topic 4- crime control, surveillance, prevention and punishment, victims and the role of th criminal justice system and other agenices

how does ron clarke describe situational crime prevention as

as a pre-emptive approach that relies, not on improving society or its institutions, but simply on reducing opportunities for crime'. He identifies three features of measures aimed at situational crime prevention:

• They are directed at specific crimes.

• They involve managing or altering the immediate environment of the crime.

• They aim at increasing the effort and risks of committing crime and reducing the rewards.

clarke argues that theories that try to tackle socialisation or capitalism as the cause of crime do not offer realistic solutions to crime. he argues that we should focus on the immediate crime situation

what is target hardening

situational crime controls use ‘target hardening’ measures such as locking doors and windows increase the effort a burglar needs to make, while increased surveillance in shops via CCTV or security guards increase the likelihood of shoplifters being caught. Similarly, replacing coin-operated gas meters with pre-payment cards reduces the burglar's rewards.

what is situational crime sociological approach

• rational choice theory of crime, veiwing criminals as acting rationally, weighing up the costs and benefits of a crime oppotunity before deciding whether to commit

Stephen Lyng's study of 'edgework' follows the same theme, suggesting that some criminals will push the boundaries to the extreme in order to generate the biggest thrills, which can often lead to dangerous circumstances.

what theories does rational choice theory different from

this contrats with theories of crime that stress ‘root causes’ such as criminal’s early socioloisation or capitalist exploitation. to deal with crime they believe that there needs to be a change or socialisation or a revolution.

how does Clarke criticise root cause theories

there solutions are unrealistic e.g. change socialisation of children or revolution

the only realistic solution is to focus on the immediate crime situation

what example does marcus felson give

gives an example of situationl crime prevention strategy. the port authroity bus terminal in New York city was poorly desgined and provided opportunitie for deviant conduct. for example the toilets were a setting for luggage thefts, rough sleeping, drug dealing and sexual activity. re shaping the pysical envionmental to ‘design crime out’ greatly reduced such acitivity. for example, large sinks in which homless people bathed in were replaced by small hand basins.

what is a criticism of situational crime prevention

they do not reduce crime. they simply displace it. after all, if criminals are acting rationally presumably they will respond to target hardng simply by moving to where targets are softer.

for example, Charkin et al found that a crackdown on subway robberies in New York city merely displaced them to the strets.

what forms can dispalcement take

1. spatial - moving elsewhere to commit a crime

2. temporal - committing crime at a different time

3. target - choosing a different victim

4. tacitcal - using a different method

5. functional - committing a different type of crime

what is the most successful example of situational measurs

it is not on crime but about suicide. in the early 1960s, half of all suicides in Britain were the result of gassing. Britain's gas supply came from highly toxic coal gas. From the 1960s, coal gas was gradually replaced by less toxic natural gas, and by 1997 suicides from gassing had fallen to near zero.

interestingly, the ovverall sucide rate declined and therefore, not just because of decline in suicide by gassing, but suicide overall, thus the method of suicide was not simply displaced to another method.

ciriticism of situaitonal crime control

• It leads to crime displacement.

• Ignores factors such as inequality and deprivation as causes of crime (Garland 2001).

• Ignores the role of emotion and thrill as a cause of crime (Lyng 1990)

• Only tackles opportunistic street crime – won’t work for DV, white collar crime, or state crime.

• It creates divided ‘Fortress cities’ (Bauman).

what is envionmentla crime prevention based on

based on James Q Wilson and George Kelling’s article ‘Broken Windows’. the phrase stands for all the various signs of disorder and lack of concern for others that are found in some neighbourhoods. these include: graffiti, begging, dog fouling, littering, vandelism.

they argue that leavng broken windows unrepaired, tolerating aggressive begging etc sends out a signal that no one cares. in these neighbourhoods there is an absence of both formal social control (the police) and informal control (the community). The police are only concerned with serious crime and turn a blind eye to petty nuisance behaviour, while respectable members of the community feel intimidated and powerless. Without remedial action, the situation deteriorates, tipping the neighbourhood into a spiral of decline. Respectable people move out (if they can) and the area becomes a magnet for deviants.

