Topic 9
Control, punishment
and victims.
Complete booklet along with an essay plan that considers the following question…
‘Evaluate sociological views of crime reduction strategies’ (30 marks)
1
,According to Ron Clarke, situational crime prevention is a pre-emptive approach that relies on
reducing opportunities for crime.
3 key features of pre-emptive prevention –
1. They are directed as specific crimes
2. The involve managing or altering the immediate environment of the crime
3. They aim to increase efforts and risks to commit crime and reduce rewards
Example
Target hardening measures: locking doors windows, using surveillance in shops, properties
etc. CCTV, replacing coin metres with cards.
Situational crime prevention is most associated with ‘Rational choice theory’ (remember this, no?
check page 93-93), they believe criminals act rationally, weighing up costs and benefits before
deciding whether to commit or not.
Clarke argues the most obvious thing to do is tackle the crime around the time rather than try to
transform the socialisation of masses of young people in society. Clarke argues the most obvious
thing to do is to tackle the immediate crime situation; most crimes are opportunistic so we should
reduce the opportunities.
What prevention measures were taken by the port authority bus terminal in New York City Marcus
(Felson, 2002 [page 143])?
The Port Authority Bus Terminal in NYC was poorly designed and provided opportunities for deviant
conduct. E.g. The toilets were a setting for luggage thefts, rough sleeping, drug dealing and
homosexual liaisons. Re-shaping the physical environment to ‘design crime out’ greatly reduced such
activity. E.g large sinks, in which homeless people were bathing, were replaced by small hand basins.
One major criticism of situational crime prevention measures is crime simply gets displaced rather
than reduced.
What does this mean and what types of displacement can occur?
One criticism of situational crime prevention measures is that they do not reduce crime; they simply
displace it. After all, if criminals are acting rationally, presumably they will respond to target
hardening simply by moving to where targets are softer.
Displacement can take several forms:
Spatial – moving elsewhere to commit the crime.
Temporal – committing it at a different time.
Target – choosing a different victim.
Tactical – using a different method.
Functional – committing a different type of crime.
Situational crime prevention did have some success in the 1960s with the fall of suicide rates. What
was this down to?
Half of all suicides in Britain were due to gassing. At that time, Britain’s gas supply came from highly
toxic coal gas. From the 1960s, coal gas was gradually replaced by less toxic natural gas, and by 1997
suicides from gassing had fallen to near zero. What is striking, however, is that the overall suicide rate
2
, declined, not just deaths from gassing. Those who might otherwise have killed themselves by gassing
seem not to have switched to another method. In other words, there was no displacement.
Simple evaluative points
- Situational crime prevention works to some extent in reducing certain kinds of crime.
However, with most measures there is likely to be some displacement.
- It tends to focus on opportunistic petty street crime. It ignores white collar, corporate and
state crime, which are more costly and harmful.
- It assumes criminals make rational calculations. This seems unlikely in many crimes of
violence, and crimes committed under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
- It ignores the root causes of crime, such as poverty or poor socialisation. This makes it
difficult to develop long-term strategies for crime reduction.
Approach based on Wilson and Kelling’s broken windows article.
Leaving broken windows unrepaired sends out a signal that no one cares influences negative
behaviour in the community. These types of communities suffer from a lack of social control,
without this communities decline, respectable people move out and the area becomes a magnet for
deviants and criminal behaviour.
Zero tolerance policy: Wilson and Kelling suggest a twofold approach. What is this approach?
1. First, an environmental improvement strategy; any broken window must be repaired
immediately, abandoned cars towed without delay etc, otherwise more will follow and the
neighbourhood will be on the slide.
2. Secondly, the police must adopt a zero tolerance policing strategy. Instead of merely reacting
to crime, they must proactively tackle even the slightest sign of disorder, even if it is not
criminal. This will halt neighbourhood decline and prevent serious crime taking root.
Outline key evidence supporting the idea of zero tolerance (Page 144) e.g. ‘clean car program’ or
‘squeegee merchants’
‘Clean Car Program’
3
Control, punishment
and victims.
