WJEC Criminology Unit 4 AC 3.2

Environmental Design

Built environment can affect crime in two ways:

- influencing potential offenders, presenting with opportunities to commit crime

- affecting people's ability to exercise control over their surroundings

Indefensible Spaces

Where crime is more likely to occur, such as walkways and stairwells, cared for by no-one, owned by no one

Indefensible Spaces Study

In New York, high-rise blocks, Newman found 55% of all the crimes committed occured in public spaces such as hallways, lifts, stairwells and lobbies because no-one felt they were 'owned'

Defensible Spaces

Areas where there are clear boundaries. Low crime rate.

Why did Newman suggest defensible areas have lower crime rates?

- territoriality

- natural surveillance

- safe image

- safe location

What is meant by the term territoriality?

Sense of ownership e.g cul-de-sacs

What is meant by the term natural surveillance?

Easy viewed lobbies or street-level windows

What is meant by the term safe image?

Impression of a safe neighbourhood where residents look after each other

What is meant by the term safe location?

Neighbourhoods located in the middle of wider crime free areas are insulated from the outside world by a 'moat'

Who developed CPTED?

C Ray Jeffrey

What does CPTED stand for?

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design

Alice Colman's study on CPTED

Analysed 4099 blocks of flats in London boroughs. Poor design of many blocks produced higher rates of crime.

According to Alice Colman what are the 3 features that encourage crime?

- anonymity

- lack of surveillance

- easy escape

Alice Colman's recommendations

- no more blocks of flats to be built

- existing blocks should have a garden or a private space

- overhead walkways should be removed as they obstruct surveillance

Lison Green CPTED

Removal of overhead walkways in West London led to a 50 percent reduction in crime

Gated Lanes

Lockable gates installed to prevent offenders gaining access to alleyways at rear terraced houses

What crimes do gated lines prevent?

Burglaries, fly tipping and anti-social behaviour

Strengths of gated lanes

- 43 studies showed that gated lanes reduced burglary rates

- They provide a physical barrier, increasing required effort for crime

- Responsibility for closing gates = guardship and surveillance

- Increased residents sense of territory

- Gated areas indicates a cared for space

- Gating may reduce rewards of crime e.g difficult to steal large objects

- Only costs 728 per gate, average benefit of twice the cost

Limitations of gated lanes

- Don't work against criminals who live in the gated area

- Where neighbours don't trust each other, they are less likely to install gates together

- Difficulties in installing - public right of way and several owners must agree

- Gated lanes can restrict access for emergency service and refuse collectors

CPTED links to theory

Situational crime prevention - CPTED involved in target hardening by changing its physical environment

Felson's routine activity theory - theory emphasises importance of 'capable guardian' in CPTED, mutual surveillance acts as a guardian

Rational Choice Theory - CPTED offenders acting rationally - fear they will be challenged by residents

Criticisms of CPTED

-CPTED focuses on a defence from outsiders who come into the area to offend, but insiders commit crime too e.g. domestic violence

-CPTED can't prevent offences that don't involve physical intrusion into a neighbourhood, such as cybercrime, fraud, white collar and corporate crime

-Cul-de-sacs might be defensible spaces, but they might not actually be defended. For example, if residents are out at work all day, there is no surveillance. This highlights how social factors can interact with environmental factors.

-Some housing estates have high crime rates due to councils housing allocation policies rather than because of how they are designed. Some councils place problem families with a history of anti-social behaviour on sink estates.

-An areas reputation rather than its design may cause a high crime rate. If police regard a particular estate as crime-ridden, they will patrol it more, leading to more arrests, a higher recorder crime rate and an even worse reputation.

Super Max Prisons

Controversial, extreme forms of maximum-security prisons. Long term, segregated housing for inmates classified as the highest security risk. For example prisoners who are a threat to national and global security.

Example of Super Max Prisons

ADX Florence Colorado

Human Ecological Prisons

Prisoners live in houses in a village. Focuses on how prison environment influences inmate behaviour

Example of a human ecological prison

Bastoy prison

Open Prisons

Prisons are trusted to serve sentences with minimal supervison and often not locked up in their prison cells. They operate on trust, responsibility and rehabilitation. Do not have complete freedom, can only leave for specific reasons like a job.

Example of an open prison

Standford Hill

What are the two types of behavioural tactics?

ASBOS and Criminal Behaviour Orders

Token Economies

What are ASBOs?

Civil orders used to restrain a person from committing actions that threatened the legal right of another

Example of an ASBOs

Order to stop behaving noisily outside someone house

How many ASBOS were breached between 2000 and 2013?

58 percent of the 24,000 ASBOS given out were breached

How does labelling theory link to ASBOS?

Labelling a person as deviant can lead to the self-fufilling prophecy and a person internalises the label. ASBOS became a 'badge of honour' reinforcing behaviour.

What were ASBOS replaced by?

CBO's and Civil Injuctions

Civil Injuctions

They were given low level nuisance. Breaching can lead to 2 years in prison for adults. For people under 18 it can lead to 3 months detention.

CBO's (Criminal Behaviour Orders)

Given for behaviours that cause harassment or distress. Breaching a CBO can mean up to 5 years in prison.

Strengths of CBO's

- They can require someone to do something positive. For example CBO's can require them to join drug treatment to address addiction

Negatives of CBO's

- CBOS and ASBOS forbid people from going to certain places, seeing people and engaging in activities

Token Economies

A behavioral technique in which desirable behaviors are reinforced with a token, such as a small chip or fake coin, which can be exchanged for privileges

Example of token economies

UK Prisons use Incentive and Earned Priviliages Scheme

Strengths of Token Economies

- Studies show that behavioural change lasted throughout the study

- Makes prisoners manageable

Limitations of Token Economies

- Not effective in long term

- Leave prison and the reinforcement stops, therefore desired behaviours disappear

3 Levels of privalige under the IEP scheme

Standard, Basic and Enhanced

Sanctions in Criminal Justice Institutes

Various punishments like community orders or custodial sentences

Prison Rules Sanctions

- Cautions

- Cellular confinement (can last up to 35 days)

- Loss of Earned Privaliges

Phased Discipline

Phased or staged discipline is a common way of attempting to achieve social control.

A first offence, whether in prison or wider society, is dealt with more leniently often such as a warning, a police caution, a conditional discharge, or a loss of privileges for a few days (for prisoners).

repeat offending particularly if it is more serious, is likely to be met with stronger sanctions such as probation or prison in an attempt to deter future misbehaviour

Gaps in provision of social control

Budget cuts

Unrecorded crime

Unreported crime

Lack of resources

New technologies

Police budget cuts between 2010 and 2018

Budget was cut by 19 percent, which caused a 20,000 fall in police numbers

CPS budget cuts between 2010 and 2018

Budget was cut by one quarter, caused a one third loss of staff

Prison budget cuts between 2010 and 2018

Budget fell by 16 percent, staff levels fell by 15 percent

New Technology

Extra burden on criminal investigations by digital technology. In 2018, the head of the CPS was unable to cope with the huge amounts of data being generated by technology

Unreported Crime

Only about 40 percent of crimes are reported to police. 1 in 4 rapes are reported to the police.

Existing Law Issues

Sometimes new types of harm but no existing law to forbid it. Law enforcement must adapt to regulate online spaces and deter digital offenders.