Crime and Deviance: Crime Prevention Mechanisms

Crime Prevention Mechanisms

Situational Crime Prevention

Ron Clarke: 'Opportunity Theory'. Believes that people commit crime when the opportunity arises and it is easy. He argues that increasing the risk of being caught will reduce the value of the reward. He claims that situational crime prevention:

1. Is directed at specific crimes.

2. Increases the risk of being caught committing crime and decreases the rewards.

3. Changes the environment to prevent crime.

Marcus Felson: Researched public toilets in New York and found that they were used by homeless people, drug users and for homosexual liaisons. He argues that the design of these toilets allowed these things to happen. The state of New York redesigned these toilets to ensure that people could not do those things anymore, essentially, they designed crime out.

The Brantinghams: 'Cognitive maps'. Believe that the vast majority of crimes are committed in the offenders own local area. This is due to the crime being of low risk as they know where all the back streets are and who the easy targets are, therefore increasing the reward.

Displacement: People change their target. Situational crime prevention does not prevent crime, it just switches targets to the most vulnerable such as the poorest who cannot afford security measures.

Katz: Argues that when people are given opportunity to commit crime they wont choose the easy target because they want to commit exciting crimes, this is known as transgression.

Lyng: 'Edgework'. People will commit the more dangerous crime as they want to get caught as it is exciting. They like to live life on the edge.

Environmental Crime Prevention

Wilson and Kelling: 'Broken windows'. Argue that if a community is free of damage then it will deter criminals.

Zero-tolerance Policing: In New York in the 90's there was an excessive amount of crime. The Mayor created a three strikes policy against crime, with the end result of prison. Due to this, crime was reduced significantly.

Sumner: Argues that the high crime rates of New York were during the economic recession and the reduction in crime rates occurred during economic recovery. 

Social and Community Crime Prevention

Jock Young: Argues that it people are provided with better education and employment opportunities then they will not commit crime as they don't suffer as much from relative deprivation.

Punishment

There are two reasons behind punishement:

1. Reduce Crime.

2. Retribution.

Deterrence - The fear of being punished.

Incapacitation - Physical crime prevention.

Rehabilitation - Improve the norms and values of the offencder.

Braithwaite: Argues that retribution is a way of re-integrating people back into society. One the offender has done their community service they are no longer labelled as deviant, they are a normal person.

Theoretical View

Chambliss: (Marxism). Argues that the criminal justice system is part of the superstructure and helps maintain the false class consciousness. He argues that the law is written by the Bourgeoisie in order to prevent a revolution, therefore any resistance is an offence.

Durkheim: (Functionalism). Argues that punishment helps heal the wounds of the public.

Foucault: 'Panopticon'. Argues that the police and criminal justice system are from the modernist era. But now, in the postmodern era, discipline is maintained throughout society. Due to the threat of surveillance, people are not policing themselves.