3.2: Describe The Contribution Of Agencies To Achieving Social Control

Question 1

Environmental (CPTED), design:
Some criminologists argue that built environment can affect the level of crime in 2 ways
What are these ways ?

Answer 1

• by influencing potential offenders E.g. presenting them with opportunities to commit crime
• by affecting people’s ability to exercise control over their surroundings

Question 2

Environmental (CPTED), design:
Some criminologists argue that agencies such as architect, builders, town planners and local councils can ‘design crime out’,
how do they do this ?

Answer 2

By changing the physical layout of an area

Question 3

Environmental (CPTED), design:
Oscar Newman argued some spaces are defensible while others are indefensible

Identify and describe the 4 features of defensible spaces

Answer 3

A safe image:buildings designed give the impression of a safe environment. A sense of community and security
A safe location: areas surrounded by other low crime areas insulated from crime
Territoriality: encourages a sense of ownership among residents. Their area to control and protect
Natural surveillance: easily viewable entrances, street level windows, overlook each others home

Question 4

Environmental (CPTED), design:
C Ray Jeffery- In the study of high rise blocks in New York _(1)_of all crimes committed occurred in public spaces E.g. hallways, lifts, lobbies
(2)Why was this?
(3)what case does this link to?

Answer 4

(1) 55% (this is supports the idea of environmental design)
(2) no one felt they ‘owned’ them so they are an indefensible spaces
(3) links to Damilola Taylor case as 4 people stabbed him with a glass bottle in a hallway

Question 5

Environmental (CPTED), design:
(1) Who was Newmans theory developed by?
(2) what did it state crime resulted partly from?

Answer 5

(1) by criminologist C Ray Jeffery- CPTED
(2) Crime results partly from the opportunities presented by the physical environment.
So by altering the physical environment, less crime will occur

Question 6

Environmental (CPTED), design:
Alice Coleman (UK) analysed the physical environments impact on crime by analysing 4,099 blocks of flats in London
What did she conclude

Answer 6

That the poor designs encouraged anti social behaviour and led to a higher crime rate (supports the idea of environmental design)

Question 7

Environmental (CPTED), design:
What are 3 key factors of an indefensible space ?

Answer 7

Anonymity
Lack of surveillance
Easy escape

Question 8

Environmental (CPTED), design:
What recommendations are there for crime prevention through environmental design ?

Answer 8

• no more blocks of flats should be built
• each existing block should have its own garden area to encourage territoriality
• overhead walkways should be removed for better surveillance

Question 9

Environmental (CPTED), design:
What was the results from the recommendations for crime prevention through environmental design (designing out crime)?

Answer 9

• removal of walkways led to 50% reduction in crime
• Police forces/ local councils employ architectural liaisons to build in crime prevention features for new buildings
• SBD- secure by design scheme used in the building industry indicates that a building meets crime prevention standards. 30% lower burglary rates in SBD homes
  (Supports idea of environmental design)

Question 10

Environmental (CPTED), design:
CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design) can make property more secure and limit opportunities for crime through:

Answer 10

• lighting
• secure locks
• fences (low level fencing)
• remove anything that blocks view of street or doorway
• definitive boundaries
• avoid communal parking
• clear signage/numbers

Question 11

Environmental (CPTED), design:
Describe the difference between a right realist approach to dealing with homelessness and a left realist

Answer 11

• Right realist- anti-homeless architecture (spikes/small benches to stop them sitting/lying down)
• left realist- homeless architecture- community spaces to help/support the homeless

Question 12

Environmental (CPTED), gated lanes (CPTED in action):
What are gated lanes, what do they help prevent?

Answer 12

• Lockable gates that prevent offender gaining access to alleyways
• prevent burglary, fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour E.g. drug use as harder target

Question 13

Environmental (CPTED), gated lanes (CPTED in action):
What is the positives of gated lanes?

Answer 13

• Sidebottom et al found that gated lanes reduce crime
• provide a physical barrier, making it more difficult to access and commit crime (also harder to remove items over a gate)
• cost of gates £728 but £1600 benefit from crime prevention
• open alleyways- link to broken window theory, gated lanes=cared for space
• offenders can no longer say it’s a public space to legitimise being there
• create a sense of territoriality

Question 14

Environmental (CPTED), gated lanes (CPTED in action):
What are the negatives of gated lanes?

