Crime theories

Question 1

What is the Situational Crime Prevention theory (Eck & Clarke, 2019)?

Answer 1

The SCP focuses on the settings for criminal acts rather than on the characteristics of offenders.
It aims to increase risk and/or minimize rewards.

Question 2

What is the Routine Activity Theory (RAT) by Cohen and Felson (1979)?

Answer 2

RAT states that crime occurs when a motivated offender (motivation doesn’t matter) encounters a suitable target in the absence of a capable guardian.

Question 3

When is there capable guardianship?

Answer 3

VACI
- (In)Visible –> someone who is on the street or behind windows in their house
- Available –> if you’re busy in your house, you’re not actively being a guardian
- Capable –> some people think they cannot intervention in some problems (Bystander Effect).
- Intervening –> you have to interven when you see some kind of crime

Question 4

The suitability of a target depends on VIVA. What does VIVA stand for?

Answer 4

• Value –> the higher the value the better
• Inertia –> how easy it is to move?
• Visibility –> can you see the opportunity?
• Access –> can you access the opportunity?

Question 5

What is the Crime Pattern Theory of Brantingham and Brantingham (1993)?

Answer 5

Offenders conduct their criminal activities at the intersection of their awareness space and target space (which is defined as places affording the minimal risk –> opportunity).

Question 6

What is the Rational Choice Perspective/Theory by Beccaria?

Answer 6

Individuals rely on rational calculations to make choices that result in outcomes aligned with their own best interests.
Cost-Benefit analysis

Question 7

Assumptions for the Situational Crime Prevention

Answer 7

1. Crime is the result of an interaction between disposition and situation.
2. Offenders choose to commit crime.
3. Opportunity is an important cause of crime.
4. Situational factors can stimulate crime.

Question 8

What is the method of Situational Crime Prevention?

Answer 8

1. Focus on very specific categories of crime or disorder –> situational determinants of any specific category of crime are quite different from those of another one
2. Examine crime concentrations (hotspots, hot products, repeat victims)
3. Understand how the crime is committed ( Think thief)
4. Use an action-research model –>
   Problem-solving methodology of situational prevention: they identify and consider a range of solutions, they choose and implement particular measures, they evaluate the results.
   The SARA process: scan for problems, conduct some form of analysis of the problem, then develop a response to the problem, and finally, assess the impact of the response on the problem.
5. Consider a variety of solutions.

Question 9

What are the 5 main mechanisms in finding a solution?

Answer 9

1. Increase the effort
2. Increase the risks
3. Reduce the rewards
4. Remove excuses
5. Reduce provocations (strategies aimed at decreasing the triggers that can lead to criminal behavior)

Question 10

What is some of the criticism on the Situational Crime Prevention theory?

Answer 10

• It blames the victim
• It degrades the environment through ‘ugly’ target hardening
• It makes life restrictive and inconvenient

Question 11

What is the General Strain Theory (GST) by Agnew & Brezina (2019)?

Answer 11

Individuals who experience strain or stress often become upset and sometimes cope with crime.

Question 12

What are the major types of strain?

Answer 12

• Lose something good
• Receive something bad
• Fail to get something what they want

Question 13

What is vicarious strain?

Answer 13

Strains of others that an individual hears about, especially when you have a strong bond with that individual.

Question 14

Why do strains increase the likelihood of crime?

Answer 14

• Strains lead to negative emotional states.
• Strains may reduce social control.
• Strains may foster the social learning of crime –> especially when the strain is seen as unjust and legal-coping options are unavailable.
• Chronic strains may foster the traits of negative emotionality and low constraint –> strong predisposition for crime (impulsive and heated)

Question 15

Strains are most likely to cause crime when they ….

Answer 15

• are seen as high in magnitude (negative impact)
• Are seen as unjust
• Are associated with low social control (parental rejection)
• create some incentive or pressure to engage in crime (unemployment or homelessness)

Question 16

Criminal coping is more likely among individuals who have ….

Answer 16

• poor conventional skills, like poor social skills
• strong criminal coping skills, like fighting ability
• low social control
• low levels of social support
• criminal peers who model

Question 17

What is the Control Theory of crime by Britt & Rocque (2015)?

