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Flashcards by Em Maskrey, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Em Maskrey
almost 6 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| There are three approaches to crime prevention. What are they? | 1. Situational crime prevention. 2. Environmental crime prevention. 3. Social and community crime prevention. |
| Situational crime prevention developed from the writings of which sociologist? | Ronald Clarke. |
| Clarke claimed that people will commit offences when the benefits of offending outweigh the cons. However, how did Clarke differ from previous sociologists who held this view? | Previous sociologists claimed that the way to make the cons outweigh the benefits was to increase punishment. Clarke countered that it would be more effective to make it more difficult to steal or attack someone. |
| Clarke advocated for counter-measures that make it more difficult to carry out crimes. What is this known as? | Target hardening. |
| To some extent, this approach is based on the concept of the 'defensible space'. Who created this concept? | Oscar Newman. |
| Which two sociologists developed Newman's ideas further by introducing the routine activities theory? | Lawrence Cohen and Marcus Felson. |
| According to the routine activities theory, when do crimes tend to occur? | When a likely offender and a likely target come together without the supervision of a 'capable guardian' to stop the offending. |
| According to the theory, what is the most crucial element in the process of a crime occurring? | Opportunity. |
| In order to reduce opportunity, areas with high levels of crime could physically change in order to limit the opportunity to offend. What example does Marcus Felson give of this? | The Port Authority bus terminal building in New York. |
| The Port Authority bus terminal was originally designed so that crime was easy but it was redesigned so that it became difficult to offend. This resulted in a drop in crime rates. What concept does this illustrate? | The concept of designing out crime. |
| Why was situational crime prevention attractive to policy-makers? | Because it potentially allowed crime to be reduced using relatively cheap and simple initiatives. |
| However, which sociologist criticised situational crime prevention for focusing entirely on solutions, thus neglecting to examine the causes of crime? | David Garland. |
| Additionally, why do Jack Katz and Stephen Lyng argue that designing out crime might actually encourage some offenders to commit crime? | They argue that some offenders choose to commit crime because they enjoy the thrill of it. By making crime harder to commit, situational crime prevention might actually entice offenders more. |
| A further criticism is that situational crime prevention is only addresses opportunistic street crime. What types of crime does it fail to acknowledge? | - Domestic crime. - White-collar crime. - State crime. - Corporate crime. - Green crime. |
| What do Adam Crawford and Karen Evans believe situational crime prevention does to society? | It turns it into a divided 'fortress society' that reduces civil liberties and increases surveillance, thus harming the most vulnerable (e.g. the homeless). |
| Critics are also wary of situational crime prevention because, in their eyes, it leads to 'crime displacement'. Who first presented this theory? | Simon Hakim and George Rengert |
| What are the five different forms of crime displacement identified by Hakim and Rengert? | 1. Spatial (crime is committed in another place). 2. Temporal (committed at another time). 3. Tactical (committed using a 'safer' method). 4. Target-based (committed against a different victim). 5. Functional (a 'safer' crime is committed). |
| An alternative to situational crime prevention is environmental crime prevention. This is based on the influential ideas of which right realist criminologists? | James Wilson and George Kelling. |
| Environmental crime prevention argues that high levels of crime occur in neighbourhoods where formal and informal social control are weak. How is it therefore similar to Wilson and Kelling's broken windows theory? | Like the broken windows theory, environmental crime prevention argues that we must be strict on low-level crime to prevent escalation to more serious criminal acts. |
| What were the policy implications of environmental crime prevention? | It implied that the government should find ways of strengthening local communities and teaching them how to 'fight' crime and deviance. |
| This 'toughening up' resulted in the introduction of zero-tolerance policies. What is the most famous example of zero-tolerance policies being put into action? | Bill Bratton, the New York City Police Commissioner, introduced zero-tolerance policing which resulted in a significant drop in crime rates. |
| In the UK, what can the police and local authorities issue in order to stamp out low-level crime? | ASBOs (replaced by CRIMBOs and CPIs in 2012), curfews, street drinking bans and dispersal orders. |
| How can the police reinforce informal social control, according to Wilson and Kelling? | By improving public environments so that they are less intimidating and more welcoming to honest citizens, who can then exercise informal control. |
| Environmental crime prevention has been criticised for its focus on zero-tolerance. What do some sociologists feel would be more effective than zero-tolerance policies? | Investments in localities (e.g. providing better leisure facilities or more economic opportunities). |
