Crime Control Ans Prevention Flashcards
What is Situational crime prevention and examples
Clarke
- reduce opportunity for crime, aim to increase effort and risk of commuting crime
CCTV, alarms, spiked fence, lock doors and windows
Evaluation of situational crime prevention
❌- focus on petty street crimes ignores crimes of the powerful
❌-cause displacement of crime to poor areas that can’t afford the preventions - criminals move to where target us easier
✅- risk higher so may make criminal less likely to commit
What is Environmental crime prevention and who suggests it
Wilson- Physical signs of social disorder increase crime
Environmental broken window theory
Visible signs of damage to a neighbourhood eg broken window must be dealt with quickly if not it will give the impression no one cares so people will feel less accountable and commit anti-social behaviour / criminal acts.
What is informal and formal control
Informal- environmental disorder (broken window) must be repaired immediately to set standard of behaviour.
Formal-zero tolerance policy -punishing petty offences to stop bigger offences occurring in the future.
Evaluation of environmental crime prevention
❌- ignores crimes of the powerful focus on w/c Petty street crime
✅- supporting evidence for zero tolerance - New York used it and there was significant decrease in crime rates 50% less homicides. Showing it’s effective.
What is Social and community crime prevention
Looking at what causes someone to commit crime.
Aims to remove factors that predispose people to crime
Long term strategy , tackle root cause.
Risk factors linked to offending
-low income poor housing
-run down neighbourhoods
-poor education
-poor parental supervision
-parental conflict, lone parent families
Perry’s pre-school project
Disadvantaged, black pupils 4 years old
Offered two year intervention education programme and weekly home visits.
By 40 they had less arrests, more graduated and more employed than control group.
Showing evidence for social and community crime prevention.
Negatives of social and community crime prevention
-❌ignores crimes of the powerful
-❌socially sensitive - says lone parent families inadequate of raising kids adequately.
Surveillance
The monitoring of public behaviour for the purpose of crime control.
Involves the use of sophisticated technology eg CCTV.
Difference between sovereign power and disciplinary power
Sovereign power- when monarchy had power over the people - control was asserted through pain Eg limb amputation
Disciplinary power- control over people through surveillance.
What is the panopticon
Prison design where prisoners have their own cell visible to guards but guards not visible to them. Prisoners don’t know if they’re being watch but because there’s a change that they could be being watched they behave all the time.
-turns into self surveillance.
Foucault -disciplinary power in society
Prisons, factories, schools use surveillance in everyday social institutions- shows how disciplinary power operates in society reaching every individual
Criticism of Foucault
❌-overestimates power of surveillance to change behaviour-they only behave for the fact they may be being watched not because they want to.
❌CCTV cameras don’t prevent crime but instead can displace it to other areas and they have shown to have little effect under reducing crime.
Modern surveillance - synopticon
Mathiesen
While the panopticon allows the few to monitor the many
The media now enables the many to see the few
He calls this the Synopticon -where everybody watched everybody
Examples of Synoptic surveillance- of powerful groups and each other
Thompson
- powerful groups eg politicians fear the media’s surveillance as may damage their reputation this acts as a form of social control over their behaviour.
Everyone has cameras allowing ordinary people to ‘control the controllers’ eg film police wrongdoing this is called ‘sousveillance.’
-public monitor each other eg cameras on bikes cars let’s road users know they’re being monitor result is self-disciplinary
What is surveillant assemblages
When you combine surveillance with other technologies eg CCTC and face recognition to reveal someone’s identity.
What is Actuarial justice and risk management
Feeley- Simon
>technology in CJS focus’ on
-preventing offending not rehabilitating them.
-risk or actuarial analysis- calculates the statistical risk of particular events happening to particular groups eg young drivers higher risk of having accidents.
-focus on groups over individuals.
What is Social sorting and categorical suspicion
Critics of this
Social sorting - categorise people so they can be treated according to the level of risk they pose.
Categorical suspicion- people are placed under suspicion cause they belong to a certain group.
❌- Lead to overrepresentation in stats - if black males are stopped and search more cause they’re more likely to carry weapon then they’re more likely to get convicted and end up in stats even if all groups have the same likelihood of carrying weapons.
Labelling and surveillance
Armstrong- CCTV - there’s a massive disproportion of targeting black males for no other reason other than their social group.
-this targeting is based of stereotypes held by the surveillance operators about who are likely offenders this can lead to self fulfilling prophecy
What crime preventions would different theories use
Feminism - crime committed by women are related to poverty -need better paying jobs and welfare policies. Social and community prevention.
Sexual attacks - situational crime prevention - street lighting , rape alarms, CCTV
Left realism
Crimes caused by poverty, marginalisation
Caused by poor education, unemployment, bad parenting.
So use social and community crime prevention eg sure start, youth groups, parenting classes, social services and better housing and health
Right realism and crime prevention
Poverty isn’t a catalyst for crime individuals choose to commit crime
Reduce opportunity for crime and increase risk by increasing punishment
Environmental crime prevention-broken window theory and zero tolerance policing
Situational-CCTV, ALARMS,LOCKS,SPIKED FENCES
Marxism and crime prevention
Capitalism is cause of crime due to economic differences between classes
= marginalisation and exclusion of w/c and causes relative dep
Causes unemployment, bad ed,
Use social and community crime prevention
Sure start, parenting classes,
Believe ruling class makes law in their own interest
Functionalism and new right -crime prevention
Punishment reinforces accepted behaviour and upholds social solidarity
Situational and environmental crime prevention
-don’t believe poverty is a catalyst and believe success comes from own hard work and natural talent.
Zero tolerance policing that ^ punishment = less crime
Functionalism and Marxist view on punishment
Functionalism - punishment is to uphold social solidarity and reinforce the accepted behaviour And punish those who go against social norms
Marxism- punishment serves the ruling class interest as they can enforce policies to avoid punishment
-punishment maintains social order, stops overthrow of capitalism
Aims of punishment
Deterrence
Incapacitation
Rehabilitation
Retribution
Deterrence
Punishing individuals discourages from reoffending and acts as an example for others . Serves as deterrence for other people
❌- reoffending rates still high
✅-makes risk higher so crime rates lower
✅- Tackles crime before it happens
Incapacitation
Imprisonment and execution - removal of offender from society making it safer as they’re unable to offend
❌-immoral execution
✅- protects the public
Rehabilitation
Punishment used to reform offenders so they stop offending eg education, anger management, jobs, therapy.
✅- reduces reoffending rates
❌- expensive , have to want to go
Retribution
Paying back - offenders deserve to be punished as it gives justice to society and offenders
✅- no rehabilitation purposes likely to reoffend
❌- gives victims justice
What are victims
Those who have suffered harm eg physical, emotional, economic suffering through acts that violate the law.
Christie’s view of victims
Victims is socially constructed by the media that stereotype the ideal victim is m/c weak easy target eg women and children
Patterns of victimisation
Age- younger people more at risk of victimisation
Teenagers- assault, sexual harassment.
> Victimisation declines with age
Ethnicity - minority ethnic groups at high risk eg radially motivated crimes
Gender- males higher risk of violent attacks
Women - domestic abuse, sexual violence
Positivist victimology
Miers - 3 features
1- aim to identify patterns in victimisation that make some groups more likely to be victims.
2- focus on interpersonal crimes for violence
3- focus on social and psychological characteristics of victims that make them vulnerable - characteristics like- female, elderly,
