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Crime patterns of early modern cities
higher concentration of crime in cities than countryside
more diverse
higher womans ratio
serious violence decline
Why has crime decreased over centuries? (with fluctuation)
more control through policing
better quality of police
lesser acceptance of crime
developing medicine (decreased murder but not attempted murder)
Definition of crime
changers over time and is dependent on culture
cultural differences: marital rapes, abortion, drug use, gay marriage
time: e.g. creation of internet led to new forms of crime
Change in punishment
evolved from corporal to imprisonment
state took control of judicial system and of population
Role of the Enlightenment
→ state of crime becoming problematized and being prosecuted
Hobbes: (1651) — need to be punished for what you did wrong to society
Montesquieu + Rousseau: social contract between rulers and people - people expect fair punishments
Classical school mid 18th century
Beccaria: - against arbitrary power
- rule of law should prevail
- punishment should be proportional to crime and harm done
—> shift in how crime and punishment were considered
Bentham: - can’t rely on god/devil
- principles of law based on the rationality of humans
—> humans are rational,hedonistic and have free will so they should respond to deterrence
Deterrence
the action of discouraging an action or event through instilling doubt or fear
Principles of deterrence
certainty
severity (should be proportional)
celerity (done quickly)
→ paradox: people still committing crimes
Phrenology (Biological theories of crime)
(Gall)
→ study of shape of the skull to indicate mental faculties and character (pseudoscience)
→ first fully developed theory of crime
→ meh to apply a scientific method to a social phenomena of criminality
Positivist school and Degeneration theory
Theory: biological characteristics create the “unfit”
→ find characteristics - find criminal
→ some people are born criminals
→ pseudoscience
goes against rationality
Impact of the degeneration theory on society
prejudice and racism
developed new research techniques (mugshots and fingerprinting)
Emile Durkheim
→ sciences cannot explain social phenomena; need to look at context
→ crime more likely linked to social environment, organizations of neighborhoods etc.
→ Concept of Anomie
Concept of Anomie (Durkheim)
break up of moral values, standards and shared norms in society
How can Anomie explain crime?
Crime occurs when:
social norms are changing too rapidly and created a feeling of alienation (e.g. during industrialization; large waves of migration)
when conflict occurred between an individual or a group with different values than rest of society
→ by going against common values aimed at the good of the society as a whole, individuals can become criminal
Chicago school and Social disorganization theory
Chicago school: emphasis on impact of the environment and social structure on human behavior
Social Disorganization Theory: links crime rates to neighborhoods ecological characteristics; failure of social institutions
Different kinds of safety
social insecurity - threat to health and property by deliberate criminal acts
physical insecurity - threat to health by accidents (road safety, natural disasters)
→ objective safety: number of murders, car theft, floods….
→ subjective safety: fear of falling victim to a crime, fear of falling ill
“Safe City”
a city that is both free of both crime (objective social security) and fear of crime (subjective social security)
Crime
human behavior in which other people (animals, or the environments) are exploited or harmed
→ violates social rules and for which legal norms are established by the government indicating that it is not allowed
Note: its a working definition — differences in what is considered crime varies of time and cultures
Criminology
the body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomena that includes the process of making and breaking laws as well as reacting to the breaking of laws
why certain things are defined as criminal and who has the power to make such decisions
critique: often a focus on violent crimes and not other factors of safety considered
Why is crime an issue?
its common
crime against persons
crime against property
societal issue because it causes significant harm
material harm for citizens as an effect of the crime itself
material harm: cost of policing/preventing harm
environmental harm
immaterial harm: suffering of victims, trauma, fear of crime, avoidant behavior
How do we measure crime?