| How does Clarke respond to the idea of increasing police patrols in order to reduce crime? | He argues that there simply aren't enough police to do so and it is unaffordable to employ many more police to enforce all minor laws. |
| The use of CRIMBOs and CPIs are also potentially difficult to carry out. Why? | Because they considerably reduce police budgets. |
| Since the 1990s, a rather broad approach, known as social and community crime prevention, has developed. It argues that, alongside crime prevention measures, there must be a focus on which two other elements? | 1. Intervention (identifying the groups most at risk of committing crime and intervening to limit their offending). 2. Community (involving the local community in combating crime). |
| Policy-makers are less interested in the broader causes of crime, instead taking a 'what works' approach. What is meant by this? | The approach suggests that theorising about the causes of crime is less effective than using empirical research and policy initiatives to reduce crime. The approach is pragmatic, rather than theoretical. |
| By adopting a 'what works approach', risk-focus prevention was established. Who pioneered this? | David Farrington. |
| Risk-focused prevention included a number of components. Give examples: | - Skills training to counteract impulsiveness. - Parental education about the importance of monitoring children and being consistent in disciplining them. - Parental training to help parents become more effective. - Pre-school programmes to help with attainment. |
| Which project demonstrates the use of pre-school programmes to help with attainment? | The Perry Pre-School Project in Michigan. |
| The concept of risk-focused prevention is extremely influential. Which recent British initiative used risk-focused prevention to identify and intervene with at-risk families? | The Troubled Families initiative. |
| Social and community crime prevention have been criticised for failing to deal with the underlying and deep-seated causes of crime. What does Ian Taylor say they fail to acknowledge? | Structural inequalities in capitalist society. Taylor claims these are at the root of the problem, rather dysfunctional families and/or a lack of educational opportunities. |
| Like situational crime prevention and environmental crime prevention, social and community crime prevention can be criticised for focusing solely on what? | Street crime. |
| If crime cannot be prevented, then it should at least be punished. However, the justification of punishment is not straightforward. Which sociologist provides five reasons as to why punishment might be necessary and/or desirable? | Peter Joyce. |
| What are the five reasons put forward by Joyce? | 1. Deterrence. 2. Incapacitation. 3. Rehabilitation. 4. Retribution. 5. Restitution. |
| What does Joyce mean by 'deterrence'? | The idea behind deterrence is that bringing offenders to justice and publicly punishing them will encourage potential offenders to reconsider before committing a crime and, hopefully, choosing against it. |
| Deterrence can be individual or general. What does this mean? | Individual deterrence is aimed at particular offenders (e.g. a convicted criminal having to prove they've reformed before they can be released) while general deterrence is aimed at the public at large (e.g. publicising strict punishment to scare people into abiding by the law). |
| However, what does deterrence assume, and why is this a potential weakness? | It assumes that offenders and potential offenders adopt a rational approach when deciding whether to offender or not, which is arguably not always the case. |
| What does Joyce mean by 'incapacitation'? | The idea behind incapacitation is aimed at protecting potential victims by stopping offenders from repeating their behaviour. This often involves imprisonment but can include capital punishment or restrictions on offenders' freedom outside of prison (e.g. house arrest). |
| What does Joyce mean by 'rehabilitation'? | Again, this is aimed at preventing the offender from reoffending. However, rehabilitation does so by changing the offender's attitudes and values. This may be through psychological or educational programmes and some forms of community punishment (e.g. community work). |
| What does Joyce mean by 'retribution'? | Unlike the others, the idea of retribution isn't aimed at preventing future crime. Rather, it aims giving the offender a fair and just punishment for the harm they have caused. This is "akin to vengeance", according to Royce. Retribution may be satisfying for the victims, their loved ones, or even society as a whole. |
| What does Joyce mean by 'restitution'? | This is where the offender is forced to make amends for the harm they have caused. This may be through financial payment or, in some cases, even through 'blood money'. |
| Emile Durkheim developed a functionalist view of the development of law and punishment. What does he believe the legal system is related to? | A collective conscience. |
| Durkheim saw punishment as having an important role in 'boundary maintenance'. What does he mean by this? | This means that punishment helps to establish and reinforce what is acceptable and what is not. |
| Marxists counter that the law is not a product of a collective conscience but rather created to serve ruling-class interests. Which two sociologists outlined a marxist approach to understanding punishment? | Georg Rusche and Otto Kirkheimer. |
| Rusche and Kirkheimer argued that systems of punishment corresponded to the particular economic system in which they were developed. What were the three eras in which different systems of punishment were dominant, according to Rusche and Kirkheimer? | 1. The early Middle Ages. 2. The later Middle Ages. 3. The 17th century. |