kelling’s key idea about disorder and the absence of controls lead to crime what is their solution

their solution s to crack down on any disorder, using a twofold strategy. first, an environmental improvement strategy: any broken windows must be replaced immediately, abandoned cars towed without delay- otherwise more will follow.

secondly, the police must adopt a zero tolernace policing strategy, instead of merely reacting to crime, they must pracitvely tacjle even the slightest sign of disorder, even if not criminal- this will halt neighbourhood decline and prevent serous crime from taking place

proof that zero policing works

Kelling was an advisor to the police in New York city. they implemented clean car programe on the subway in which cars were taken out of service immeditatly if they had graffiti on them, retuning them oncr clean. as a result, graffiti was removed from the subway. other successfulp progrmmes to tackle fare dodging, drug dealing and begging followed.

Later, the same approach was extended to the citys police precincts. For example, a crackdown on 'squeegee merchants' discovered that many had outstanding warrants for violent and property crimes. Between 1993 and 1996, there was a significant fall in crime in the city, includinga 50% drop in the homicide rate - from 1,927 to 986.

however, eval of zero toleranc policing in New York city reducing crime due to zero tolernace

However, it is not clear how far zero tolerance was the cause of the improvements:

• The NYPD benefited from 7,000 extra officers.

• There was a general decline in the crime rate in majorS. cities at the time - including ones where police did not adopt a zero tolerance policy.

• The early 1990s had seen a major recession and high unemployment, but from 1994 many new jobs were being created.

• There was a decline in the availability of crack cocane.

• While deaths from homicides fell sharply, attempted homicides remained high. It has been suggested that. fall in the murder rate owed more to improved medica emergency services than policing.

criticism f envionemtnal crime prevention

• It is more expensive than situational crime prevention – it takes a lot of police to patrol an area and clamp down on anti-social behaviour.

• Reiner (2015) argues that the police would be better deployed focusing on more serious crime hot spots rather than clamping down on minor forms of anti-social behaviour.

• From an Interactionist perspective, giving more power to the police will just lead to more labelling and more criminal careers.

what is social and community prevention

place the emphasis firmly on the potential offender and thier social context. the aim is to remove the conditions that predispose individuals to crime in the first place. they are longer term strategies since they attempt to tackle the root causes of offending, rather than simply removing the opportunities for crime. they look to poverty, unemployment and poor housing and try to address these issues. for example, policies to promote full employment are likely to reduce crime as a side effect.

how is social and community prevention different ti environmental crime prevention

the main emphasis of Wilson and Kelling is policing whereas social and community crime places emphasis on social context

what is the bestknown community programme aimed to reduce criminality

Perry pre-school project for disadvantaged Black children in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

An experimental group of 3-4 year olds was offered a two-year intellectual enrichment programme, during which time the children also received weekly home visits.

A longitudinal study followed the children's subsequent progress. It showed striking differences with a control group who had not undergone the programme. By age 40, they had significantly fewer lifetime arrests for violent crime, property crime and drugs, while more had graduated from high school and were in employment. It was calculated that for every dollar spent on the programme, $17 were saved on welfare, prison and other costs.

explain two differences bteween situational and enviornmental crime control

1. situational crime control is more local and targeted for example fixing shutters onto shops to make it harder to break into at night. e.g. Ronald Clarke argues that increasing the effort and risk involved in crime can prevent offending in particular locations. wheras, envionemtnal crime prevention is more regional and focuses on a wider ‘problem area’ which has a high street crime rate- for example Wilson and Kelling’s zero policy policing was implemented in the whole of New York city

2. 2. Short-term target hardening vs long-term urban planning
   Situational crime prevention is usually short-term and problem-specific, tackling particular crimes in particular places (e.g. installing car immobilisers to reduce car theft).