Answer 14

• doesn’t prevent crime by those within gated area
• in areas which are transient or lack community- less likely to pay for gates or take responsibility for communal space (also people living there might not be able to afford -> poor areas crime increases even more -> sink estate= people who are poor and antisocial all in one place -> bad image -> crime increases even more )
• may lead to displacement
• difficulty installing gates, right of way or lack of community support
• gated lanes can restrict legitimate access E.g. emergency vechiles or refuse collection

Question 15

Environmental (CPTED), gated lanes (CPTED in action):
Sidebottom et al- reviewed 43 studies and found gates reduced burglary rates because?

Answer 15

Sidebottom et al- reviewed 43 studies and found gates reduced burglary rates because:
1. They’re a physical barrier that increases the effort in committing crime.
2. They increase resident’s sense of territoriality.
3. Offender can no longer claim they thought it was a public space.
4. They avoid the broken windows problem by indicated that the area is a cared-for space that doesn’t tolerate crime.
5. Gating reduces the rewards of crime, like stealing large objects is harder when trying to go climb over tall gates.

Question 16

Environmental (CPTED):
What theory links to CPTED and explain these links

Answer 16

• right realism
• situational crime prevention Changing physical environment to reduce crime. Make crime harder to commit eg gated lanes.
  Target hardening-Make an area or person less of a target.Visible locks, anti vandalism paint, CCTV.
  Use of environmental design to design out crime to deter unwanted people. Eg removing benches or making benches sloping to discourage people from using them.
• Felson’s routine activity: capable guardian to protect everyone. Neighbours looking out for each other. Neighbourhood watch
• Rational choice theory: CPTED sees offenders as acting rationally (weigh up risk of being caught with benefits) so if intruders fear there is a higher chance of being challenged/seen by residents or caught. they won’t commit the crime

Question 17

Environmental (CPTED):
What are the criticisms of CPTED?

Answer 17

• focus too much on outsiders crime and ignores insider crime E.g. DA
• CPTED can’t prevent offences that don’t intrude physically E.g. fraud and white collar crime
• housing policy- some housing estates have high crime rates because of housing allocation policies, so ‘problem families’ are all placed together on ‘sink’ estates (more police and arrests -> unsafe image -> more people go and commit crime)

Question 18

Environmental (CPTED):
Foucault panopticon theory shows how environmental design can also be used to prevent from in prison
What is the panopticon design, what’s its purpose and who was it designed by?

Answer 18

• panopticon = all seeing, designed by Jeremy Bentham
• Prison design is for social control
• prison is circular with watch tower in the middle and cells around the outside
• prisoners cells are visible to the guard from a central viewing point (watchtower)
• the guards can see the prisoners but the prisoners cannot see the guards (so don’t know they’re being watched) ->prisoners must constantly behave as if they’re being watched (surveillance turns into self surveillance)

Question 19

Environmental (CPTED):
Describe the ADX Florence prison, evaluate this method

Answer 19

• designed to keep every occupant in near-total solitary confinement
• 4-foot windows designed to prevent inmates from knowing their specific location within the complex (can only see sky and roof through tiny slits) -> virtually impossible to plan escape
• prisoners confined 23 hours per day (1 hour recreational time just in slightly bigger cell)
• motion detectors, motion controlled doors, pressure pads, laser beams + attack dogs surrounding prison
• prisoners under 24 hour supervision carried out intensively with high staff-inmate ratios
• Evaluation:
  +keeps confined, no way of escaping
  -may breach human rights

Question 20

Environmental (CPTED):
Describe Bastay prison Norway and evaluate this method

Answer 20

• have own little house
• loads of facilities- can cook own food, sun beds, gyms
• free roaming
• Evaluation:
  + 16% reoffending rates in Bastoy/Norway so rehabilitates
  -only works when low level of offending as no overcrowding
  -lacks deterrence as not much punishment to fear
  -only works in places with socialist views

Question 21

Behavioural tactics:
What are behavioural tactics? provide examples

Answer 21

Tactics used by agencies to change a persons behaviour to make them more socially compliant.
Includes ASBO’s and token economies

Question 22

Behavioural tactics:
What is an asbo and what happens if you breach one?

