Week 4 Lecture Rational Actor Explanations for Crime PDF

Rational Actor Explanations for Crime Explaining Crime Week 4 Lecture In week 1 we identified that criminological theories can be categorised into 4 groups:  Rational Actor Explanations  Pre-Destined Actor Explanations  Victimised Actor Explanations  Integrated Explanations Rational Actor Exp...

Rational Actor Explanations for Crime Explaining Crime Week 4 Lecture In week 1 we identified that criminological theories can be categorised into 4 groups:  Rational Actor Explanations  Pre-Destined Actor Explanations  Victimised Actor Explanations  Integrated Explanations Rational Actor Explanations for Crime We will look at  Key ideas  Critical reflection  Policy & Practice implications OF 1.Classicism 2.Contemporary Classicism (Rational choice theory, routine activities theory, situational crime prevention) 3.Right Realism Essential Reading  Tim Newburn, Criminology, Third Edition. In Part 2:  Chapters 6 (part on classical criminology) AND 15 (available online via module reading list tab on blackboard). The Emergence of Classical Criminology/ Classicism Response to spiritualist approaches that had dominated European thinking about crime (crime was understood in relation to ideas of devil/evil/sin) Classical Criminolog Reaction to arbitrary criminal justice systems y  Classical Explanations Cesare Beccaria In 1764 he published ‘On Crimes and Punishment’ which has substantial impact on Both concerned European and USA legal with legal and penal thought. reform. Making the criminal justice system more Jeremy Bentham proportionate and Associated with rational. Utilitarianism and interested in penal reform.  Classicism’s Key Ideas  Classicism is based on and has developed from Cesare Beccaria’s highly influential book ‘On Crimes and Punishments’ (originally published in 1764). In this book Beccaria argued:  All individuals capable of criminal behaviour.  Human behaviours are based on rational judgement about the pleasure and pain a certain course of action will result in.  Punishment should be in proportion to the seriousness of the offence.  Fixed punishments should be written into law.  Punishment must be certain and swift to be effective - DETERRENCE  Punishments must be clear so people can make rational decisions based on them. BUT… Issues with Classicism  Classicism focuses primarily on the offence rather than the offender. Thus, it treats all offenders the same.  So, a first-time offender would receive the same punishment as a recidivist (someone who had a history of criminality).  Crime did not decline as criminal justice systems embraced classical ideas.  Assumed everyone had free will and could act rationally (children? Mentally ill?)  Lack of exploration of possible underlying causes of crime These criticisms led to….  Punishment in Ancient India  The dandaniti, i.e. punishment policy, is one of the elaborately dwelt upon subjects in ancient India as it was intimately connected with the administration of the State.  Manu said: "Punishment alone governs all created beings, it protects them and it watches over them while they are asleep."  As per Manu, Yajnavalkya and Brihaspati there were four kinds or methods of punishment during ancient India, namely, admonition, censure, fine and corporal punishment.  Corporal punishments included:  death penalty,  cutting off the limb with which the offence was committed,  branding on the head some mark indicating the offence committed, shaving the head of the offender and The nature and types of punishments were very cruel, inhuman and barbarous.  parading him in public streets.  Kautilya lays down that awarding of punishment:  a consideration of the motive and nature of the offence,  time and place, strength, age, conduct,  learning and monetary position of the offender, and by the fact, whether the offence is repeated.  An old man over eighty, a boy below sixteen, women and persons suffering from diseases were to be given half the punishment; a child less than five committed no offence and was not to suffer any punishment.  In certain cases, the court was empowered to grant compensation to the aggrieved party in addition to the punishment given to the offender. Contemporary Rational actor Explanations/ Contemporary Classicism Neo-Classicism  Revised the doctrine of free will  Sane adults are fully responsible for their actions and all equally capable of criminal or non-criminal behaviour.  However, some recognition that some individuals are less able to exercise free choice and think and act rationally:  Mentally ill people  Children  Idea of ‘mitigating circumstances’.  