   Environmental crime prevention is more long-term and structural, involving changes to urban planning and architecture, such as designing estates with fewer alleyways or clearer boundaries between public and private space to reduce opportunities for crime overall.

outline two ways in which situation crime prevention may reduce the incidence of crime in an area

1. Increasing the effort required to commit crime
Situational crime prevention can reduce crime by making offences more difficult to carry out. Measures such as target hardening (e.g. stronger locks, security gates or car immobilisers) increase the effort required for offenders, which can discourage them from committing the crime. Ronald Clarke argues that increasing the effort involved in crime reduces opportunities and therefore lowers crime rates.

2. Increasing the risk of being caught
Crime can also be reduced by making offenders feel there is a greater chance of detection. Measures such as CCTV, improved street lighting and neighbourhood watch schemes increase surveillance and guardianship. This raises the perceived risk of being caught, which can deter offenders from committing crimes in that area.

outline two rasosn why situational crime prevention strategies may not be effective in reducing crime

chariken et al found that a crackdown on subway robberies in New York merely displacedcrime to the streets.

1. spatial- a criminal commits a crime elsewhere

2. temporal- an offendor commits their offence at different time- eg time of day, days in the week thus for example they might be aware at what time and hwen there are police patrol. even more, if tempral based crime prevention acitivities are targeted at the youth there might be less police patrols during school time and there might be an increase in police patrol after school- thus the criminal becomes aware and is tactical at what time to commit.

another way of attempting to control people’s behaviour and prevent crime is by means of surveillance, how is surveillance defined

the monitoring of public behaviour for the purposes of population or crime control. it therefore involves observing people’s behaviour to gather data abotu it and typically using the data to regulate, manage or ‘correct’ their behaviour

what form does surveillance take the form of

in the 14th centry sureillance took the form of nominating an individual to monitor and record the spread of the plague

however, in late modern society, surveillance takes the form of CCTV cameras, biometric scanning, automated number plate recognition, electronic tagging and databases the collect information about individuals and groups.

what does foucault distinguish between two different types of punishment

1. sovereign power was typical before 19th cent, when the monarch had complete control and power over people. control was asserted by branding, disfiguring individuals, amputatons- these punihsments were brutal and an emotional spectacle

2. disciplinary power became dominant after 19th cent and is a form of control throuhg a system of discipline that seeks to govern not just the bodies of individuals but their mind. carried out through surveillance.

a

why did discilinary power become dominant way of infliciting control

some argue that soiveign power disppeared as a system of control because western society became more civilised or humane. however foucault argues thta discip;inary power became dominant becasue surveillance is more effeicient way of establishing control and contorlling people

outline two ways in which crime and behaviour are controlled via surveillance

1. CCTV monitoring in public spaces
Surveillance technologies such as CCTV cameras are used in streets, shopping centres and transport systems to observe people’s behaviour. The knowledge that individuals may be watched can deter people from committing crime because they fear being identified and caught. Michel Foucault argues that surveillance encourages self-discipline, as people regulate their behaviour when they believe they are being watched.

2. Electronic monitoring and tracking
Surveillance can also control behaviour through electronic tagging and monitoring systems used by the criminal justice system. Offenders on bail or parole may be fitted with electronic tags, allowing authorities to track their location and ensure they comply with curfews or restrictions. This helps monitor and control their behaviour, reducing the likelihood of further offending.

explain the panopticon

this was a design for a prison in which each prisoner int hei rown cell is visible to the guards from the central watchamaker, but the gaurds are not visible to the pironser.

therefore the prisoner does not know when they are being watched as a result they have to act on their best beahviour in fear that they are being watched.

as a result surveillance turns into self surveillance and discipline becomes self discipline

evaluate sociological explanations of the role of punishment and reduction of crime - 30 m

what does disicplinary power involve

intneseviley montioring the individual with a view that it will rehabiilitate them wheras sorveign power simply sought to crush or violent repress offenders. thus, foucault sees experts as having an important role to play in appluing their specialise knowledge to correcting the indidivudlas deviant behaviour.

