AC 3.2 Flashcards
How can built environment affect the levels of crime?
Presenting potential offenders with opportunities to commit crime;
Affecting people’s ability to socially control their surroundings.
How does newmans defensible and indefensible spaces work?
Architect Oscar Newman argued that some spaces are DEFENSIBLE whereas others are not.
Studied high-rise blocks in New York.
Found that 55% of all crime occurred in public spaces, e.g. hallways, lifts, stairwells & lobbies.
Where is crime more likely to happen according to newman?
‘INDEFENSIBLE SPACE’ – i.e. ‘confused’ areas of public space, e.g. stairwells in blocks of flats, because no one feels they have OWNERSHIP or RESPONSIBILITY over them.
What did C Ray jeffery argue about crime prevemntion?
. Ray Jeffery claimed that the built environment can either CREATE or DENY opportunities to criminals
What 5 things does CPTED consider when designing a new environment?
access
surveillance
order maintenance
territoriality
physical maintenance
What did alice coleman study and what did she find?
4,050 blocks of flats (in London & Oxfordshire) built after WW2.
She cited the following as the main problems caused by the design of block flats - Anonymity, lack of surveillance & easy escape reduce crime control.
What were colemans 4 recommendations for urban planning?
No more high-rise flats.
Each existing block should have its own private space for residents.
Overwalks should be removed because these obstruct surveillance – these are ‘streets in the sky’.
What are gated lanes an example of?
CPTED
What is the aim of gated lanes?
Aim is to prevent burglaries, fly-tipping, anti-social behaviour
how do gated lanes work?
Works by discouraging offending through ‘TARGET HARDENING’ Gates provide a physical barrier – increasing effort needed to commit crime
How does a panopticon prison work?
Cells are visible from a central viewing point, e.g. a watchtower.
Prisoners housed in individual cells.
Each prisoner couldn’t really see other prisoners; AND
Prisoners couldn’t see the guards from this central point - so would be unaware of whether they were being observed or not.
what was the aim of a panoptican prison?
This idea is thought to change prisoner’s behaviour - he becomes self-regulating.
How does the panoptican prison link to surveillance theory?
Bentham argued that prisoners held in the Panopticon would do the same.
Who created the broken windows theory?
WILSON & KELLING
Explanation of the broken windows theory
W & K emphasise the importance of preventing urban decay in to prevent more serious crime occurring. Maintenance and monitoring of urban environments contributes to social order by, e.g. preventing criminal damage, prostitution and anti-social behaviour.
Who came up with the rational choice theory?
Clarke
Explain the rational choice theory
Offenders make a rational choice to commit crime based on a cost-benefit analysis. Clarke suggested that instead of increasing punishment, society should take steps to prevent crime
Who created the routine activity theory?
COHEN & FELSON
Explain the routine activity theory
For crime to occur, there must be:
A motivated offender
A suitable target (a victim and/or property)
Absence of a ‘capable guardian’ (such as the police or neighbours).
Who created the indefensible and defensible spaces theory?
Newman
explain the indefensible and defensible spaces theory
Urban planners should adopt measures to create ‘DEFENSIBLE SPACE’, e.g. changing design of streets and housing estates.
Who created CPTED?
CRIME PREVENTION THROUGH ENVRONMENTAL DESIGN (CPTED): the built environment can either CREATE or DENY opportunities to criminals. So, by changing the built environment, we can reduce crime.
When were ABSOS introduced?
Crime & Disorder Act 1998 to deal with low-level, anti-social behaviour.
How can absos be obtained?
Could be obtained by police / councils from magistrates’ court.
What is an abso?
Civil orders that by-pass the need for a prosecution / trial but still compel the individual to refrain from committing certain acts, e.g. excluded from some public spaces such as shopping centres
What replaced absos?
CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR ORDERS
when were criminal behavior orders introduced?
Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014
When is an criminal behaviour order used?
Imposed following conviction to prevent further offending that is likely to cause ‘harassment, alarm or distress’.
What is another difference between an abso and a cbo?
the court can impose positive conditions on the culprit, e.g. drug treatment, attendance centre requirement
What is the sanction for non compliance of an CBO if you are under 18?
up to 2 years in a detention centre
What is the sanction for non compliance of an CBO if you are over 18?
up to 5 years in prison or an unlimited fine or both
How does labelling theory link to absos/cbos?
By giving someone an abso/cbo, you are therefore labelling them as a criminal and they might fulfill that prophecy
What is a token economy?
a system of behaviour modification to achieve social control based on the positive reinforcement of target behaviour.
Based on Skinner’s idea of operant conditioning as a way of learning behaviour (i.e. ‘BEHAVIOURISM’).
Therefore,individuals are rewarded for good behaviour which – as a result of being rewarded - is likely to be repeated.
What are reinforcers in a token economy?
Reinforcers are symbols or tokens that can be exchanged for other reinforcers.
what is the aim of token economy’s in prison?
to ensure discipline inside UK prisons using a STAGED (also called ‘PHASED’) approach
How does a token economy in a prison work?
pro-social behaviour is encouraged through the ‘incentives & earned privileges’ scheme, which has 3 levels of reward / reinforcers: basic, standard & enhanced.
How do sanctions to punish rule breaking work as discipline inside of a prison?
STAGED approach to enforcing internal discipline.
Works as a deterrent
what are the 2 institutional tactics to achieve social control?
token economys
sanctions for rule-breaking
What are examples of agencies that used a phased behaviour measures towards offenders?
COURTS
POLICE
PROBATION SERVICE
How do courts use a staged approach towards offenders?
impose formal punishments, e.g. discharges, fines, community orders, prison; Magistrates can attach a CBO to a sentence following conviction.
How do police used a stage approach towards offenders?
deal with offenders who admit guilt to low-level offences. These are OUT-OF-COURT DISPOSALS, e.g. warnings & cautions and are a useful way of avoiding court proceedings for low-level / young offenders.
How do the probation service used a phased approach towards offenders?
I.E. for handling breaches of community orders.
Offenders serving community orders are permitted TWO MINOR BREACHES before referring the offender back to court for further punishment.
What factors can limit the effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control?
UNREPORTED CRIME
FUNDING CUTS
NEW TECHNOLOGY
EXISTING LAWS
How can unreported crime limit the effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control?
Police do not know where to focus resources as not all crimes are reported and therefore gives an innaccurate account of the crime happening.
How can funding cuts limit the effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control?
Between 2010 & 2018, funding to police areas was cut by 19%. 45,000 officers & civilian staff have been lost.
- not enough resources to properly investigate crime
Geoffrey Cox KC, former A-G) accepted that the CPS has experienced a 30% funding cut.
How can new digital technology limit the effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control?
New technology can be useful to criminal justice agencies such as police BUT reliance on it can slow down police investigations – hindering progress.
increasing reliance on technology to investigate & prosecute crime can also be burdensome for agencies in the CJS – taking up too much time & personnel.
How can existing laws limit the effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control?
Laws such as s. 24, PACE 1984 mean that agencies are prevented from using oppression to achieve social control – i.e. laws designed to protect people from police oppression or wrongful conviction by a court can limit powers of agencies, e.g. police, CPS & courts, to investigate, prosecute and convict offenders.
Sometimes, the criminal law has to CATCH UP with social changes and new laws must be created to enable agencies to achieve social control over new types of behaviour.
DPP Saunders on a rape case - digital technology
it took 600 police hours to go through the digital material. You can have a judge say “I want a download of that iPad” and it will take 15 officers all weekend to get it’.
Summary of CPTED
the built environment can encourage or discourage crime.
