Situational Crime Prevention Lecture PDF

Situational Crime Prevention Click to edit Master text styles Second level Third level Fourth level Fifth level 1  A Brief History of Situational Crime Prevention Situational crime prevention “is a preventive approach that relie...

Situational Crime Prevention Click to edit Master text styles Second level Third level Fourth level Fifth level 1  A Brief History of Situational Crime Prevention Situational crime prevention “is a preventive approach that relies, not upon improving society or its institutions, but simply upon reducing opportunities for crime” (Clarke, 1992). 1. James Q. Wilson and the Failures of Academic Criminology 2. Ronald Clarke and “Crime as Opportunity” 3. Marcus Felson and Routine Activities Theory 2  Situational Crime Prevention: Key Principles 1. Normality of Crime 2. Opportunities vs. Dispositions 3. Situations (or Events) vs. Society 4. Pragmatic and Specific 5. Diverse and De-Centred 3  SCP Techniques 1. Increase the Effort Target Harden (e.g. car locks) Control Access to Facilities (e.g. fenced yards) Screen Exits (e.g. baggage screening) Deflect Offenders (e.g. street closures) Control Tools/Weapons (e.g. “Smart” guns) 2. Increase the Risks Extend Guardianship (e.g. leave signs of occupancy) Assist Natural Surveillance (e.g. street lighting) Reduce Anonymity (e.g. taxi driver IDs) Utilize Place Managers (e.g. Disney mascots, park attendants) Strengthen Formal Surveillance (e.g. burglar alarms) 3. Reduce the Rewards Conceal Targets (e.g. off-street parking) Remove Targets (e.g. removing car radios) Identify Property (e.g. property marking) Disrupt Markets (e.g. controls on classified ads) 4 Deny Benefits (e.g. ink merchandise tags)  Situational Crime Prevention Techniques 4. Reduce Provocations Reduce Frustration and Stress (e.g. efficient queues) Avoid Disputes (e.g. reduce crowding in pubs) Reduce Emotional Arousal (e.g. classical music at subway stations) Neutralize Peer Pressure (e.g. “idiots drink and dive”) Discourage Imitation (e.g. rapid repair of vandalism) 5. Remove Excuses Set Rules (e.g. harassment codes) Post Instructions (e.g. “private property”) Alert Conscience (e.g. “shoplifting is stealing”) Assist Compliance (e.g. trash bins) Control Drugs and Alcohol (e.g. ignition breath-locks) 5  Examples and Case Studies 1. Purse Hooks 2. Bar Bathrooms 3. Apple “Kill Switches” 6  Evaluation and Effectiveness 1. Multiple Evaluations and a Record of Success 2. Diffusion of Benefits and Anticipatory Benefits 3. Cost-Benefit Studies 7  Situational Crime Prevention in Context: Neo-Liberalism 1. Governance Beyond the State 2. Expertise and Expert Knowledge 3. Responsibilization and Self-Governance 4. Market Logics and an ‘Economic’ Style of Reasoning 5. Risk and Risk Management 8  Criticisms and Limitations 1. Effectiveness Revisited Nature and Quality of Evaluations Displacement, Escalation, and Adaptation 2. Limited Scope Neglect of the Emotional and Expressive Dimensions of Crime Neglect of Important Categories of Crime 3. Inequality and Exclusion Displacement from ‘Rich’ to ‘Poor’ Access Controls and Profiling – Legitimate vs. Illegitimate Users 4. Victim Blaming “Potential victims have ethical responsibilities to reduce the risk of crime” (Felson and Clarke, 1997: 210). 9  Criticisms and Limitations 5. Commodification and Insecurity 6. Causes of Crime and the Origins of Criminogenic Situations Violence and City Centre Pubs and Clubs Business Improvement Associations (BIAs) 7. Political and Cultural Effects and Implications 10  Future Issues and Directions 1. Technological Advancements and Innovations 2. From Criminology to “Crime Science”? “There is too much investment in dispositional theory and too much hope still invested in finding ways to modify criminal motivation” (Clarke 2009: 273). “It seems wrong-headed for criminologists to define themselves as social reformers. Surely, the policy role for society’s crime experts would be more appropriately defined as finding effective ways to reduce crime... On present evidence, situational prevention offers far more promise of meeting this goal than social reform. The goal of creating a more equal and just society is worth pursuing in its own right and is ill-served by dubious promises of crime reduction. Criminologists can make their greatest contribution to meeting this goal by finding effective and ethical ways to reduce the crime which plagues the lives of poor and deprived people” (Clarke, 2007: 56). 11