Answer 22

• it is a civil order (not criminal)
• Anyone over the age of 12 can be given an Antisocial Behaviour Order (ASBO) if they behave antisocially. Behaving antisocially includes: drunken or threatening behaviour. vandalism and graffiti. playing loud music at night.
• If you’re given an ASBO this doesn’t mean you’ve been convicted of a crime, and it won’t be part of a criminal record. But it is a crime to break the terms of an ASBO (punishable by up to 5 years in prison). Getting an ASBO means you won’t be allowed to do certain things, such as: going to a particular place, such as your local town centre.

Question 23

Behavioural tactics:
When were ASBO’s introduced and why?

Answer 23

• ASBOs introduced in 1998 by Crime and disorder act
  -introduced to correct low level anti-social behaviour and prevent behaviour that infringes in the freedoms or peace of another person

Question 24

Behavioural tactics:
Why were ASBO’s seen as a good thing to have in some communities?

Answer 24

Can make people scared of you and was seen as cool

Question 25

Behavioural tactics:
What were the negatives of ASBO’s/ did they work?

Answer 25

• didn’t work very well as 24,000 given and very often breached, 58% breached 10,000 on several occasions
• abandoned in 2014
• 53.7% breach in 2005- 2007 70.3%- in manchester in 2007 90.2%
  38% went to children with learning disabilities or mental health issues 42%had ADHD (Children)
  69% adults had depression
• also case study of Fiona Pilkington

Question 26

Behavioural tactics:
What were ASBOs replaced with ? Explain the details of these

Answer 26

• Replaced with CBO and injunctions
• CBO are just renamed ASBOs. Injunctions are rarely used and CBO are often forgotten about and not enforced.
• CBO have positive reinforcement as well as punishment. Eg treatment programmes.
• injunctions are for lower level ASB (3 months detention for under 18s/ 2 years for adults)
• CBO’s are for more serious ASB (2 years for youths and 5 years for adults)

Question 27

Behaviour tactics:
Explain the case study of Fiona Pilkington in relation to ASBO’s

Answer 27

-Fiona Pilkington + family household harassed by children between ages 8-17 years (some had ASBO’s, would be put on parents for very young children) E.g. shouting verbal abuse, urinating at front of house, etc.
- rang police 33 times over 7 years and told social services she had suicidal thoughts but they thought she was overreacting and didn’t take her seriously
- nothing was done and she killed herself and her daughter

Question 28

Behaviour tactics:
What are the positives of ASBOs?

Answer 28

• isn’t a criminal offence so don’t have a criminal record or go into a criminal justice system so less likely to reoffend. Also means they don’t receive a label and prevents criminalising young offenders as policy aims to do
• deals with lower level antisocial behaviour -> relieves pressure off the police so can prioritise and focus on serious offences
• cost effective

Question 29

Behavioural tactics:
What are token economies and what is the concept based on/linked to?

Answer 29

• rewarding positive behaviour and punishing negative behaviour
• institution draws up a list of desirable behaviours such as:
  -obeying the rules
  -interacting positively with staff and inmates
  -staying drug-free
  -engaging in ‘purposeful activity’
  -based on the psychological concept of behaviour modification and links to operant conditioning

Question 30

Behaviour tactics:
What are the negatives of token economies?

Answer 30

• isn’t effective if don’t care about rewards
• can’t monitor once out of prison (studies show mixed results regarding whether behaviour is modified long term) -> less effective when leave prison as studies find once offender leaves prison and reinforcement stops, the desired behaviour stops too.
• ethical issues of using food to control behaviour

Question 31

Behaviour tactics:
What are the positives of token economies?

Answer 31

• Some studies show the positive effects of token economies. Hobbs and Holt study of 125 boys ages 12-15 in a USA correctional institution found that behaviour changed lasted through 14 month study
• token economy offenders return to crime slower than other offenders
• easy to set up and enforce in prison
• effective in short term

Question 32

Institutional tactics:
What does institutional tactics to control behaviour include?

