"explosion in crime reduction initiatives
focused upon prevention rather than
cure, consequence rather than causes
and offences rather than offenders"
(Crawford, 2007)
'Society does not cause crime and
policy should not be concerned with
addressing root causes' (James Q
Wilson) 'wicked people exist'
Ron Clarke, Home Office: dispositional
approaches to criminality need to be
stopped, instead the use of situational cues
and opportunity reduction need to be
increasingly used. Offenders are
responsible for their acts and responsibility
for failing to control crime should be
removed from the police.
what is crime prevention?
primary: actions directed at general
population and places. Aims to
address potentially criminogenic
factors before the onset of problems.
Secondary: involves work
with people or places
identified as high risk/ at
risk.
tertiary: actions directed toward the prevention
of the recurrence of criminal events in order to
reduce offending and/ or harms associated with
offending. Targets known offenders, victims or
places that are already part of the crime pattern
Social: "embodies predispositional assumptions
about what causes an individual to offend. It is
concerned with preventing criminality or criminal
propensities from developing within a person or
group, rather than with preventing the
opportunities for crime itself" (Crawford 1997)
Community: "refers to
actions intended to change
the social conditions that
are believed to sustain
crime in residential
communities" (Hope, 1995)
Situational: "a framework for
some practical and
commonsense thinking about
how to deal with crime"
(Clarke, 1995)
Routine activities
Theory: likely offender,
suitable target and the
absence of a capable
guardian
Situational Crime Prevention
Focuses on situations, not people; an
approach that relies on reducing the
opportunities for crime; directed at highly
specific forms of crime; management,
design or manipulation of the
environment; increase the efforts and
risks, reduce the awards
e.g. airport security
systems, bike locks,
CCTV,
neighbourhood watch
etc. crash helmets,
Crime Free multi housing,
e.g. adequate lighting, no
dark corners, adequate
upkeep of outside areas, no
graffiti & adequate outdoor
lighting, no dark spots or
areas of concealment, e.g.
Newman 1972 'defensible
space'
e.g. Heygate Estate, built in 1970's and
home to more than 3000 people, due to
a range of physical design faults, such
as poor security, low energy efficiency
and environmental issues that estate
was knocked down and rebuilt. Jeffrey,
1971, 'secured by design, e.g.
cul-de-sacs
there has been a sharp decline in the
number of suicides by domestic coal
gas, hanging and poisoning, due to
SCP? or a prompter identification of
those at risk? Carbon monoxide
content dropped from 20% to 2.5%
SCP Techniques= increase the effort,
increase the risks, reduce the rewards,
reduce provocations, remove excuses
Criminally inclined individuals will commit more crimes if
they encounter more criminal opportunities; regularly
encountering opportunities could lead these individuals to
look for even more opportunities; even those without a
pre-existing disposition toward criminality may be drawn
into committing crime by the availability of opportunities
and temptations to do so; in particular, normally
law-abiding individuals may commit specific types of
crime if they regularly encounter easy opportunities to do
so.
Social Crime Prevention
focused chiefly on changing targeted social
environments and the motivations of offenders,
and community development initiatives in order to
deter potential or actual offenders from future
offending (Hughes and Edwards 2005)-
prevention of criminality, focus on people, not
situations, factors that mean some people/ groups
are more likely to engage in criminal activity,
reduce risk factors and increase protective ones.
improve social conditions,
strengthen community
institutions (recreational,
educational, employment)-
a from of SCP?
Developmental
Crime Prevention
positivism: control theories and dispositional
assumptions; young people 'at risk' of offending
(secondary); identification of risk, protective
and desistance factors; longitudinal research <
nipping crime in the bud: risk and predictive
techniques. e.g. risk factors: individual= low
intelligence and attainment, empathy,
impulsiveness, social cognitive skills.. risk
factors: family= criminal/ anti social family
members, large family size, child-rearing
methods, child abuse/ neglect, disrupted families
nurse home visiting experiment, 400 high risk pregnant women, 9 home visits
during pregnancy & 23 home visits post natally, nurses promoted: positive health
related behaviour, competant care of children, maternal personal development
and linked families with needed health care and human services and attempted to
involve other family members and friends... by age 15, experimental group
reported fewer instances of running away, fewer arrests, fewer lifetime sex
partners, fewer cigarettes soked per day, less alcohol consumption, fewer
convictions/ violations of probation
risk focused prevention- Perry Pre School project-
disadvantaged African American children, pre
school, weekly home visits, by age 27, half as
many arrests, more likely to have graduated from
high school, higher earnings, more likely to be
homeowners, higher wages etc.