| In the early Middle Ages, the system of punishment involved religious penance and fines. Why? | Because workers were in high demand and it did not benefit the ruling class for them to be imprisoned or executed. |
| In the later Middle Ages, the system of punishment involved brutal punishment and execution. Why? | The ruling class needed to control the poor because they were a potential threat to social order. |
| In the 17th century, the system of punishment involved imprisonment. Why? | There was a shortage of labour during this time and imprisoning people meant that they could be forced to produce goods. |
| Marxist views have been criticised for providing a rather simplistic explanation of the relationship between punishment and power. What do they take little account of? | They don't consider gender or ethnicity, nor do they acknowledge that capitalists do occasionally find themselves in legal trouble for their actions. |
| Michel Foucault developed a very influential theoretical approach to punishment. He claims that the purpose of punishment has moved away from 'sovereign power' and towards 'disciplinary power'. What do these terms mean? | Sovereign power is the power held by the monarch, who was entitled to inflict pain on whomever they see deserving. Disciplinary power is power that controls behaviour through the use of surveillance. |
| The concept of disciplinary power coincided with Jeremy Bentham's 'panoptican prison'. What was this? | A prison in which jailers remained in a central tower that allowed them vision over all areas of the prison, but prisoners could not see if they were being watched and thus had to always remain on their best behaviour. |
| Foucault argues that disciplinary power became increasingly characteristic of modern society, in which individuals were encouraged to monitor their own behaviour. How has this been extended further since Foucault's time of writing? | We now have the widespread of use CCTV, which operates in a similar way to the panopticon prison. We also now have computers, which allow the monitoring of behaviour. |
| State surveillance is widely seen as becoming invasive. However, Foucault does not believe that the state is monopolising power. What does he argue? | Power is everywhere and is so closely tied to knowledge that it cannot be monopolised by a single authority. |
| Foucault's ideas have been very influential but are also somewhat contradictory. Why? | He emphasises the increasing control of centralised state authorities, but simultaneously insists that people aways have the ability to resist control. |
| David Garland also examined the changing nature of punishment and control is contemporary societies. He argues that there has been a shift in attitudes towards punishment since the 1970s. What has this created? | A new 'culture of control' and a 'punitive state'. |
| The culture of control obviously attempts to deal with crime, but what does it also intend to do? | Reassure communities so that citizens feel safe. |
| The culture of control contains three main elements, all of which aim to change society's attitudes to crime and the role of the state in tackling offending. What are the three elements? | 1. The adaptive response. 2. The expressive strategy. 3. The sovereign state strategy. |
| What is the 'adaptive response'? | This is where the government identifies certain groups that represent a danger to society and then intervenes to prevent these risk groups from engaging in deviant or criminal behaviour. |
| What is the 'expressive strategy'? | This represents a complete change in the way that society views crime. Crime is now seen as a central to politics and winning elections. Politicians are more concerned about appearing to tackle crime than actually doing anything to reduce it. We therefore need to change perceptions. |
| What is the 'sovereign state strategy'? | This is part of the expressive strategy, emphasising that the state should take back direct control through punitive sanctions. |
| Garland's view highlights the importance of 'law and order politics'. What impact does this acknowledgement have? | It draws our attention to politicians' ulterior motives when being tough on crime and definitely seems to be reflected in the rising prison population. |
| Stanley Cohen provided an alternative interpretation of the direction states have taken in producing social control. What did he argue about social control mechanisms? | They are now somewhat diffused. The criminal justice system is not the only mechanism now used - for example, psychiatrists, doctors, teachers and social workers may be employed to work with offenders and potential offenders. |
| Cohen's arguments reflect those put forward by Foucault, who argued that the discourses of professional groups can contribute to the exercise of power over populations. What do these ideas draw attention to? | The much wider exercise of state power beyond the criminal justice system. |
| The UK's current rate of imprisonment is currently the highest rate of imprisonment in Western Europe. This is partially because it is widely believed that 'prison works'. What do right realists such as Charles Murray think of imprisonment? | They believe that prison is effective simply because it removes offenders from the street. It is also useful in providing a deterrent effect on potential offenders. |