Answer 32

They are disciplinary procedures which includes rule making and staged/phased sanctions

Question 33

Institutional tactics:
Explain the concept of rule making in prisons and examples of punishments if prison rules are broken

Answer 33

• The prison service has its own rules that apply to all prisons (governors can add their own rules).
• The rules cover: threatening behaviour, preventing staff from doing their job, escaping, drugs/alcohol, damaging property.
• examples of punishments if prison rules are broken:
  -caution
  -privileges removed (E.g. TV in cell) taken away for up to 42 days
  -up to 84 days worth of money earned could be stopped
  -cellular confinement
  -additional time added
  -moved prison, recategorised

Question 34

Institutional tactics:
Explain staged sanctions in relation to the police

Answer 34

• ‘simple caution’- formal warning
• ‘conditional caution’- offender charged- must admit the offence
• fines for offences such as shoplifting, possessing cannabis, being drunk and disorderly in public
• arrest
  (You can only get a penalty if 18+, will be asked to sign a penalty notice ticket, won’t get a criminal conviction if pay penalty. Can ask for trial if disagree with penalty notice -> will get bigger fine if don’t ask for trial but don’t pay fine)

Question 35

Institutional tactics:
Explain staged sanctions in relation to the probation service

Answer 35

• issue a warning to the individual
• asking the Prison Governor for a variation in licence conditions (e.g. by adding a curfew or imposing electronic monitoring)
• a fine
• unpaid work
• a curfew
• a return to prison ( for a minimum of 14 days for short sentences and 28 days for longer sentences)

Question 36

Institutional tactics:
Explain staged sanctions in relation to the prison service

Answer 36

• warning/caution
• privileges removed
• solitary confinement
• additional time added
• recategorisation (moved to stricter prison)

Question 37

Gaps in state provision:
Gaps in provision of social control is were state agencies of social control such as police, CPS, court, prisons and probation service all achieve some level of social control but never complete due to…??

Answer 37

• lack of resources
• budget cuts
• unreported crime
• existing laws

Question 38

Gaps in state provision:
Explain lack of resources in relation to gaps in state provision

Answer 38

• the funds for state social control agencies mainly comes from the taxes we pay
• there are limits on how much the public is willing to pay for these agencies, meaning governments face competing demands for resources from other sectors, such as the NHS, education and welfare
• can talk about access to resources from 3.3

Question 39

Gaps in state provision:
Explain the details of budget cuts across the social control agencies

Answer 39

• after 2008 financial crisis, government spending cuts and reorganisation have reduced the effectiveness in state agencies maintenance of social control. Between 2010-2018:
  -police budget cut by 19%, causing a fall of 20,000 police numbers
  -CPS budget cut by a 1/4 and a 1/3 of staff was lost
  -prison budget fell by 16%, staff fell by 15%
  (Can include any other Info of budgets from 3.1/3.4)

Question 40

Gaps in state provision:
Give details on unreported crime

Answer 40

• criminal justice agencies can only investigate/prosecute/convict offenders if their crime has been reported in the first place
• only 40% of crimes are reported to the police
• only 1/4 rapes/attempted rapes are reported
• estimated 2 million DA cases and only 600,000 reported per year
• white collar crime and corporate crime are often unreported as victims don’t know they’re victims

Question 41

Gaps in state provision:
Give a brief explanation as to why existing laws prevent social agencies achieving complete social control

Answer 41

• Social control by criminal justice agencies can only be achieved by having the appropriate laws in the first place
• if a new type of harm occurs and there’s no existing law that forbids it, state agencies aren’t able to control the harmful behaviour

Question 42

Gaps in state provision:
Existing laws

Explain the issues/debate around social media and existing laws

Answer 42

• There’s a debate around the responsibilities of social platforms for the offensive/harmful content that appears on them
• E.g. a right wing terrorist massacred 51 Muslims in the New Zealand while on Facebook livestream
• as social media companies claim they aren’t the publisher of the content of on their platform, they can’t be prosecuted for the material on their sites
  (so existing laws limits them tackling cyber/technological crime as it’s new so not many laws around it)
  However, Germany enacted a law in 2017 that makes platforms quickly remove hate speech, illegal material etc or face a 50 m euro fine

Question 43

Gaps in state provision:
Explain the case of Gina Martin in relation to existing laws
(limiting cyber/technological crime being tackled as its new so there isn’t many laws around it)

Answer 43

• Gina Martin had someone take a photo up her skirt at a festival
• at the time no laws around this so nothing was done

Question 44

Gaps in state provision:
Existing laws:
Explain why there is an extra burden imposed on criminal investigations by technology which makes social agencies less able to achieve social control

Answer 44

In 2018, the head of CPS said the CJS was creaking, unable to cope with the huge amounts of data generated by technology
- there have also been problems checking phones for evidence, leading to failure to disclose evidence and a fall in the number of rape/sexual assault charges
- the cost of tech such as DNA profiling can also be a limitation in the police’s ability to investigate offences