Crime Control and Prevention

Question 1

What is the Left realist view of crime?

Answer 1

Crime is caused by social factors such as marginalisation, relative deprivation and sub cultures. Relative Deprivation is where people feel deprived compared to others in society.

Question 2

What is the Right realist view of crime?

Answer 2

More individualistic. Crime is a rational choice and criminals commit crime because the benefit outweighs the cost of being caught.

Question 3

What does Murray argue regarding crime?

Answer 3

Murray argues that the rise in single parent families and teen parents has led to a lack of socialisation into appropriate values which leads to youth delinquency.

Question 4

What is Situational Crime Prevention?

Answer 4

Pre-emptive approach that aims to make it harder to commit crime in the first place by designing out crime.

Question 5

What are the strategies of Situational Crime Prevention?

Answer 5

Target hardening through bars and bolts on windows, alarm systems, park benches that prevent homeless sleepers, more CCTV, more police on the streets, hostile architecture.

Question 6

What studies are associated with Situational Crime Prevention?

Answer 6

Pease (2002) ‘Bars, Bolts and Barriers’, Hostile Architecture, Marcus Felson 1998: NYC Port Authority Bus Terminal, Cornish and Clarke (2003) - Notice.

Question 7

What are the evaluations of Situational Crime Prevention?

Answer 7

Displacement theory – doesn’t reduce crime but moves it to a different area. Doesn’t deal with corporate or white collar crime. Unfairly targets the working class who can’t afford the target hardening systems.

Question 8

What is Environmental Crime Prevention?

Answer 8

By improving the local area and dealing with low level criminal activity such as vandalism, graffiti and loitering.

Question 9

What strategies are used in Environmental Crime Prevention?

Answer 9

Zero tolerance policing - sweat the small stuff and deal with small petty crimes which will prevent the movement into more serious crimes.

Question 10

What studies are associated with Environmental Crime Prevention?

Answer 10

Wilson and Kelling - Broken window policy.

Question 11

What are the evaluations of Environmental Crime Prevention?

Answer 11

Deals with the symptom not the cause. Targets working class people and street crime rather than corporate or white collar crime. Displacement theory.

Question 12

What is Social and Community Crime Prevention?

Answer 12

Left realist approach which suggests that by dealing with the social inequalities that lead to crime then it will reduce the crime rate.

Question 13

What strategies are used in Social and Community Crime Prevention?

Answer 13

Youth groups and community centre which will help to create a sense of community, parenting groups to help with socialisation, increasing community police officers.

Question 14

What studies are associated with Social and Community Crime Prevention?

Answer 14

Community action programs: Prey preschool program, Intervention programs: Troubled families program.

Question 15

What are the evaluations of Social and Community Crime Prevention?

Answer 15

Assumes a value consensus within a community and ignores issues such as relative deprivation and institutional racism which can limit the effectiveness of community and social policies.