| Alison Leibling and Ben Crewe agree that prisons can prevent reoffending through deterrence, but point out that there are some flaws in this argument. Give examples: | In line with the labelling theory, being deemed 'criminal' can result in a self-fulfilling prophecy. Prisons are also environments in which prisoners may be socialised into the values of other criminals, which can encourage recidivism. |
| This may explain why there are such high rates of reoffending. How many prisoners are reconvicted of an offence within two years of being released? | About 50%. |
| According to Liebling and Crewe, what is the true function of imprisonment? | To "express public sentiment and articulate moral boundaries". |
| The UN defined victims of crime as people who suffer physical, mental, emotional and/or economic harm or have their fundamental rights substantially impaired. Which sociologist disagrees with this definition? | Rob Watts et al. |
| Watts et al argue that the difference between an offender and a victim isn't always clear cut. Give an example: | When two people get into a fight, it isn't always clear who initiated the violence, whether they were justified in doing so, who is more at fault, etc. |
| Which sociologist argues that the stereotype we have about victims (someone who is weak and virtuous) is not always correct? | Nils Christie. |
| Positivist victimology is concerned with factors affecting rates of victimisation as measured in statistical studies. The identification of patterns of victimisation has been made possible through the increasing use of what? | Victimisation surveys. |
| Victimisation surveys supplement official statistics in understanding victims in a number of ways. Give examples: | - They identify victims who haven't had their offences reported to the police. - They make it possible for in-depth and local studies to be conducted. - They can produce data on the experience of crime and the effects of victimisation on those involved. |
| The British Crime Survey found that the chances of being a victim of most crimes are linked to a number of factors. Give examples: | - Age. - Gender. - Routine activities. - Ethnicity. - Location. |
| It should be noted that patterns of victimisation do vary with specific types of crime. Give an example: | Women are far more likely to be victims of sexual assault and rape. |
| More controversially, positivist victimology present the idea of victim precipitation. What does this idea argue? | People become victims because of their own characteristics - for example, the mentally ill are more likely to be victims of crime because they are easy targets. |
| Which two sociologists first claimed that homicide could be victim-precipitated? | Marvin Wolfgang and Hans von Hentig. |
| Which sociologist stated that 20% of all rapes are victim-precipitated? | Menachem Amir. |
| Why has the concept of victim-precipitation been heavily criticised? | Because it implies that the victim should be held accountable for their suffering. |
| What are the advantages of positivist victimology? | - It identifies broad patterns of crime. - It exposes problems of institutional racism within the police. - It highlights the tendency for the criminal justice system to ignore victims. - It shows the negative impact that being a victim of crime can have. |
| What are the disadvantages of positivist victimology? | - It relies on victimisation surveys which are not always entirely reliable. - It is victim-blaming. - It only considers a narrow range of crimes (i.e. street crime). |
| What do radical victimologists believe we should take account of when attempting to understand victimisation? | Structural factors. |
| Using an in-depth local victim survey in Islington, Trevor Jones et al demonstrate a radical victimology approach. What did they find? | The poor are often subject to repeat victimisation and, furthermore, victimisation is more problematic for them due to their lack of insurance and means to protect themselves from being victimised again. Additionally, they often have poor relationships with law enforcement, so they may feel unable to report crime. |
| Why do critical criminologists criticise radical victimology? | They argue that radical victimologists haven't done enough to distance themselves from positivist criminology. |
| Critical victimologists question the entire category of 'the victim'. Who defines who is and isn't a victim, and why should we question this definition? | The state has a crucial role in defining who is or isn't a victim of crime, and often acts in its own interests so its definitions may not be wholly reliable. |
| As such, who does critical criminology typically concentrate on? | Relatively powerless people whose rights have been violated. |
| Who favours the critical victimology approach? | Feminists, as they see women as the victims of oppressive patriarchal practices. |
| What does Sarah Walklate accept about political campaigning by victim groups? | It can make a difference and lead to rights being acknowledged, enforced and/or extended. However, society still largely operates in the interests of the powerful. |
| Which two sociologists argue that many people are victim to corporate crime without even realising it? | Steve Tombs and David Whyte. |
| For example, according to Tombs and Whyte, how many people in the United Kingdom and killed annually by air pollution? | 20,000. |
| Why can it be argued that victim surveys are therefore of little use? | Because many victims are not even aware that they are victims, and so would not identify themselves as suffering from crime. |
| Despite the differences between positivist, radical and critical victimology, how should we use these approaches? | We should use them in conjunction with one another. |
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