Criminal - Crime Prevention

Question 1

Newman - Defensible space (Background)

Answer 1

4 physical design elements to encourage social cohesion and reduce crime:
1. Creating communal areas to make social interaction inevitable
2. Territory markers showing area is private and owned
3. Layout of buildings to ensure intruders are easily spotted
4. Ensure houses are enclosed in smaller groups to enhance sense of community and detract vandalism

Question 2

Zimbardo - Broken Windows experiment (Background)

Answer 2

• In the study, there was a car without a license plate parked with its hood up on a street where it was attacked by ‘vandals’
• Vandalism can occur anywhere once communal barriers are lowered by actions that seem to signal that ‘no one cares’
• Untended property becomes ‘fair game

Question 3

Bratton - Brutal Policing (Background)

Answer 3

• This strategy involved cracking down on minor crimes such as vandalism, loitering and littering
• 1990 - 7000 extra officers were put to work in addressing minor crimes such as graffiti and public drinking
• In 1992, serious crimes reduced by 25% - Bratton attributed this to ZTP

Question 4

Dennis & Mallon - ZTP in Hartlepool (Background)

Answer 4

• They directed ZTP in Hartlepool, UK.
• The aim was to restore the community’s faith in the police force and make low-level offenders well known to the police
• ZTP proved successful and Hartlepool reduced their overall crime rate by 27% and there was also a 56% drop in car thefts

Question 5

Wilson & Kelling - Aims

Answer 5

• To outline how features of neighbourhoods can influence crime rates, the changing role of the police in the US, and strategies for maintaining order
• To understand what frightens the public, in hopes this would help them understand why the public perceived that crime had gone down

Question 6

Wilson & Kelling - Overview

Answer 6

• Research article split into 4 sections
• Considered Newark as a case study and the Zero tolerance policing in NYC

Question 7

Wilson & Kelling - Results of the Newark Foot Patrol Experiment

Answer 7

• Main benefit - officers could identify the difference between a ‘regular’ and a ‘stranger’
• This meant they could enforce rules regularly with the ‘regulars’, e.g. drunks could sit on steps but couldn’t lie down, noisy groups were told to keep quiet, beggars weren’t allowed to beg etc.
• It also meant that the officers would be wary and cautious of strangers
• The people of Newark reported feeling reassured that the officers were regularly maintaining order
• Being on foot patrols is more beneficial than being in policing vehicles as it leaves police more open and approachable to the public

Question 8

Wilson & Kelling - Broken Windows Metaphor

Answer 8

• Neglected property became a fair target for disorder
• Disorder triggers fear in residents as they see disorder as an indication that crime is on the increase increases fear of crime
• If there is a high level of mutual surveillance from commuters and police alike, then more disorderly behaviour is challenged and support from police is enforced

Question 9

Wilson & Kelling - The changing role of the police

Answer 9

• Noticed that police work had changed - ‘keepers of order to crime fighters’, leading to low level crime not being dealt with
• Provide some support for the ZTP in the sense that they believed that decriminalising low level criminal behaviour
• Links in with the broken windows theory - if there are a few incidents where drunks are loud on the streets, this could lead to an increase in this behaviour if it is not tackled
• When disorder is left unchallenged, it can lead to crime

Question 10

Wilson & Kelling - Implications and Suggestions

Answer 10

• Assigning officers to foot patrol in neighbourhoods with high crime rates is not beneficial as these are not always the most vulnerable to criminal invasion
• Officers should be assigned to communities where they can make the most difference
• Maintenance of order is the most important role of the police in crime prevention, ZTP could be an effective tool
• Wilson and Kelling also suggest employing citizen patrols, for example, The Guardian Angels who patrol NYC streets
• The role of the community is important, but without the reassurance that the police are intervening, a community may not thrive and consequently, will find it difficult to support the police in reducing crime

Question 11

Situational crime prevention (Application)

Answer 11

• Inclusion of CCTV in areas where there is historical criminal behaviour - including shopping and nightlife areas
• Use of security system in homes and businesses
• Use of shutters and bollards in front of shops
• Anti-vandal and anti-climb paint applied to walls e.g. on Holocaust monument in Berlin
• Secure gates on alleyways

Question 12

Posters (Application)

Answer 12

• Newcastle implemented a posters scheme which had posters of eyes over a bike rack at the university
• Found that use of these posters lowered the rates of theft of bikes
• Could be due to the implied presence of authority/surveillance

Question 13

Biting back in Huddersfield (Application)

Answer 13

• A program introduced as part of the Police Operations Against Crime initiative in Huddersfield during the 90s
• Huddersfield police identified repeat victims and offered rising levels of response and support according to the victims’ experience
• These measures included target hardening and increasing the risk of detection for offenders
• Offered support to repeat victims in the programme (Bronze, Silver and Gold) e.g. increasing police watches, installation of alarms and cameras
• Found that there was a reduction in crime - domestic burglary fell by 30% and motor vehicle theft by 20%
• An increase in arrests from temporary alarms, from 4% of installations to 14%