Week 4: Environmental Criminology Flashcards
What is Environmental Theories of Crime?
- Concerned with crime, not criminals
- The major focus is on the opportunity to commit the crime
- The presence or absence of opportunity shapes when and where crime events take place
What are the two Issues Environmental Criminology Focuses on?
- Explain crime events
- Exploring the casual role of opportunity
What are 4 main Environmental Criminological Theories?
- Routine activity theory
- Offender search theory
- Situational crime prevention theory
- Broken windows theory
What Does Rational Choice Focus on?
- Micro view
- Why does an individual decide to commit a specific crime?
What Does Routine Activities Focus on?
- Macro view
- How do social and economic changes influence opportunities for crime?
What is “Mapping”?
- Can show the patterns of criminal activity
What are “Hot Spots”?
- Can be the basis for allocating police resources
What Three Elements must Converge for a Crime to Occur?
- Motivated offender
- Suitable target (has to do with the benefits of crime)
- For ex. children, women, minority individuals, locations, wealthy people etc.) - Lack of capable guardians (has to do with the costs of crime)
- For ex. police, parents, dogs, friends, surveillance, etc.)
- Suitable targets and lack of capable guardians are seen as the core dimensions of criminal opportunity
- The lack of any one of these elements can prevent crime
What is the Micro-level Assumption of Routine Activity Theory?
- Routine activities are any recurrent and prevalent activities that provide the basic population and individual needs
Where do Routine Activities Occur?
- At home
- In jobs away from home
- In other activities away from home
How did World War II Shift Routine Activities in the United States?
- People are more likely to spend time away from home, leading to a lack of capable guardians (ex. Home left unattended during the day)
- Individuals are more often in public locations, increasing suitable targets
What Empirical Support does Routine Activity have?
- Argues household and family activities entail a lower risk of criminal victimization than non-household activities (Victimization is lower among relatives and lower for groups)
- Argues expensive movable durables has the highest risk of theft (Vehicles and electronics are overrepresented in thefts)
What does Routine Activity Argue about who is Targeted?
- Single-adult household and those employed outside the home have higher crime rates
- Adolescents and young adults, who are perhaps more likely to engage in peer group activities, will have higher crime rates
- Married people have lower rates of crime
What Routine Activities of Americans Changed in the 1960s?
- Female college students increased
- Married female labor participation increased
- More households were left unattended
- Increases were seen in out-of-town travel
- Personal consumer expenditures increased
- Increase in motor vehicles
- Dramatic increase in small durable products (tv’s, small electronics, phones etc.)
Why did Businesses see 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
Why have Auto Theft’s Increased in Ont & Quebec?
- Increased demand for vehicles and auto part due to industry disruptions;
- Technological advancements (ex. Keyless entry makes it easier for thieves);
- Involvement of organized crime
- Lack of enforcement
What are the top 3 Stolen Vehicles in Canada?
- Honda CR-V
- Dodge Ram
- Ford F150
How can Situational Strategies be used to Reduce Crime?
- 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
What are the Advantages of Situational Prevention?
- Diffusion of benefits (surveillance reduces other crimes and Crackdown in one area may lead to reduction in other areas)
- Discouragement (may give up crime entirely)
What are the Problems with Situational Prevention?
- Displacement
- 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
- Type of crime: offenders take up another type of crime if one type is too difficult
