Crime 6 Flashcards
Prospect, refuge and escape theory
crime situations are typified by three characteristics (prospect, refuge and escape)
Prospect
clear view of oncoming guardians
Refuge
barriers that mask the view of the crime scene from guardians
Escape
an exit allowing criminal to easily flee and become anonymous in a crowd in the minimum amount of time
Low prospect, high refuge, low escape
high fear
Some prospect, high refuge, some escape
medium fear
Good prospect, no refuge, high escape
low fear
Fear of crime higher when have…
low prospect, high refuge, not escape
Fear of crime higher for who
higher for females (another example of subtle sexism); and previous victims of crime
Fear of crime not related to
Fear of crime not related to national crime victimisation rates
Comparing potential victims and offenders (in terms of prospect, refuge, escape)
Prospect = victims and offenders agree; Refuge = victims and offenders agree; Escape = victims focus on avoiding offenders and escaping crime whereas offenders focus on being able to flee after the crime
High correlation between prospect, refuge and escape
these characteristics of environment actual crimes
High correlation between fear of crime environments and
actual crime environments
This supports the notion that…
supports the notion that criminals are making rational/predictable decisions about the commission of crimes
They select targets that…
Select targets that maximise positives [success] and minimises negatives [arrest and conviction]