in london how many times on average is aperson caught on cctv per day

300 times

what does faucoult argue that prisons are only one example of an insittution that employs disciplinary power

from the 19th cent pirons are just one example of institutions that use disciplinary power to induce conformitiving through self surveillance, they are also used in ayslums, barracks, factories, workhouses and schools

furthermore, non prison based social control practices such as community service orders form a ‘carceral archipelago’- a series of prison islands where instiutions spead into each other and wider society- wherby professionals such as teachers, social workers and psychiatrists exercise surveillance over the population. thus he concludes that disciplinary power has dispersed throughout society, penentrating every social institution.

thus the system of panopticon is not only used in prison but throughout society

Outline two ways in which crime and behaviour are controlled via surveillance.

1. foucault demonstrates the disciplinary power of the panoptican, which is a design used in prisons where in the centre there is a guard who is able to watch prionsers, however the prsoner does not know hwen they are being watched and therefore acts on their best behaviour of fer that they are being watched. simairly, in post modern society CCTV cameras, biometric scanning, automated number plate recognition etc are used as surveillance and thus people are not aware when they are beign watched and thus surveillance turns into self surveillance and discipline becomes self discipline.

2. matieson argues that whilst the panopitcan allows the few to monitor the many, today the media enables the many to see the few. in late modernity centralised surveillance is used which he labels as ‘synopticon’ where everubody watches everybody. for example Thompson argues that powerful groups such as politicians fear the media’s surveillance of them and fear that they may uncover information about them that tarnishes their image and respect, thus this acts as a form of social control over their activities

Outline three reasons why increasing surveillance in society may not be effective in reducing crime and disorder.

1. goffman shows that some inmates of prisons and mental hospitals are able to resisit control

2. foucault overestimates the power of surveillance as functioning for rehabilitation, this is because prisoners may simply resit commiting crime and deviance in prison because of fear that they are being watched not becasue they have rehabilitated into a better person

3. norris’ review of dozens of studies worldwide found that although CCTV reduced crimes in car parks it had little effect on other crime and may even displace it

4. However, Gill and Loveday (2003) found that few robbers, burglars, shoplifters or fraudsters were put off by CCTV.

5. the real function of CCTV may be ideological, falsely reassuring the public about their security, even though it makes little difference to their risk of victimisation.

Outline three of the possible purposes of punishment.

1. detterence

   • punishing the individual discourages them from future offending. ‘making an example’ of them may also serve as a detterent to the public at large, this is supported by Durkheim who stated that crime functions as boundary maintainence, where society is united in condemnation against the criminal which reinforces their individual commitment ot society and reinforces social solidarity, this is supported by COhen who argues that the media play a role in the ‘dramatisation of evil’, creating folk devils.

   • deterrence policies nclude Maragaret Thatcher’s conservative fovernment’s ‘short, sharp shock’ regime in uoung offenders institutions in the 1980s.

2. rehabilitation

   • punishment can reform or change offendors so they no longer offend. policies inlude providing education, anger management courses for violent offenders and training prisoners so that when they leave they are able to ‘earn an honest living’.

3. incapacitation

   • punishment is used to remove the offernders ability to offend again. for example, in saudia arabia cutting off the hands is used in theft, other countries commit chemical castrations in russia and poland are used agaisnt sexual offences agaisnt children and also death penalty, which was previously executions took place for example in the UK

Outline three ways in which punishments for crime can be functional for Society.

analyse two functions of punishment

what is another example of panopticism

• CCTV cameras

• we are aware of their presence but not aware when they are recording us

criticisms that CCTV stop crime

Norris (2012) review of dozens of studies worldwide found that while CCTV reduced crimes in car parks, it had little or no effect on other crime, and may even cause displacement.