crimes reported to police
interview surveys of victims
self report surveys asking if participants broke the law
health and mortality stats
Crimes reported to police critique
(widely used but quite unreliable)
affected by peoples ability and willingness to report a crime
crimes committed against people who commit crime hesitant to report
depends on willingness of police to record crime
→ probably more crime happening than police stats say
Victim surveys criticism
(more accurate in uncovering the experience of crime)
but still reluctance to talk about victimization
especially when self involved in crime
→ levels of crime still understated
Self report surveys
more crimes compared to police reports but still reluctant
Health and mortality rates
(most accurate measure for particular violent crimes)
most reliable → harder to hide
but only includes certain crimes
e.g. murders — doesnt count attempted murder
ecological fallacy
when one makes inferences about individuals based on group-level data
Muchembled on late-medieval cities
should be as safe as possible to encourage commerce + prosperity
→ physical defenses (walls)
→ early forms of policing
→ justice dispensed by various institutional bodies
Did crime increase in the 18th century?
three processes that raised concern about crime
Bureaucratization - increase in crime prosecution
centralization - increase in visibility of crime
urbanization - increase in crime
Birth of the dangerous classes (19th century concept)
Bureaucratization and centralization led to the collection of quantitative data → stats revealed high level of crimes in cities where proletarization (creation of working class) increased
→ lower class seen as threatening to elite/bourgeois ideals
→ created dangerous class
created fear of lower classes
“breeding ground of evil doers”
publication of works that put blame on lower classes
positivist idea of born criminals
Fear of crime an elitist problem of the 18th century?
Henry Fielding: surveillance of lower classes not to make population feel safer but to control them - segregation of classes
Colquhun: advocated for police focused on “preventing” crime
Murray: top down view of F.O.C
Nocturnalization (Koslofski)
expansion of legitimate social and symbolic uses of the night
first by elites → domestication of the night
introduction of shifts → lower classes working more during the evening
street lamps
Industrial city as criminogenic
increased migration
increase in produced goods
limited police
→ concentration of potential offenders, suitable targets and absence of legitimate guardians (Routine Activity Theory)
Visibility of crime 18th-19th century
four processes that again increased concerns
Urbanization : increase in potential offenders and targets
Bureaucratization: increase in crime prosecution
Centralization: increase in visibility for the gov.
Mediatization: increase in information of crime shared (Moral Panic)
Importance of studying FOC
can be harm quality of life by reducing mobility
political means
related to a city’s economy
Defining fear of crime
→ no universally accepted definition
better to look at different factors independently (open box)
F.O.C. closed box
standard question of how to study crime (“How safe do you feel alone in the neighborhood at night?”)
Critique:
limiting in context (only focusing on neighborhood and night)
safety not only relates to crime but also e.g. fires
doesn’t factor in emotions
not suitable for responding to specific problems
fails to mention crime at all
Opening box
dont mix fear and perceived risk
Rader:
Perceived risk: pepoles estimation of how likely they are to falling victim to a crime
Fear of crime: asking if people are afraid of certain crimes
Opened box
emphasis on emotional dimension
critique: only measures FOC and doesnt help understand it
no differentiation between intensity and frequency
Victimization thesis (FOC individual level explanations)
direct:
previous victimization affect on how people report to feel
not strong evidence that its a constant or strong explanation
“wasn’t too bad”
indirect:
hearing from secondary sources about potential victimization
media plays big role
more evidence here
it affects how we look at certain parts of the city (mental safety maps) (interpret signs in relation to what you have learned about that situation)
Vulnerability thesis (FOC individual level explanation)
→ perception of being socially or physically vulnerable
background variables: age, gender, etc.
Gender: strongest and most widely accepted predictor of FOC
shadow of sexual assault theory (linking other crimes to fear of being sexually assaulted)
social construction of masculinity and femininity
Neighborhood FOC/contextual level explanation (Theoretical model - Wilkstrom & Dolmen)
(I dont really know)
Social integration: contexts in which individuals are tightly knit and connected - theoretically more likely to respond to problems of crime and disorder —> considered to reduce FOC —> informal social control
Disorder:
physical disorder: visible results of undesirable behavior → broken widows theory
social disorder: people who exhibit transgressing behavior
Configuration of space: layout of neighborhood important - mixed use, natural surveillance (Jane jacobs - eyes on the street)
Situational FOC/Event level explanations
personal experienced fears in a broader context or specific location
mental mapping
colors, lighting, layout?
less explanations
Typology of crime in the past (Middle ages to 1800, Europe)
against God (linked to morality)
against property
against person
against public order
→ prosecution and sentencing based on precedents and royal decrees
How is crime linked to the city?
due to concentration of people from rural origins?
anomie theory (Durkheim - father of sociology)
when people move to the city they look for contact with support system network, lack of control
due to attention given to crime and offenders?
fear of dangerous classes
gave impression urbanization linked to crime
due to environment?