Complete booklet along with an essay plan that considers the following question…
‘Evaluate sociological views of crime reduction strategies’ (30 marks)
1
,According to Ron Clarke, situational crime prevention is a pre-emptive approach that relies on
reducing opportunities for crime.
3 key features of pre-emptive prevention –
1. They are directed as specific crimes
2. The involve managing or altering the immediate environment of the crime
3. They aim to increase efforts and risks to commit crime and reduce rewards
Example
Target hardening measures: locking doors windows, using surveillance in shops, properties
etc. CCTV, replacing coin metres with cards.
Situational crime prevention is most associated with ‘Rational choice theory’ (remember this, no?
check page 93-93), they believe criminals act rationally, weighing up costs and benefits before
deciding whether to commit or not.
Clarke argues the most obvious thing to do is tackle the crime around the time rather than try to
transform the socialisation of masses of young people in society. Clarke argues the most obvious
thing to do is to tackle the immediate crime situation; most crimes are opportunistic so we should
reduce the opportunities.
What prevention measures were taken by the port authority bus terminal in New York City Marcus
(Felson, 2002 [page 143])?
The Port Authority Bus Terminal in NYC was poorly designed and provided opportunities for deviant
conduct. E.g. The toilets were a setting for luggage thefts, rough sleeping, drug dealing and
homosexual liaisons. Re-shaping the physical environment to ‘design crime out’ greatly reduced such
activity. E.g large sinks, in which homeless people were bathing, were replaced by small hand basins.
One major criticism of situational crime prevention measures is crime simply gets displaced rather
than reduced.
What does this mean and what types of displacement can occur?
One criticism of situational crime prevention measures is that they do not reduce crime; they simply
displace it. After all, if criminals are acting rationally, presumably they will respond to target
hardening simply by moving to where targets are softer.
Displacement can take several forms:
Spatial – moving elsewhere to commit the crime.
Temporal – committing it at a different time.
Target – choosing a different victim.
Tactical – using a different method.
Functional – committing a different type of crime.
Situational crime prevention did have some success in the 1960s with the fall of suicide rates. What
was this down to?
Half of all suicides in Britain were due to gassing. At that time, Britain’s gas supply came from highly
toxic coal gas. From the 1960s, coal gas was gradually replaced by less toxic natural gas, and by 1997
suicides from gassing had fallen to near zero. What is striking, however, is that the overall suicide rate
2
, declined, not just deaths from gassing. Those who might otherwise have killed themselves by gassing
seem not to have switched to another method. In other words, there was no displacement.
Simple evaluative points
- Situational crime prevention works to some extent in reducing certain kinds of crime.
However, with most measures there is likely to be some displacement.
- It tends to focus on opportunistic petty street crime. It ignores white collar, corporate and
state crime, which are more costly and harmful.
- It assumes criminals make rational calculations. This seems unlikely in many crimes of
violence, and crimes committed under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
- It ignores the root causes of crime, such as poverty or poor socialisation. This makes it
difficult to develop long-term strategies for crime reduction.
Approach based on Wilson and Kelling’s broken windows article.
Leaving broken windows unrepaired sends out a signal that no one cares influences negative
behaviour in the community. These types of communities suffer from a lack of social control,
without this communities decline, respectable people move out and the area becomes a magnet for
deviants and criminal behaviour.
Zero tolerance policy: Wilson and Kelling suggest a twofold approach. What is this approach?
1. First, an environmental improvement strategy; any broken window must be repaired
immediately, abandoned cars towed without delay etc, otherwise more will follow and the
neighbourhood will be on the slide.
2. Secondly, the police must adopt a zero tolerance policing strategy. Instead of merely reacting
to crime, they must proactively tackle even the slightest sign of disorder, even if it is not
criminal. This will halt neighbourhood decline and prevent serious crime taking root.
Outline key evidence supporting the idea of zero tolerance (Page 144) e.g. ‘clean car program’ or
‘squeegee merchants’
‘Clean Car Program’
3
