Chapter 15: Deterrence Theory, Routine Activity, Rational Choice

Question 1

Discuss Beccaria’s Classical Theory of Deterrence and its impacts

Answer 1

People break the law to advance their own interests. To convince society that crime is not in its best interests, we will create a series of punishments. They need to be swift, certain, and severe enough. Certainty is more effective than anything, and Its Impacts are:

1. Hot Spots Policing: Put more police where there appears to be a surplus of crime reported. Often high crime actually comes from a SMALL amount of addresses!
2. Individualized Deterrence: Directly inform individuals, of consequences, and making sure those consequences play out. CASE STUDY: Operation Ceasefire in Boston. Local communities, churches, etc. banded together to make it clear that gang violence would not be tolerated. Punishments were handed out, education was given, and it decreased!!!

Question 2

Are mandatory minimums a good deterrent? Why or why not?

Answer 2

NO! Ya know why?

1. There’s still no certainty, so it doesn’t really decrease crime! People still don’t believe they’ll get caught, and are often right!
2. It’s also only effective so long as people actually know it’s a thing, which often they don’t! They’re often not even rational!
3. Judges will often find a way around the punishment if it is deemed too severe.
   * Biggest failure? War on drugs. Seizures have increased, but the price got cheaper and potency went up!!

Question 3

What is Rational Choice Theory?

Answer 3

Rational Choice Theory posits that crime is the deliberate choice of offenders based off a calculations of risks vs. rewards, to achieve a need! Not a great theory because:

1. It completely disregards the background of the criminal
2. The offender’s choice are typically more towards short-term needs rather than long-term needs, and really aren’t that rational!

Question 4

What is Environmental Criminology?

Answer 4

An extension of Rational Choice Theory, it claims that crime is also due to what is available to the criminal in their immediate vicinity. They organized areas of crime into:

1. Nodes: Important places to offenders, like where they live and work
2. Paths: The routes between the nodes, what they may see on the way
3. Edges: Boundaries between different types of land e.g. industrial and residential - kinda no-man’s land
   * Property crimes most often happen on highly populated streets with attractive targets

Question 5

Routine Activities Theory. Discuss!

Answer 5

Based on research of the time and place (context?) of various crimes). From this research, we get -
Lifestyle Exposure Theory! The way we live our lives places us in certain contexts where we may commit a crime. e.g. Repeat victimization: Those who are victimized once are often victimized many times, because they remain in that context
On top victim, guardianship, and offender, there are two other factors
4. Intimate handlers: Whether there is someone who knows the offender well enough to prevent them from committing crime
5. Crime Facilitators:
a) Physical: Guns or other physical objects that make crime easier
b) Social: Peers etc. who teach the offender crime
c) Chemical: Drugs or alcohol that reduce inhibitions

Question 6

What’s a not-so-fun fact about Homicide Dynamics?

Answer 6

People typically commit murder to save face! Especially in gangs, if someone feels disrespected they will often kill the person to show that that kind of behaviour will not be tolerated

Question 7

How can we proactively prevent crime through policy?

Answer 7

Situational Crime Prevention: Assumes that crime is mostly about opportunity and context. 5 possible strategies

1. Increase the effort it takes to commit a crime e.g. put a lock on your bike
2. Increase risk of penalty by increasing guardianship (moar police officers)
3. Reducing rewards by denying the benefits of the crime. e.g. human trafficking. If the money is confiscated, the pimp can’t profit
4. Reducing provocation by counteracting peer pressure
5. Removing excuses

Question 8

What are some of the best ways to reduce the number of motivated offenders?

Answer 8

Crime Prevention through Social Development: Make better social programs, increase education, get people involved in their community. Best example of this? Preschool programs! 5 days a week of proactive learning plus weekly home visits reduced likelihood of crime by 20%!
Preemptively plan against future issues e.g.
1. The Cashless Society: People are using cash less and less. This makes cash robberies less common, but online credit card fraud more common!
2. Self-Checkout: When there is no “guardianship” over what people are paying for, people will often alter their orders to pay less
3. Online gang life: “Cyberbanging”. Gangs will often utter threats and mockery online, which instills fights on the streets
4. Self-Driving Cars: “White-hat hackers” will hack these cars for bad things!
5. 3d printed guns: yikes……

Question 9

What are Comprehension Crime Reduction Initiatives?

Answer 9

Systems that are both developmental and situational to decrease crime. e.g. Winnipeg Auto Theft Suppression Strategy (the one effective use of Routine Activities Theory

1. Effective Guardianship: The kids were told they had a curfew, and parents and probation officers would regularly enforce it
2. Target suitability: The most steal-able cars were equipped with immobilizers. Unstealable!
3. Motivated Offenders: Created support programs for high-risk youth to decrease likelihood of crime