RR tackle crime Flashcards
Overview
do not believe it is productive to try to deal with the causes of crime (such as socialisation differences) since these cannot easily be changed. Instead they seek to devise practical measure to make crime less attractive. Their main focus is on control, containment & punishment of offenders rather than eliminating the underlying causes of their offending or rehabilitating them.
Broken windows
Wilson & Kelling’s (1982) Broken Windows article argues that it is essential to maintain the orderly character of neighbourhoods to prevent crime taking hold. Any sign of deterioration, such as graffiti or vandalism, must be dealt with immediately along with moving homeless people on, cracking down on drunkenness, littering, etc. This is an example of environmental crime prevention.
A03: overemphasise the control that neighbourhoods have over individuals – a great deal of people don’t know their neighbours or would not consider it to be their business to interfere.
Zero tolerance
Right realists support a ‘zero tolerance’ policing policy towards undesirable behaviour such as prostitution, begging & drunkenness. The role of the police should be to focus on controlling the streets so that law-abiding citizens feel safe & punishments should be quicker & harsher such as longer prison sentences.
A03: Supporting a zero tolerance policy gives police free rein to discriminate against ethnic minority youth, the homeless, etc. It also results in displacement (movement) of crime to other areas.
Situational crime prevention
Crime prevention policies should reduce the chances of offending through situational crime prevention, & increase the costs of crime to the offender. E.g. ‘target hardening’ (where targets for crime are made more difficult for criminals to access, e.g. putting better locks on entrances or CCTV), greater use of prison & ensuring punishments follow soon after the offence to maximise their deterrent effect.
A03: Harsher prison sentences do not reduce crime rates – high crime rates in the USA can be used as an example where they have longer prison sentences & also the death penalty in 32 states but higher crime rates than the UK. Also, it can be argued that solutions like target hardening only displace (move) crime to other areas.
