Crime Topic 9 - Control, Punishment & Victims Flashcards
What does the topic of crime prevention focus on?
It focuses on preventing crime in terms of location and community, the role of punishment, and the examination of victimology.
Victimology studies which groups are most likely to experience crime and the impact of victim status.
What are the two key methods of social control mentioned?
IFCA (informal control agencies) and FCA (formal control agencies)
These methods help maintain order and control in society.
What is situational crime prevention according to Clarke?
A pre-emptive approach that reduces opportunities for crime with three features:
* Directed at specific crimes
* Managing or altering the immediate environment of the crime
* Increasing risks of crime and reducing rewards
What do right realists advocate for crime prevention?
Measures such as target hardening, locking doors and windows, increasing CCTV, and reducing coin-operated gas meters with prepaid cards.
These measures aim to reduce opportunities for crime.
What is the rational choice theory of crime?
It suggests that most crime is opportunistic and focuses on reducing immediate crime situations.
Clarke argues that many theories fail to provide realistic solutions to crime.
What was the significant change made to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York?
The environment was redesigned to ‘design crime out’, such as replacing large sinks with small hand basins to reduce deviant behavior.
This redesign aimed to eliminate opportunities for crime.
What is one criticism of situational crime prevention?
It may displace crime rather than reduce it.
Chaiken found that crackdowns on robberies simply displaced crimes to other areas.
What are the forms of crime displacement?
- Spatial – move elsewhere
- Temporal – commit at a different time
- Target – choose a different victim
- Tactical – use a different method
- Functional – commit a different type of crime
What is the broken window theory?
It suggests that signs of disorder in a neighborhood lead to increased crime due to an absence of informal control agencies.
This theory was linked to zero tolerance policies in crime prevention.
What was the outcome of New York’s zero tolerance approach between 1993 and 1996?
The crime rate fell significantly and the murder rate decreased by 50%.
Other factors may have contributed to these changes, such as an increase in police officers.
What do left realists argue needs to be done to reduce crime?
Tackle the root/structural causes such as poverty, housing, and unemployment.
They focus on long-term strategies to address the conditions that predispose individuals to commit crime.
What was the Perry Pre-School Project?
A program targeting disadvantaged black youngsters in Michigan that led to fewer arrests and higher graduation rates.
It demonstrated the long-term benefits of early intervention.
What is Foucault’s concept of surveillance?
The monitoring of public behavior for the purposes of population or crime control.
This includes observing people’s behavior and using data to regulate or correct it.
What are the two forms of punishment discussed by Foucault?
- Sovereign power – public punishment through execution and branding
- Disciplinary power – control through surveillance and the mind
What is the panopticon?
A prison design where all prisoners’ cells are visible from a central watchtower, creating self-surveillance among prisoners.
This design leads to control not just of the body, but of the mind.
What is the difference between instrumental and expressive views of punishment?
Instrumental views focus on crime reduction through deterrence, rehabilitation, and incapacitation, while expressive views focus on punishment as a means of expressing societal outrage.
What is retributive justice?
A form of justice in traditional societies that responds to wrongdoing with severe, vengeful punishment.
It is based on similarity rather than specialization in society.
What do Marxists believe about punishment?
Punishment serves the interests of the ruling class and is part of the repressive state apparatus.
It is used to defend ruling class property against working class criminals.
What is ‘actuarial justice’?
A new technology of power that focuses on groups and risk management rather than rehabilitation.
It assesses individuals based on risk factors.
How does labeling relate to surveillance?
CCTV operators may make discriminatory judgments based on social group membership, leading to self-fulfilling prophecies.
This can result in disproportionate targeting of certain groups.
What was the punishment for theft during the 18th century according to E.P. Thompson?
The poor were hung or transported to the colonies
This formed a ‘RULE OF TERROR’ by the ruling class over the subject class.
How do Melossi & Pavarini view imprisonment?
As reflecting capitalist relations of production
Capitalism puts a high price on workers’ time, similar to how prisons manage prisoners’ time.
What shift occurred in the perception of imprisonment following the Enlightenment?
Imprisonment began to be seen as a form of punishment in itself, aimed at reforming offenders
This involved hard labour, religious instruction, and surveillance (Foucault - Disciplinary power).
What percentage of prisoners reoffend, indicating issues with prison effectiveness?
Around two-thirds
This raises questions about the effectiveness of prison as a punishment.
What political trend has emerged since the 1980s regarding sentencing?
Growth in ‘populist punitiveness’
Politicians seek popularity through calls for tougher sentences, even for petty offences.
What has been the trend in the UK prison population from 1993 to 2016?
The prison population doubled to 85,000
This led to issues such as overcrowding and poor sanitation.
How does the UK’s imprisonment rate compare to other European countries?
The UK imprisons more people than other European countries
147 out of 100,000 are prisoners in the UK compared to 45 in Iceland.
Who are disproportionately represented in the prison population?
Young, poorly educated males and ethnic minorities
Only 5% of prisoners are female.
What concept does Garland discuss regarding incarceration in the UK and USA?
Mass incarceration
The US prison population began to increase significantly from the 1970s.
What percentage of the US adult population is under some form of prison surveillance?
Over 3%
This is over three times the European rate of imprisonment.
What does the term ‘transcarceration’ refer to?
The cycle of control individuals experience, shifting between different agencies
This includes care, young offender institutes, and mental health institutions.
What are community-based controls according to Cohen?
Curfews, treatment orders, and electronic tagging
This has led to more youths being in custody and controlled.
How does the UN define a victim?
Those who have suffered harm through acts or omissions that violate the laws of the state
This includes mental, physical, or emotional suffering and economic loss.
What is the stereotype of an ideal victim according to Christie?
A weak, innocent, and blameless individual
Typically depicted as a small child or old woman targeted by a stranger.
What are the two broad perspectives of victimology?
- Positivist victimology
- Critical victimology
Positivist focuses on victim proneness, while critical is based on conflict theories.
What features define Miers’ type of victimology?
- Aims to identify factors producing patterns of victimization
- Focuses on interpersonal crimes of violence
- Identifies victims who contribute to their own victimization
This includes concepts of victim proneness.
What did Wolfgang find in his study of homicides in Philadelphia?
26% involved victim precipitation
This means the victim triggered the events leading to the homicide.
What is secondary victimization?
The idea that individuals may become victims of the system in addition to the crime itself
Rape victims often experience double violation due to poor treatment by the criminal justice system.
What demographic factors contribute to the uneven distribution of victimization risk?
- Age
- Ethnicity
- Class
- Gender
- Previous victimization
These factors show how risk varies significantly among different social groups.
What impact can crime have on individuals besides direct victimization?
Serious physical and emotional impacts, creating indirect victims
This includes friends, family, and witnesses who may suffer from trauma.
What do feminists criticize regarding the fear of victimization?
It focuses on women’s passivity
They argue this perspective does not account for women’s agency in society.
