CONTROL, PUNISHMENT AND VICTIMS

Question 1

What is situational crime prevention?

Answer 1

A pre-emptive approach that reduces opportunities for crime rather than improving society.

Question 2

What are the three features of situational crime prevention measures?

Answer 2

1. Directed at specific crimes. 2. Involve managing or altering the immediate environment. 3. Aim to increase effort and risks of committing crime while reducing rewards.

Question 3

What is the underlying theory of situational crime prevention?

Answer 3

An opportunity or rational choice theory of crime, suggesting criminals weigh costs and benefits before committing a crime.

Question 4

What is displacement in the context of crime prevention?

Answer 4

The phenomenon where crime is not reduced but moved to another location or form.

Question 5

What are the forms of displacement?

Answer 5

1. Spatial - moving elsewhere. 2. Temporal - committing at a different time. 3. Target - choosing a different victim. 4. Tactical - using a different method. 5. Functional - committing a different type of crime.

Question 6

What is an example of situational crime prevention’s success related to suicide?

Answer 6

The replacement of toxic coal gas with less toxic natural gas in Britain led to a decline in suicides without displacement to other methods.

Question 7

What are the criticisms of situational crime prevention?

Answer 7

1. It may cause displacement. 2. Ignores white-collar and corporate crime. 3. Assumes rational calculations by criminals. 4. Ignores root causes like poverty.

Question 8

What does the term ‘broken windows’ refer to in environmental crime prevention?

Answer 8

Signs of disorder and lack of concern in neighborhoods, indicating a decline in social control.

Question 9

What is the zero tolerance policing strategy?

Answer 9

A strategy that involves cracking down on any disorder to prevent serious crime.

Question 10

What was the Clean Car Program in New York?

Answer 10

A zero tolerance policing success where cars with graffiti were immediately taken out of service, leading to reduced graffiti in the subway.

Question 11

What is the focus of social and community crime prevention?

Answer 11

To remove conditions that predispose individuals to crime, addressing root causes like poverty.

Question 12

What is surveillance in the context of crime control?

Answer 12

The monitoring of public behavior to gather data for regulating and managing behavior.

Question 13

What is Foucault’s concept of sovereign power?

Answer 13

A form of control where the monarch had absolute power, often enforced through visible punishment.

Question 14

What is disciplinary power according to Foucault?

Answer 14

A form of control that governs not just the body but the mind through surveillance.

Question 15

What is the Panopticon?

Answer 15

A prison design where prisoners are always visible to guards, promoting self-surveillance.

Question 16

What is the ‘dispersal of discipline’?

Answer 16

The spread of disciplinary power beyond prisons to other institutions like schools and mental asylums.

Question 17

What are some criticisms of Foucault’s theory?

Answer 17

1. Exaggerates the extent of control. 2. Overestimates surveillance’s power to change behavior. 3. Feminist critiques of CCTV as a male gaze.

Question 18

What is synoptic surveillance?

Answer 18

A concept where the many monitor the few, enabled by media and technology.

Question 19

What are surveillant assemblages?

Answer 19

The combination of different surveillance technologies to create a ‘data double’ of individuals.

Question 20

What is the justification for punishment in terms of reduction?

Answer 20

Punishment prevents future crime through rehabilitation and deterrence.

Question 21

What is retribution in the context of punishment?

Answer 21

A justification for punishment based on the idea that offenders deserve to be punished for breaching society’s moral code.

Question 22

What is Durkheim’s functionalist perspective on punishment?

Answer 22

Punishment upholds social solidarity and reinforces shared values, expressing society’s moral outrage.

Question 23

What are the two types of justice identified by Durkheim?

Answer 23

1. Retributive justice - severe punishment in traditional societies. 2. Restitutive justice - repairing damage in modern societies.

Question 24

What is the Marxist view on punishment?

Answer 24

Punishment serves ruling-class interests and maintains the existing social order.

Question 25

What is the Marxist view on punishment?

Answer 25

Marxists see punishment as a means to maintain the existing social order and defend ruling-class property against the lower classes. ## Footnote Thompsons describes 18th-century punishments like hanging and transportation as part of a 'rule of terror' by the landed aristocracy over the poor.

Question 26

How does the economic base of society influence punishment?

Answer 26

The form of punishment reflects the economic base of society, with each type of economy having its own corresponding penal system. ## Footnote Under capitalism, imprisonment becomes the dominant form of punishment.

Question 27

What is the trend in imprisonment since the 1980s?

Answer 27

There has been a move towards 'populist punitiveness', where politicians call for tougher sentences to gain electoral popularity. ## Footnote New Labour governments after 1997 viewed prison as a deterrent for persistent petty offenders.

Question 28

What is transcarceration?

Answer 28

Transcarceration refers to individuals becoming locked into a cycle of control, shifting between different carceral agencies throughout their lives. ## Footnote For example, someone might transition from care to a young offenders' institution, then to adult prison.

Question 29

How does the UN define victims?

Answer 29

The UN defines victims as those who have suffered harm through acts or omissions that violate the laws of the state.

Question 30

What are the three features of positivist victimology according to Miers?

Answer 30

1. It identifies factors producing patterns in victimisation. 2. It focuses on interpersonal crime of violence. 3. It identifies victims who contributed to their own victimisation.

Question 31

What did Hans Von Hentig identify about victims?

Answer 31

Hans Von Hentig identified 13 characteristics of victims, suggesting that certain individuals, such as females or the elderly, are more vulnerable to victimisation.

Question 32

What is an example of positivist victimology?

Answer 32

Marvin Wolfgang's study found that 26% of homicides involved victim precipitation, where the victim triggered the events leading to the homicide.

Question 33

What are criticisms of positivist victimology?

Answer 33

Critics argue it overlooks the randomness of victimisation and fails to account for situations where victims are unaware of their victimisation.

Question 34

What does critical victimology focus on?

Answer 34

Critical victimology focuses on structural factors that increase victimisation risk and the state's power to label victims.

Question 35

What is a criticism of critical victimology?

Answer 35

It is valuable for highlighting how 'victim' status is constructed by power, benefiting the powerful at the expense of the powerless.

Question 36

What patterns exist in victimisation related to class?

Answer 36

The poorest groups are more likely to be victimised, with crime rates highest in areas of high unemployment and deprivation.

Question 37

How does ethnicity affect victimisation rates?

Answer 37

Minority ethnic groups are at greater risk of being victims of crime, including racially motivated crimes.

Question 38

What gender patterns exist in victimisation?

Answer 38

Males are at greater risk of violent attacks, while women are more likely to be victims of domestic violence and sexual violence.

Question 39

What are the impacts of victimisation?

Answer 39

Crime can lead to serious physical and emotional impacts, including disrupted sleep and feelings of helplessness.

Question 40

What are 'indirect' victims?

Answer 40

Indirect victims include friends, relatives, and witnesses to a crime who may also experience trauma.

Question 41

What are 'message' crimes?

Answer 41

Hate crimes against minorities create 'waves of harm' that intimidate entire communities and challenge societal values.