The case for CCTV assumes that criminals know they are being watched and care enough to be deterred by this. However, Gill and Loveday (2003) found that few robbers, burglars, shoplifters or fraudsters were put off by CCTV.

the real function of CCTV may be ideological, falsely reassuring the public about their security, even though it makes little difference to their risk of victimisation.

feminist criticism of CCTV

Koskla ciriticses CCTV as an extension of the male gaze, while it renders more visible to voyerism of the male camerica operator it does nto make them more secure.

criticism of foucault

Goffman shows that some inmates of prisons and mental hospitals are able to resit controls.

foucult also over estimates the power of surveillance to change behaviour. some inmates practice self discipline becasue they do not know when they are being monitored, thus they have not been rehabilitated they have simply become tactical

another form of panoptican, methieson and thompson

Thomas Mathiesen (1997) argues that Foucault's account of surveillance only tells half the story when applied to today's society. In Mathiesen's view, while the Panopticon allows the few to monitor the many, today the media also enable the many to see the few. In late modernity, he argues, there is an increase in the top-down, centralised surveillance that foucault discusses, but also in surveillance from below. Mathiesen calls this the 'Synopticon' - where everybody watches everybody.

For example, Thompson (2000) argues that powerful groups such as politicians fear the media's surveillance of them may uncover damaging information about them, and this acts as a form of social control over their activities.

another form of synoptic surveillance

another example of synoptic surveillance is where the public monitor each other, as with video cameras mounted on cyce helmets or dashboards to collect evidence in the event of accidents. This may warn other road users that their behaviour s being monitored and result in them exercising self-discipline.

what does mobile phone ownserhip allow for

due to widespread phone ownership, ordinary citiizens are able to ‘control the contorllers’ for example by filming police wrongdoing Mann et al (2003) call this 'souveillance' (from the French sous meaning 'under' or 'below').

McCahill’s criticism of synoptic surveillance

• occasional bottom-up scrutiny may be unable to reverse established ‘hierarchies of surveillance’ e.g. under-terrorism laws, police have power to confiscate the cameras and mobile phones of ‘citizen journalists’

how does Haggerty and Ericson go against Foucault

• Foucault is based on manipulation of physical bodies

• but H and E say that surveillance technologies now involve the manipulation of virtual objects in cyberspace rather than physical bodies in physical space

• H and E talk about ‘surveillant assemblages’ as data and technology can become combined to create a sort of ‘data double’ of the individual

evaluate sociological explanations of the role of punishment in the prevention and reduction of crime.

outline two features of positivst victimology

outline two features of critical victimology

summarise Actuarial justice and risk management

• Feeley and Simon:

• seeks to prevent and predict future offending

• applies surveillance techniques ‘to identity classify and manage groups by levels of dangerousness’

• young: actuarial justice is basically a damage limitation strategy reducing crime based on statistical information

how does Actuarial justice differ from Foucault’s disciplinary power

• focuses on groups rather than individuals

• not interested in rehabilitation but prevention

• calculates risks or ‘actuarial analysis’

two risks of actuarial justice

• stereotypes individuals based on characteristics, Gary T. Marx says people are placed on ‘categorical suspicion’ - based on belonging to a particular group e.g. in 2010 West Midlands police sought to introduce a counter-terrorism scheme where they surrounded two mainly Muslim suburbs of Birmingham

• risks self-fulfilling prophecy: by profiling typical offenders compiled by official crime statistics. criminalising certain groups e.g. young black males, so they are targeted and so are more likely to be caught which seems to validate the profiling

analyse two reasons why punishments might not be effective in reducing crime

outline and explain two justifications of punishment

1. reduction; punishment for offending can reduce the amount of crime committed through deterrence, rehabilitation and incapacitation. This is instrumental, reduce crime

2. retribution: justification for crimes already committed based on the idea that offenders deserve to be punished and society is entitled to take its revenge on the offender for having reached its moral code. This is an expressive view on punishment

deterrence

• punishing individual discourages them from reoffending

• Thatcher did this a lot in her government where she put in place ‘short, sharp, shock’ regime in young offenders institutes in the 80s

rehabilitation

• idea that punishment can be used to reform or change offenders so they no longer offend

