ppls identity, gave ppl social roles to integrate into society, replaced by uncertainty
-crime caused by individual not society
-katz 1988- examines pleasures & seductions of crime for individuals
-lyng 1990- examines crime as ‘edgework’ committed for thrill of risk taking
strengths of postmodernist approach
+recognises there’s other dimensions to causes of crime beyond structural theories which dominate society
-offers explanations for non utilitarian crime
-provides fuller picture of pattern of crime
limitations of postmodernist approach
-doesn’t explain why most people don’t use their power for harm
-many ppl have strong ideas of right and wrong which underpin the law
-consumer market can breed resentment of consumers by those who can’t participate, generates want to cause harm
postmodernism and the control and prevention of crime
-lea- postmodernist approach involves need for CJS to recognise diversity of social groups & to respect social identities
-PMs emphasise more informal localised arrangements for preventing & controlling harms caused by crime
-involves replacement of centrally managed formal CJS processes
-allows crime control & reduction of harm to be customised to demands of particular communities
strengths of PM approach to controlling and preventing crime
+draws attention to diversity of identities & lifestyle choices, uses that a centralised CJS may not meet all needs, CJS needs to be flexible to control crime
+provided insights into way contemporary developments can reduce harm caused by crime
limitations of PM approach to controlling & preventing crime
-doesn’t recognise impact of social inequality. pays little attention to poorest social groups
-face inc. exclusion, more surveillance and stricter control
-doesn’t recognise decentralised & more informal arrangements are more likely to benefit m/c groups who have power & resources to get needs attended to
left realism- social community and crime prevention
-create sense of community by looking at police force & how they can become more entrained in society
-70% of crime solved through public info
-‘bobby on the beat’- officer known in community, set area to patrol
-kinsey, lea and young 1986, suggested police need to be accountable to community. positions should be elected in community
evaluation
+backed by research- troubled families & perry preschool program, both studies show sense of community can work
+deals with wider social issues of crime eg marginalisation, deprivation
-assumes value consensus- there’s isn’t value consensus in society bc of diversity, different roles ppl take etc, program assumes everyone wants/tries to do same thing
-cost-perry preschool cost $1300 per child per year, would come from gov plans- tax payer money
right realism- situational crime prevention
-ron clarke 1992- crime is an individual choice. if we want to prevent crime, we need to make it more undesirable, cost & consequences outweigh benefits
-through situational crime prevention- making it harder for ppl to commit crime=less benefit there is/more chance of getting caught
felson 1998- hostile architecture
-curved walls rather than corners so there’s no dark corners for illicit activity
-reduced size of sinks, so homeless people can’t bathe
-reduced number of cubicles so less people in at one time, sense of urgency
-uv lighting in bathroom so it’s harder to find a vein