Chicago school/social disorganization theory
context dependent
crime linked to social and physical environment you live in
Case Study: England and Scotland → why were Irish over-represented in 19th. century England crime stats?
migration: changing perception after Great Famine
anomie : mismatch between personal and group standards/wider society → migrational context could have created tensions e.g. because of different religions
Othering → discrimination and stereotyping of the Irish (were associated with criminality and drunkenness)
“Othering”
→ process of creating “the other”
Hegel: concept of self can only exist if other is its counterpart (only when you can compare to someone else)
differences can be seen as positive or negative
natural to make sense of environments to define ourselves
problematic when its used to denigrate the value of the other
Tool to justify exclusion or control by the more powerful
Post war crime rise (1960s)
often associated with poverty, urbanization and social disorganization
Sociological Paradox:
increasing incomes
disparities decerased
poverty declined
unemployment decreased
education increased
Newburns Health warnings (be critical: trends(rise,drop,change) don’t include all crimes)
consistency → different ways of recording (US has different law enforcement)
only recorded crimes covered → always big dark number
reporting vs. officially recording → drop case when evidence not strong enough; political decision (crime rates not recorded because its bad for the agenda/image
police practices “in the round” → police focusing on one crime and increasing protocols for said crime increase found numbers
insurance coverage → if you want to collect insurance fee you need evidence so more people reported crime
Ferrell, Hayward & Young on crime rates
e.g. "domestic violence dropped by 34%”
→ rates might not have dropped; consider:
how many victims are prepared to speak up?
what is the definition of domestic violence? did it change?
who is asking the questions?
who reported the numbers?
Routine Activity Theory (Cohen & Felson)
What does crime need to be a crime?
a victim or target
a motivated offender
a lack of a capable guardian
→ criminal opportunity theory (takes offender for granted)
Routine activity theory as dominant explanation for crime rise 60s
Increase in suitable targets
increased car ownership
increase in small valuables and appliances
increase in woman labor market participation and leisure activities (increase pool of predatory crimes)
Decrease in guardianship
increase in commuting/away from household activity
increase in woman labor → house unguarded during day
macro level theory → explaining rise in country or region
Crime drop beginning 1990s explanation
still not really an explanation
maybe because nature of crime changed?
Crime drop explanations discussed in Newburn
Imprisonment
Policing
Security and prevention (?)
Imprisonment
mass incarceration in US because of war on drugs → easier than prevention
politically interesting to invest in rather than prevention → see results faster
crime dropped because imprisonment rose
Mechanisms punishment
Deterrence:
general or
specific (person that already committed a crime might be less likely to be a repeat offender)
stigma around prisons → mass incarceration might decrease stigma
Rehabilitation of prisoners:
not a factor because spending went down
Incapacitation:
inability of an incarcerated person to commit additional crimes (Take offenders of the street)
however → crimes inside prisons not recorded; crimes from inside to the outside (mass incarceration gives power to prison gangs)
failure of specific deterrence
those released from prison most likely to be involved because they were incarcerated
know what its like
prison as school of crime
interference with stakes of conformity
labeling as criminal - does damage; already labeled so might as well
resentment
inter-generational factors of incarceration on family
What caused the prison boom?
not because of crime rise but “era of prison industrial complex”
ideologies of racism → punished more for lesser crimes
pursuits of profits → private prisons with large companies having a stake hold
mass supervision
different types of policing
community policing
problem-oriented policing
standard model
hot spots policing
Newburn:
-policing more focused on one community
-amount of police officers (more not always better)
-hot spot policing
Governmentality
a modern form or “art” of governance that gave shape to a complex array of programs and techniques for governing people and things in the present but also with the aim of shaping the future
logic of governmentality sees crimes such as theft affecting the entire population
increased security measures (police and private security)
other methods of controlling crime such as punishments and biopower
→ problem: ignores agency of people
Population beginning 18th century
seen as having its own dimension and regularities → independent from the state and needed to be managed
new techniques for government intervention → crime prevention based on empirical research
Programs & techniques of government(ality)
easily implemented after research:
Who/What is being governed?