Overall, maintains that most offenders offend based on their free will/free choice.  Modern Criminal Justice System is based on neo-classicism e.g. harsher sentences for more serious offences, consistency and less flexibility (e.g. ‘Three Strikes and You’re Out, Mandatory Life Sentences)  Rational Choice Theory Contemporary Rational Actor Routine Activity Explanations/ Theory Contemporary Classicism Situational Crime Prevention The Emergence of Contemporary rational actor Explanations  Interest in classical explanations of crime declined from the mid nineteenth century (1850s >). As we will see in subsequent weeks, there was more interest in biological, psychological and sociological explanations for crime.  Renewed interest in classical explanations from 1970s+. Part of emergence of New Right economic and social ideas  Biological, psychological and sociological theories seemed to offer few answers/practical solutions. Led to development of new theories, drawing on classical ideas, that could inform policy. Crime Statistics Crime Survey for England and Wales 2024  Our headline CSEW crime measure captures theft offences, robbery, criminal damage, fraud, computer misuse and violence with or without injury.  Since the mid-1990s, there have been long-term falls in violence with and without injury, theft offences and criminal damage.  Estimates for fraud and computer misuse are only available from year ending (YE) March 2017 onwards.  While there have been decreases in computer misuse incidents over this period, levels of fraud have remained relatively stable. Theory can help us to make sense of and explain these statistics  CSEW 2024 Contd.  There were an estimated 8.8 million incidents of CSEW headline crime in YE March 2024.  Latest estimates do not show a statistically significant change compared with the previous year’s survey.  The total number of CSEW headline crime incidents is 22% lower than YE March 2017 survey.  This is the earliest comparable year for CSEW headline crime when questions on fraud and computer misuse were first included in the survey. A headline crime is a personal or household crime that is part of the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) interviewer-led survey. Headline crimes include: theft, robbery, criminal damage, and fraud.  CSEW 2024 Contd.  While over the last 10 years there has been a gradual decrease in domestic abuse, there has been an increase in sexual assault and the trend in stalking has remained relatively flat.  Latest estimates from the CSEW for YE March 2024 showed no statistically significant change among people aged 16 years and over compared with the previous year:  4.8% (approximately 2.3 million people) had experienced some form of domestic abuse in the last 12 months.  3.2% (approximately 1.5 million people) had experienced stalking.  2.1% (approximately one million people) had experienced sexual assault. Nothing works’…!!!  increasing prosperity Did not lead to  improved living conditions decline in  rehabilitation crime rates Consequently:  Criminological theories had little immediate policy or practical relevance! Contemporary Rational Actor Explanations: Rational Choice Theory Rational Choice Theory  Rational Choice Theory draws on classicism as it argues people commit crime based on the profit- loss/pleasure-pain principle.  Motivation to commit crime is based on maximising profits and minimising losses. If gains are perceived to be greater than losses someone will commit crime.  Decisions are rational.  Rational Choice Theory Ronald Clarke and Derek Cornish – offenders make a sequence of choices (SIX PROPOSITIONS) ONE: Crimes are purposive – they benefit offender TWO: Offenders aim to make best decision based on perceived risks and uncertainty THREE: Decision making varies depending on nature of crime and specific benefits likely to follow…. FOUR: Decisions about becoming involved in crime differ from those relating to commission of specific act/event Rational Choice Theory FIVE: Involvement decisions comprise 3 stages taken at different points in criminal career and affected by different factors, e.g. personality, upbringing, current life circumstances, needs, motives, opportunities, etc: 1.initiation – whether the person is ready to begin committing crime to obtain what they want. 2.habituation – whether, having started offending, they should continue. 3.desistance – whether at some stage they should stop.  