week 3 Flashcards
Urban Fear of Crime
Fear of crime significantly impacts urban life. Females and minorities are more likely to fear crime. Early European cities prioritized safety to boost commerce, using defenses, policing, and justice systems (Muchembled, 2008).
Night as a Symbol of Danger
Up to the 18th century, night symbolized fear and chaos in art and literature. People feared nighttime fires more than crime. Night was associated with witches, devils, and danger, limiting activity after dark.
Nocturnalization
By the late 19th century, night became “domesticated” with streetlights and nightlife, especially for elites. Koslofsky (2013) defined this trend as the legitimate use of night for social and work activities.
Industrialization & Crime
Industrial cities like London experienced increased crime due to migration, limited policing, and clustering of offenders. Routine Activity Theory (Cohen & Felson, 1979) explains crime as a convergence of offenders, targets, and lack of guardianship.
Fear as Elite Concern
Surveillance aimed at protecting elites rather than public safety. Henry Fielding focused on monitoring lower classes, while Patrick Colquhoun (1799) introduced preventive policing.
Processes Leading to Crime Visibility
Urbanization increased population density, bringing offenders and targets closer, making crime more visible and concentrated.
Bureaucratization
Higher crime prosecution rates emerged with formal systems. Legal and policing systems expanded, increasing crime record-keeping.
Centralization
Crime became more visible to authorities with centralized systems, allowing a clearer view of urban crime trends.
Mediatization
Media spread crime concerns, amplifying public fear. Cheap prints and newspapers sensationalized crime stories, fueling anxieties.
Birth of the “Dangerous Classes”
Industrial cities labeled the urban poor as “dangerous,” threatening elite ideals. Figures like Frégier (1840), Quetelet (1848), and Mayhew (1851) linked crime to the urban poor, reinforcing stereotypes.
Disproportionality and Moral Panics
Mass media amplified crime fears disproportionate to actual crime rates, promoting moral panics targeting marginalized groups like the urban poor.
Urban vs. Rural Perceptions of Danger
Shift in Crime Perceptions
Urban areas became crime centers during industrialization, shifting public perception of danger from rural to urban environments.
Media and Fear of Crime
Media heightened fear of crime through narratives framing urban areas as “nightmares” (Macek, 2006), often targeting the urban poor.
Classical Criminology
Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham advocated for rational justice systems with proportional punishment and deterrence.
Pastoral Power
Michel Foucault described how states use moral and social governance to exercise control.