How are they being governed?
To what end are they being governed? (Goal)
Social Control
mechanisms in the form of patterns of pressure through which society maintains social order and cohesion
enforces standard behaviors; shame, coercion, force and persuasion
exercised through individuals, groups and institutions
goal: maintain conformity
Informal social control
peer-pressure, gossip, vigilantes
acts committed in public to denounce non-respect of the norms of the majority
importance of shame and othering
eyes on the street - encourages potential offenders not to act
Formal social control
by institutions (police, tribunals, prisons, churches, university courts…)
could rely on same techniques such as shame
deterrence
goal: maintaining social order and cohesion
in between: private security (follow codes of institutions but dont have all the right)
Who was the police? (Renaissance - Napoleon)
gate keepers
watchmen
soldiers/mercenaries
constables and justices of the peace
neighborhood committees
etc
Tasks of ‘old’ police
enforce common standards
control of goods and people entering the city
armed support for tax collection
raise alarm in case of fire
control of faith
help in catching criminals
defense of city in case of attack
mediation
= preventing crime was not their main duty
Develpment of police
Late 17th France
developed more rational professional type of police
to maintain standard
18th century
some wages
attention starts turning to preventative role
New institutions
police professionalization
better control of population
special units to regulate migration
Theories explaining crime at neighborhood level
social disorganization theory
collective efficacy theory
broken windows theory
defensible space theory
Social Disorganization theory
developed by the Chicago School
theory directly links crime rates to neighborhood characteristics
residential location is as significant or more significant than a person’s individual characteristic
Background: Chicago in 20s - 40s
industrialization
attracting many outsiders
rapid urbanization
societal shift
Chicago Schools concerns:
community deterioration
disorder, poverty, alienation
unemployment
weakening bonds
Social Disorganization theory and FOC
fear of crime as rooted in objective crime rates
fear of crime as rooted in the unfamiliar and unpredictable other
direct result of concerns
social control to control fear
SD Theory critique
dissatisfaction in relation to changing urban world
idea and ideal of urban villages (with strong local friendship networks) seems increasingly less valid as part of an individualizing and up-tempo urban living
are these ties still important in a globalizing, individualizing and digitizing world?
→ introduce collective efficacy
Collective efficacy theory
refers to the ability of members of a community to control the behavior of individual /groups in the community
how this trust among residents reduces crimes
lack of collective efficacy (perception of a group that they can successfully work together) in neighborhoods theorized to increase crime there
How to measure collective efficacy
feelings of trust and cohesion amongst residents + informal social control
Broken Windows Theory
states that visible signs of crime, and anti social behavior create an urban environment that encourages further crime and disorder
Broken windows theory criticism
what is disorder? who defines it?
