Crime Prevention and Control

Question 0

Give some examples of ‘target hardening’ measures that increase the risks of crime or reduce the opportunities

Answer 0

1) Locking doors and windows
2) CCTV in shops
3) Security guards in shops

Question 1

What are 3 features of measures aimed at situational crime prevention?

Answer 1

1) Directed at specific crimes
2) Involve managing or altering the immediate environment of the crime
3) Am at increasing the effort and risks of crime and reducing the rewards

Question 2

What type of theory is situational crime prevention, and what does this mean?

Answer 2

A rational choice theory. This means that it assumes that criminals act rationally, weighing up the costs and benefits of the crime before deciding whether to commit it.

Question 3

What does Clarke argue is the most obvious solution to crime?

Answer 3

Focus on the immediate crime situation, since this is where scope for prevention is greatest

Question 4

What does Clarke argue that most crime is, and therefore what do we need to do?

Answer 4

Most crime is opportunistic, and therefore we need to reduce the opportunities

Question 5

What is the problem with this theory if it assumes that criminals are rational?

Answer 5

If criminals are rational then they will rationally respond to target hardening and move the crime elsewhere where the targets are softer.

Question 6

What 5 different types of displacement are there?

Answer 6

1) Spatial
2) Temporal
3) Target
4) Tactical
5) Functional

Question 7

What are the 4 criticisms of the situational crime prevention theory?

Answer 7

1) With most measures there is likely to be some displacement
2) Tends to focus on opportunistic, petty street crime. It ignores corporate, white-collar and state crime, which is most costly and harmful
3) Assumes that criminals are rational. This is unlikely to be the cases with violent crimes and crime committed under the influence of drugs or alcohol
4) Ignores the roots of crime, such as poverty or poor socialisation, this makes it difficult to develop long-term prevention strategies

Question 8

Who talks about situational crime prevention?

Answer 8

Clarke

Question 9

Who talks about environmental crime prevention?

Answer 9

Wilson and Kelling

Question 10

What do Wilson and Kelling use the phrase ‘broken windows’ to describe?

Answer 10

All the various signs of disorder and lack of concerns for others that are found in neighbourhoods

Question 11

What examples of disorder does the phrase ‘broken windows’ include?

Answer 11

• Undue noise
• Dog fouling
• Littering
• Vandalism
• Graffitit

Question 12

What signal does leaving broken windows unrepaired send out?

Answer 12

That no one cares

Question 13

What strategy do Wilson and Kelling propose?

Answer 13

A two fold strategy:

1) Environmental improvement strategy
2) Zero tolerance policing

Question 14

How will the environmental improvement strategy help to reduce crime?

Answer 14

It send out a signal that disorder is not acceptable and that people care for the environment

Question 15

What does the zero tolerance policing strategy propose?

Answer 15

That police must proactively tackle even the slightest sign of disorder, even if it is not criminal. This will halt neighbourhood decline.

Question 16

Although there is evidence of a zero tolerance policy in NYC having positive effects, why can we not be certain it was due to the policy?

Answer 16

• There was a general decline in crime at the time
• The NYPD benefitted from 7,000 extra officers
• There was a decline in the availability of crack cocaine

Question 17

What does social and community crime prevention place firm emphasis on?

Answer 17

The potential offender and their social context

Question 18

What is the aim of social and community crime prevention strategies?

Answer 18

To remove the conditions that predispose individuals to crime in the first place

Question 19

How are social and community crime prevention strategies more effective than situational crime prevention policies?

Answer 19

They attempt to tackle the root cause of the crime and are therefore longer term

Question 20

What are often the root causes of crime?

Answer 20

Poverty, unemployment and poor housing

Question 21

What does the Perry pre-school project show?

Answer 21

That the children who received the 2-year intellectual improvement programme had significantly less arrests than the control group by the age of 40

Question 22

How can all of the crimes prevention strategies be criticised?

Answer 22

The largely focus on petty street crime and largely ignore with-collar crime, corporate crime and environmental crime.

Question 23

What are the three types of crime prevention?

Answer 23

1) Situational crime prevention
2) Environmental crime prevention
3) Social and community crime prevention