Rational Choice Theory Six: Event decisions involve a series of choices  Preparation  Target selection  Escape  Aftermath Rational Choice Theory  Crime Scripts  The Six Propositions can help us create crime scripts  Crime scripts are step by step accounts of decision-making processes involved in particular crimes  These can then be used to This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC develop interventions to stop crime occuring Piracy Crime Script Mentimeter Questions  Bounded Rationality  Offenders ‘are generally doing the best they can within the limits of time, resources, and information available to them. This is why we characterize their decision-making as rational, albeit in a limited way’ (Clarke and Cornish, 2001: 25).  Offenders are rarely in possession of all the necessary facts about the risks, efforts and rewards of crime.  Criminal choices usually have to be made quickly – and revised hastily.  Instead of planning their crimes down to the last detail, criminals might rely on a general approach that has worked before, improvising when they meet with unforeseen circumstances.  Once embarked on a crime, criminals tend to focus on the rewards of the crime rather than its risks; and, when considering risks, they focus on the immediate possibilities of being caught, rather than on the punishments they might receive.  Bad decisions are still bounded ‘rational’ choices Type of decision Example/Caricature Quick decision (not thought through) It seemed like a good idea at the time I wasn’t really thinking – I just did it Now I regret it Decisions based on imperfect information I didn’t know they had a dog I didn’t know they would hit me back I didn’t know they had a silent alarm I didn’t know I was on CCTV At the time, I didn’t think of the consequences Impaired decision (including emotional decision) I wasn’t thinking straight It was the alcohol acting, not me. Source: Farrell and Pease (2006: 187).  Contemporary Rational Actor Explanations: Routine Activity Theory Cohen and Felson Crime rates did not decline with post-war prosperity because social/cultural changes produced opportunities for crime that did not previously exist:  More targets for crime (e.g. cars, portable high- value electronic devices, bikes, credit cards).  Reduction in ability of this increased number of targets to be guarded (due to how we live – e.g. more households left unguarded during the day)  Changes in our routine activities (how we live our lives) have created greater opportunities for crime. Routine Activity Theory For offences to occur 3 elements must come together 1. motivated offenders – inclination and ability 2. suitable targets – value, portability, desirability 3. absence of capable guardians – able to prevent violations  Routine Activities Theory  Felson – target selection depends on 4 criteria  Value – the worth of the target from the view point of the offender  Inertia – the extent to which the target/article can be realistically removed, taken or robbed  Visibility – how visible the target is to the offender  Access – how easy it is to gain access to the target Situational Crime Prevention  Situational Crime Prevention Builds on Rational Choice + Routine Activity Theory Emphasis on reducing the opportunity to offend by ‘designing out crime’, manipulating environments to make crimes impossible Contemporary Rational Actor Explanations – Policy and practice implications Cornish and Clarke (2003) Increase the Car steering locks - Anti robbery screens - Anti tamper effort packaging - Restrict sales of items used to commit crime (guns/knives etc) Increase the risk Environmental design - Burglar alarms – Lighting - Reward reporting – CCTV - breathalyser Reduce Rewards Phone lock – credit card blocker - wiping off graffiti Reduce Restrictions on sale of alcohol - efficient service – Provocations pornography controls – positive crowd management – remove cause of arguments (e.g. cab fares) Remove Excuses Clear rules – clear instructions  Situational Crime Prevention – defensible space Oscar Newman’s Defensible Space 4 key areas of design which encourage development of control and reduce crime:  Territoriality – defining areas to encourage residents to protect their areas, to indicate authority and discourage outsiders from entering.  Surveillance – designing buildings so observation of territorial areas is easy and effective  Image – designing buildings and areas in ways that help avoid stigma and suggestion of vulnerability.  