Crime prevention Flashcards
Situational crime prevention
Victims should make themselves harder targets by investing in more security and surveillance
e.g CCTV, more police, do not leave valuables on show ( known as target hardening )
Clarke - situational crime prevention
- describes 3 features of situational crime prevention measures
- directed at specific crimes e.g property crimes
- managing or altering the immediate environment that crime takes place in
- increasing the risk and effort to commit crime
Situational crime is rooted in rational choice theory
- if we target harden then the cost Vs the benefit of crime makes the criminal think more rationally about engaging in criminal activities
- reducing the opportunity for crime will reduce the rates
However
- this contrasts with the theories of crime that stress root causes such as marxists and left realists who say that these measures ignore the root causes of crime
- you cannot prevent crime crime until you deal with reasons why it is happening
Felsons study
the port authority bus terminal in NYC was poorly designed and provided opportunities for crime
e.g the toilets were a good place to deal with drugs, attracted homeless people etc
Crime prevention through environmental design
- focuses on the relationship between the environment and criminal behaviour
- seeks to understand how physical spaces, social dynamic and the environment contribute to criminal activities
- takes on the ‘broken windows theory’
- if a place looks run down then it invites low level crime due to the fact that if people are seen to care about the environment so they treat it in any way they want
- urban design can influence crime rates through various factors e.g lighting, surveillance, vibrancy and access + layout which ensures the property will not be broken into
- this perceived lack of social control encourages criminal activity so it promotes the idea that maintaining a clean environment can serve as a deterrent
Evaluation for situational crime prevention
Chaiken
- crime just gets displaced and they may move to a different environment and change the type of crime
- can take place in several forms such as spatial which is a different place, target which is a different victim and tactical which is a different method
- need money to invest better care on area which the government do not have so people in community need to be willing to give it up
- need local residents to be involved and they might be reluctant due to time, effort and think it is not their job
+ makes it easier for police and agencies to give advice to reduce risk
+ practical way to reduce crime for households and businesses
- ignores white collar crime
Environmental crime prevention
Wilson proposes 2 ways to deal with this through the environmental improvement strategy
- any sign of environmental decline must be tackled immediately otherwise neighbourhood deterioration
- all public housing should not exceed 3 floors
- these ensure well maintained areas so there are lower crime rates and people are less likely to offend
Zero tolerance policy
Police should tackle all types of crime and zero tolerance was famously adopted in new york to tackle subway graffiti
- police must proactively deal with any signs of anti social behaviour which will reduce crime and prevent more serious issues
Link to right realists - short sharp shock approach
Link to labelling - primary and secondary deviance
Zero tolerance policies within the UK
ASBOs - anti social behaviour disorder
- zero tolerance techniques, can get an ASBO for anti social behaviour rather than criminal behaviour and you go to jail if you breach it
- was a form of punishment to anyone over 10 years old for anti social behaviour such as graffiti, bullying, drug related nuisances
Evaluation for zero tolerance policing
- In the UK it slashed crime in liverpool
+ recorded crime fell by 25.7% in 3 years and violent crime fell by 38%
+ criminals by drug dealers and burglars were targeted — helped to reduce secondary crimes - finding cuts reduced number of police officers which may not be effective
- can lead to bias and racial discrimination 85% of people who dealt with under zero tolerance were black or hispanic - Link to ethnicity snd class
Community prevention
- community crime prevention focuses on reducing crime through social engagement, community programs and collaboration between residents and local institutions
- unlike traditional policing methods community based approaches emphasise proactive effort to prevent crime before it occurs - Clarkes ideas
- the policies should aim to deal with wider issues that may lead to a life of crime through educational programmes or making sure people are paid fair wages
- invest in poorer urban/inner city communities
Evaluation for community crime prevention
- Engagement and participation — encouraging local residents to take an active role in crime prevention ( target hardening )
- Social cohesion — strengthen relationships between neighbours to create a shared sense of responsibility for safety (functionalists )
- Environmental design — modifying the physical environment to reduce crime opportunities ( target hardening and rational choice )
- Early intervention — implementing programs that target at risk individuals to prevent future criminal behaviour ( left realists and marxists )
Evaluation of environmental crime prevention
no graffiti on cars, cars that had graffiti were not allowed on the road
- however environmental crime prevention and zero tolerance may not have been the causes of crime reduction
- there were extra police officers on streets
- general decline in crime rates even in places where zero tolerance was not used
- 1945 saw an increase in jobs and recession was starting to end so there was less economic deprivation
Overall conclusion
- crime prevention needs to be a holistic method meaning it needs to tackle many issues using different methods
- Crime prevention techniques can mask the reason why crimes happen and some theories argue that the root cause needs to addressed otherwise prevention does not work