Answer 17

The idea that people are more likely to commit crimes if they don’t have things in their life that stop them from doing so. Not focussing on why there is deviant behavior but how to prevent it with social control.
Primary cause of crime is in weak controls over individuals behavior.

Question 18

What are the two core assumptions of the control theory?

Answer 18

• At the individual level –> individuals will generally act in their own self-interest (agency); no special motivation is required to commit criminal acts.
• At the societal level –> the idea that society can introduce a variety of mechanisms that will prevent or reduce the changes of individuals perceiving crime as being in their self-interest.

Question 19

What are the four sources of control?

Answer 19

Internal vs External
- Internal control –> mechanisms that function within the individual and include such characteristics as self-control, morality, and impulsiveness (one’s own sense of right and wrong)
- External control –> the influence of legal, political, cultural, and social institutions, such as friends, parents, schools.

Formal vs Informal
- Formal control –> represented by the criminal justice system, such as external institutions like the police.
- Informal control –> the reactions of individuals and groups that bring about conformity to norms and laws, such as family, the school, the workplace, bystanders, peers, and friends.

Question 20

What are the levels of explanation of crime? And what is the combination?

Answer 20

• Macro-level explanation: seeks to explain crime patterns across larger social units, such as neighborhoods or cities, though it lacks substantial empirical support.
  Micro-level explanation: both internal controls (primary) and external controls are vital. Individuals with lower self-control or morality are more likely to engage in crime, particularly in environments with weaker external controls.

Multilevel control theories integrate macro- and micro-level factors, highlighting how social and individual characteristics interact to influence behavior.

Question 21

What is collective efficacy?

Answer 21

The ability of the community to solve its collective problems. Through mutual trust, cohesion and shared norms/expectations.

Question 22

What are 3 theories that are multilevel control theories?

Answer 22

• The social disorganization theory: focuses on how society and the environment influence people to commit crime.
• Routine Activities theory
• Interactional theory: connects social control and social learning.

Question 23

How does social disorganization cause crime?

Answer 23

If people don’t know each other well, they would feel less inclined to look out for their neighbors.
- This lack of security created by weak social bonds, not only make communities less safe, but also more open to crime.

Question 24

What is the developmental theory from Le Blanc?

Answer 24

Criminal behaviour is a dynamic process, influenced by both individual characteristics and social experiences.
1. Bonding –> represents relationships within a community or between individuals.
2. Unfolding –> the process development with report to community or individuals.
3. Modeling –> represents the factors that influence prosocial behavior.
4. Constraining –> the application of control (e.g., supervision)

As long as these factors are consistent, prosocial behavior will persist over time.

Question 25

What is meant by the Broken Windows Theory (BWT) by Wilson and Kelling (1982)

Answer 25

It assumes that minor signs of physical disorder (in the neighborhood) attract a more serious form of social disorders, such as street violence or robbery.

Question 26

What is disorder?

Answer 26

Two types of disorder:
1. Physical disorder –> deterioration of urban landscape (e.g., graffiti, litter)
2. Social disorder –> individual behaviors considered threatening or disruptive (e.g., loud music, using drugs, fighting)

Question 27

What are implications for the Broken Windows Theory?

Answer 27

• Contextual interventions –> policies should be tailored to the specific needs of each neighborhood.
• Focus on community engagement –> neighborhoods with higher social cohesion benefit from fostering community involvement.
• Resource allocation –> policymakers can allocate resources efficiently by focusing on areas with the greatest need
• Holistic approaches –> tackling the root causes of disorder promotes long-term community well-being.

Question 28

What are three policing strategies in terms of the broken windows theory?

Answer 28

• Zero-tolerance policing: aims to reduce minor offenses and serious crime through relentless order maintenance and aggressive law enforcement.
• Aggressive policing tactics: an expansive set of strategies used by law enforcement to proactively control disorder and strictly punish all levels of deviant behavior.
• Order maintenance policing: a police practice that involves managing minor offenses and neighborhood disorders in order to address community problems.