• e.g. education, training prisoners

Incapacitation

• remove offenders capacity to offend again

• e.g. imprisonment, execution, chemical castration

analyse two functions of punishment for Durkheim

• uphold social solidarity

• reinforce shared values → rituals such as public trials

• expresses society’s outrage

what are the two types of justice according to Durkheim

1. retributive justice: in traditional society, there is a strong collective conscience due to little specialisation. When offended, punishment is vengeful passion to repress the wrongdoer. Purely expressive

2. restitutive: modern society is extensive specialisation and solidarity is based on interdependence between individuals. Compensation repairs the damage done to this interdependence as a result of crime. This justice is restitute as it aims to restore things to how they were before the offence . instrumental

how is Durkheim wrong about the types of justice

• traditional soietys’s often have restitute justice rather than retributive e.g blood feuds were about compensation rather than execution

outline two functions of punishment for marxist

1. Protecting ruling-class property and interests
Marxists argue that punishment exists mainly to protect the property and power of the ruling class. Laws criminalise acts such as theft, burglary and vandalism, which threaten capitalist property. Punishing offenders therefore helps defend private property and maintain the capitalist economic system. William Chambliss argues that laws and punishments develop to serve the interests of the ruling class.

2. Maintaining control over the working class
Punishment also acts as a way of controlling the working class and maintaining social order. By punishing offenders, the criminal justice system sends a message that challenges to the existing system will not be tolerated. Steven Box argues that punishment helps maintain capitalism by disciplining and controlling the working class.

how many released prisoners re offend upon release

Approximately 60% of released prisoners in the UK re-offend within one year of their release.

three changes in prisons

1. Greater focus on rehabilitation and reducing reoffending
UK prison policy has increasingly emphasised rehabilitation, aiming to help offenders reintegrate into society. Programmes include education, work training and drug treatment. For example, the Offender Management Act 2007introduced offender management and supervision, while the Transforming Rehabilitation Programme expanded support for offenders after release to reduce reoffending.

2. Increased use of surveillance and security technology
Prisons now rely more on CCTV, electronic monitoring and stricter security systems to control behaviour and prevent disorder. Policies linked to the HM Prison and Probation Service have expanded body scanners, drug detection technology and digital monitoring to improve prison security.

3. Tougher sentencing and prison expansion
Recent UK policies have contributed to longer sentences and a growing prison population. For example, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 introduced longer sentences for serious offences and stricter punishment policies, reflecting a shift towards more punitive crime control.

three reasons why we are in an era of mass incarceration

1. Tougher sentencing policies
Governments have introduced harsher sentencing laws and longer prison terms, which has increased prison populations. Policies such as the Criminal Justice Act 2003 expanded the use of custodial sentences and indeterminate sentences for public protection, leading to more offenders being imprisoned for longer periods.

2. A ‘culture of control’ and public fear of crime
David Garland argues that modern societies have developed a “culture of control”, where governments respond to public fear of crime by adopting tougher crime policies. This has led to a greater reliance on imprisonment as a way to manage and control offenders.

3. ideological function: Downes: US prisons soak up 30-40% of the unemployed, thereby making capitalism look more successful

statistics for evidence of mass incarceration

between 1993-2021, the number of prisoners in England doubled to reach 80,000 as a result of New Labour making prisons not just for serious offences but persistent petty offenders as a deterrent

what is transcarceration

Transcarceration refers to the process in which individuals cycle through various forms of incarceration or institutionalization, such as juvenile detention centers, prisons, mental health facilities, and substance abuse treatment centers, rather than being integrated back into society. This concept highlights how systemic issues within the criminal justice system and social services can lead to repeated confinement or control instead of rehabilitation and reintegration.

two alternatives to imprisonment

1. diversion: diverting young offenders from the CJS to avoid self-fulfilling prophecy and preventing them from turning into serious criminals

2. community based controls such as curfews, community service orders

what does Cohen say about community based controls

it only casts the net of control over more people

following on from Foucault → range of sanctions available simply enables control to penetrate deeper into society

also can divert young people into cjs e.g. ASBO’s have been argued to fast track young offenders into custodial sentence