disorder and crime 2 sides of the same coin? → if they have the same root how can there be a causal relationship
theory (ab)used
by policing: arresting people for misdemeanors
stop and frisk: search and question anyone who looks sus
Defensible space theory (Oscar Newman)
→ argues that architectural and environmental design plays a crucial part in increasing or reducing criminality
core idea: community’s capacity for social control is directly influenced by the physical design of the neighborhood
defensible space
a residential environment whose physical characteristics function to allow inhabitants themselves to become key agents in ensuring their security
Four core concepts of the defensible space theory
territoriality
natural surveillance
image
milieu/GJ
Territoriality
capacity of the physical environment to create perceived zones of territorial influence
→ sense of ownership crucial for creating social control and FOC
Natural surveillance
capacity of physical design to provide surveillance opportunities for residents and their agents
→ easier to monitor and this execute social control
Image
capacity of design to influence the perception of a projects uniqueness, isolation and stigma
→ appearance influences perception
Milieu/GJ
influence of geographical juxtaposition with so called safe zones on the security of adjacent areas
→ locations considered safe can have a spillover effect on the surrounding environment
Mapping disorder - chaos of the city Grundlagen
→ increasing interests for crime stats during 19th century
→ collection of data thanks to bureaucratization
led to first analytical maps of what was deemed problematic at the time (illness, poverty, crime, prostitution)
goal of maps: explanation/solutions for issues using empirical data
Charles James Booth - one of the dudes that made maps
maps/stats reflect interests, concerns and moral norms held by the elite at that time
Moral Geographies
studies of interaction and variations within morality, pace and space such as the analysis of global variations in moral beliefs and practices
subject to improvement
Improvement (moral geographies)
securitization, policing, destruction of the area, building of workers habitations, opening up of the urban space
basis: seeing an area/neighborhood as problematic
e.g. Paris ( large avenues that destroyed slums )
e.g. Chicago (areas of gangs destroyed and rebuilt for more elite residents)
Police in port cities then vs. now
Then: police and security to guarantee an orderly port economy, commercial activities, circulation of people and gods
Today: hybridization such as plural policing
plural policing
→ different ways of controlling/policing people
police
private security
neo-liberal strategies of crime prevention
Was plural policing a new idea?
No
Leloup: plural and private policing were central features of crime control an prevention at turn of 19th century
notion of harm reduction, risk management, situational crime prevention are not late modern inventions
Port of Antwerp
massive growth from transport to commercial port (1860s-1929)
major rise in property crime in port district
growth made it impossible to control efficiently
complex network of public, private and hybrid security > cooperation and competition
Possible solutions to rise of crime
control of labor force but situational crime prevention more suitable
Situational crime prevention
manipulating the environment to limit crime and problem oriented approach : reduce opportunities for specific crime by increasing risk o being caught and reducing the reward
Problem oriented actions
gather data to understand problem and find risk paces
opportunity reducing measures because opportunity makes the thief (not social or biological)
remove temptations
Practical changes
increasing means of control (more artificial lights, more guards, fewer windows of opportunity)
fences + manned gates
temporal control
private control(merchant owners job to secure goods)
Situational vs. social crime prevention
social: underlying criminality of criminal behavior; fundamental causes of crime
situational: more preventative; reducing opportunities; locally or situationally implemented → criticized for displacing the problem and not going to the root cause
Situational opportunity theories
focus on understanding crime on the local/micro level
guidance on how to prevent it
central focus is crime opportunity
relies on some form of rational choice theory
→ decision to engage in crime can be manipulated
Rational choice theory
→ criminal behavior as a result from the rational calculation of costs and benefits
cost of crime highest when punishment is certain, immediate and proportional to the crime
uses ideas of deterrence (specific and general)
people choose to commit crimes→ choice is guided by maximization of satisfaction or utility
utility of crime = expected gains + expected costs
Benefits and costs of crime
benefits:
material goods (money, goods…)
immaterial goods (drug rush, excitement, status)
Costs:
material costs (effort, punishment)
immaterial costs (reputation, self image)
so basically do crime when benefits outweigh the costs ( Jeff would be proud)
Bounded rationality theory
RCT bold assumptions
people are capable of such calculations and have the necessary info
assumes rationality is not impacted by emotions or e.g. drugs
BRT: fleeting calculations of benefits and costs are made within the limits of time, resources and info
argues that behavioral choices are structured in peoples routines and affected by social distribution of opportunities and prevention from authorities
How are opportunities of crime distributed through cities?
Crime pattern theory
where do motivated offenders search for crime opportunities?
→ mostly in everyday activities
Nodes, pods, concept of activity space, awareness space
Nodes
home node + other activity nodes
→ often lots of people bundling at these locations
assumption that when given the chance at least some people will consider crime
Note 
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