Environment – planning, e.g. putting pubs next to ‘safe zones’. Situational Crime Prevention – Case Study 1 Car park in the country – ramblers park cars, head off on hike and return to find car windows smashed and belongings stolen. Instead of reaching for handcuffs, local police analysed the crime – real problem was nobody to stop the thieves – so built picnic tables at the side of the car park and arranged for licensed vendor to sell drink and food = ensured picnickers turned up = natural surveillance. Cut the thieving by 48% in a year. Situational Crime Prevention – Case Study 2 Problem with a takeaway pizza parlour – every Friday and Saturday night groups of drunken people gather outside, obstructing pavement, disturbing locals, fighting. Police realised crowd was building up because pizza parlour could not cope with rush of customers after pubs closed. Installed hotlines from all local pubs to pizza maker, who took orders in advance and had pizzas ready when people turned up: no more crowd on the pavement/opportunity, no more trouble. Contemporary Rational actor Explanations – criticisms  Assumes we would all offend if the right opportunity came along! Fails to take sufficient account of other biological/psychological/sociological factors.  Interventions may simply displace crime – to another time, target, method or place.  Application of approaches may be repressive: o increased surveillance and limitations on basic freedoms affects us all.  The rich can better afford techniques of situational crime prevention.  Development of Right Realism  Right Realism was developed in the USA by a group of authors on the right of the political spectrum  Right realism was part of wider move to the economic and political right in UK and USA from 1970s into the 1980s:  Neo liberal economics with minimal state intervention in economic affairs  Privatization of state-owned industries  Individualism NOT collectivism  Right Realism: Key Ideas Wilson and Kelling - Broken Windows Theory ‘if a window in a building is broken and is left unrepaired, all the rest of the windows will soon be broken’  Neighbourhoods can have visible signs of disorder such as undue noise, graffiti, begging, littering, vandalism and so on.  If these are left unchecked it sends out a signal that there is absence of both formal and informal social control in the area allowing more crime to occur.  Thus, there needs to be zero tolerance of low-level criminality and disorder as these create scope for more serious crime. Right Realism: Key Ideas Charles Murray – The Underclass  Welfare dependency encourages irresponsible and reckless behaviour and an inability to maintain employment.  Welfare provision encourages the growth of lone-parent families that fail to properly socialise their children.  Poor behaviour and parenting leads to anti-social children.  Women rely on welfare instead of a male partner. The male partner role is redundant and without this role, they also turn to crime.  Lack of male role models for children. Right Realism – policy & practice implications  Improve the policing and the criminal justice system to ensure certain and swift punishment.  Clear rules and messages about what is acceptable behaviour.  Social policy interventions are largely irrelevant – welfare provision is the cause of crime not part of its solution.  Focus on eradicating incivilities (because these lead to more serious crime).  Right Realism - Criticisms  Policy solutions over-emphasize control - could have negative impact on society.  Despite implementation of Right Realist policies and interventions crime remained.  Ignores welfare/therapeutic interventions that might stop crime – e.g. drug use.  Would lead to huge increases in prison population, but prison tends not to rehabilitate offenders  Ignores white collar crimes, the crimes of the powerful and the crimes of the state. The crimes of the poor are the focus. Rational Actor Explanations for Crime We have looked at  Key ideas  Critical reflection  Policy & Practice implications OF 1. Classicism 2. Contemporary Classicism (Rational choice theory, routine activities theory, situational crime prevention) 3. Right Realism  Module Tutor  Dr Vibha Hetu  Email: [email protected]  Office: Squires Building (SQB) 306b (third floor)  Office Hours: 11-1 PM in the office (Mondays); 10-12 PM on Teams (Tuesdays - email for appointment) DELIVERING THE TEACHING SESSIONS: LECTURE 1 (1-3 PM) & LECTURE 2 (3-5 PM) LIPMAN BUILDING (031)  Week 4: 22nd October 2024 – Classical School Explanations of Crime  Week 5: 29th October 2024 – Biological and Psychological Positivism Explanations of Crime  Week 6: 5th November 2024 – ENHANCEMENT WEEK  Week 7: 12th November 2024 – Strain, Chicago School and Subcultural Explanations of Crime  Week 8: 19th November 2024 – Labelling Theory, Radical and Critical Explanations of Crime  Week 9: 26th November 2024 – Gender, Ethnicity, Sexual Orientation and Crime DELIVERING THE (4) SEMINAR SESSIONS  Every Week: Friday (9-10 AM, 10-11 AM, 11-12 AM (all three sessions in SANDYFORD 420) and 1-2 PM (SANDYFORD 417) THANKYOU Any Questions