Environmental Criminology Flashcards
Edges
Boundaries in particular spaces
Criminals commit crimes in edges, furthermore, spaces they are comfortable with
Crime attractor
Attracted to the criminal, for example, certain species
What are the top 10 most stolen vehicles?
- 2020 Honda CR-V
- 2022 Dodge Ram 1500 Series
- 2020 Ford F150 Series
Cohen and Felson - Routine Activity Theory
It argues that single adult households and those employed outside the home have higher crime rates
Adolescents and young adults, who are perhaps more likely the engage in peer groups activities, will have higher crime rates
Married people will have lower rates of crime
Routine activity structures and parallels trends in crime rates
There has been a dramatic increase in crime rates since 1960
The routine activities of Americans significantly change
There has also been an increase in the number of suitable targets available for offenders- Female college students increased
- Married female labour participation increased
- More households were left unattended
- Increases were seen in out-of-town travel
Increase in the number of suitable targets available for offenders
Personal consumer expenditures increased dramatically between 1960 and 1970
- Increased in motor vehicles
- The dramatic increase in small durable products
- Weights of many products decreased at this time (television)
Businesses also saw an increase in crime
Increased the value of the merchandise they transport and sell as well as the money involved in these transactions
The tempo of business activity increased dramatically
Composition of crime trends
Because of the change in routine activities since World War II, routine activity theory hypothesizes there should be greater increases in personal and household victimization compared to business victimization, with shoplifting being the biggest increase in business victimization
Support found this hypothesis
- Commercial burglaries decreased, while daytime residential burglaries increased
- Shoplifting increased
Situational Strategies
Deny the access of motivated offenders to suitable targets
1. Potential targets are carefully guarded
2. Means to commit crime are controlled
3. Potential offenders are carefully monitored
For example Defensible Space - A home security system signals guardianship; the reward is not with the risk of apprehension
Community strategies:
- Control kids in and out of school
- Extend supervision in public places
Target-hardening and target-reduction
- the “club”, locking doors, hiding valuables
- I.D property
Ramifications of situational prevention
Advantages
Diffusion of benefits
- Surveillance reduces other crimes
- Crackdowns in one area may lead to reductions in other areas
Disadvantages
Displacement
- Six types
Extinction
- Benefits are short-lived
What are the 6 types of displacement?
Temporal - Offenders perpetrate crimes at less risky times
Target - Difficult targets are given up for easier ones
Spatial - Offenders move to less protected areas
Tactical - Tactics are changed to get around security measures
Perpetrator - New offenders take the place of those who are apprehended (gang rapes)
Type of crime - Offenders take up another of crime if one type is too difficult
Foundations of environmental theories
They are concerned with crime on a macro level
- Instead of focusing on the individual characteristics of criminals
- Broader patterns/trends
Major focus on the opportunity to commit a crime
- Crime only occurs when an offender and the opportunity to offend are both present
- Assumes that there are always willing offenders
Crime can be stopped by removing either the criminal or the opportunity
What do environmental criminological theories focus on
Explaining crime events
Exploring the causal role of opportunity
What are the 4 main environmental theories
Routine activities theory
Offender search theory
Situational crime prevention
Broken windows
