Topic 9 - Control , Punishment And Victims

Question 1

What does Clarke mean by situational crime prevention ?

Answer 1

-Clarke describes situational crime prevention as a pre -emptive approach that relies , not on improving society or its institutions , but simply on reducing the opportunities for crime

Question 2

Situational crime prevention - what are examples of target hardening measures and how do they reduce opportunities for crime ?

Answer 2

-target hardening measures such as locking doors and windows increases the effort a burglar needs to make
-while increased surveillance in shops via CCTV or security guards increases the likelihood of shoplifters getting caught

Question 3

What is the example of a situational crime prevention strategy shown by Felson ?

Answer 3

-Felson gives an example of a situational crime prevention strategy
-the bus terminal in New York City was poorly designed and provided opportunities for deviant conduct
-for example , the toilets were a setting for luggage thefts , rough sleeping , drug dealing etc
-reshaping the physical area to design crime out , greatly reduced such activity
-for example , large sinks in which the homeless were bathing , were replaced by small hand basins

Question 4

What is one criticism of situationa crime prevention and what does this mean ?

Answer 4

-one criticism of situational crime prevention measures is that they don’t reduce crime , they simply displace it as criminals move to places where it is easier to commit crime

Question 5

What did Chaiken et al find about the crackdown of subway robberies ?

Answer 5

-Chaiken et al found that the crackdown on subway robberies in New York merely displaced them to other streets

Question 6

What are the 5 forms in which displacement can take place ?

Answer 6

1.Spatial - moving elsewhere to commit the crime
2.Temporal - committing the crime 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 7

Evaluation of situational crime prevention ?

Answer 7

-Situational crime prevention works to some extent in reducing certain kinds of crime . However , with most measures there is likely to be some displacement
-It tends to focus on opportunistic petty street crimes , it ignores white collar , corporate and state crimes which are more costly and harmful
-it assumes criminals make rational calculations , this is unlikely in crimes of violence and crimes committed under the influence of drugs or alcohol
-it ignore the root causes of crime , such as poverty or poor socialisation , this makes it difficult to develop long term strategies for crime reduction

Question 8

What is an environmental crime prevention strategy put forward by Wilson and Kelling ?

Answer 8

-the environmental crime prevention approach is based on Wilson and Kellings article of the broken windows

Question 9

Environmental crime prevention - explain Wilson and Kellings broken windows article ?

Answer 9

-Wilson and kelling use the phrase broken windows to stand for all the various signs of disorder and lack of concern for others that are found in some neighbourhoods
-this includes undue noise , graffiti , begging , dog fouling , littering , vandalism
-they argue that leaving broken windows broken , tolerating aggressive begging etc , sends out the signals that no one cares
-without action the situation deteriorates and the area becomes a magnet for deviants

Question 10

What are the 2 strategies that Wilson and Kellings believe need to be adopted to control crime levels ?

Answer 10

Their solution is to crack down on any disorder using a twofold strategy ;
-environmental improvement strategy
-police adopt zero tolerance policy

Question 11

Wilson and Kelling , what is their environmental improvement strategy ?

Answer 11

-environmental improvement strategy - any broken windows must be repaired immediately , abandoned cars towed without delay etc , otherwise more will follow and the neighbourhood will decline

Question 12

Wilson and Kelling , what do they mean by police adopting a zero tolerance policing ?

Answer 12

-the police may adopt a zero tolerance policing strategy
-instead of merely reacting to crime , they must proactively tackle even the slightest sign of disorder , even if it is not criminal will help prevent serious crime from taking place.

Question 13

What is evidence of the success of Wilson and Kellings zero tolerance policing approach ?

Answer 13

-great success has been claimed for the zero tolerance policing , especially in New York
-for example , a clean car programme was instituted on the subway ,in which cars were taken out of service immediately if they had any graffiti on them , only returning once they were clean
-as a result , graffiti was largely removed removed from the subway

Question 14

What are some reasons that some argue it is not clear how far zero tolerance policing was the cause of improvements ?

Answer 14

-the NYPD benefited from 7,000 extra officers
-there was a general decline in the crime rate in major US cities at the time - including ones where police didn’t adopt zero tolerance policing
-while deaths from homicides fell sharply , attempted homicides remained high , it has been suggested the fall in murder rate owed more to improved medical emergency services than policing

Question 15

What are the aims of social and community crime prevention strategies ?

Answer 15

-social and community crime prevention strategies place the emphasis on the potential offender and their social context
-the aim of these strategies is to remove the conditions that predispose individuals to commit crime in the first place
-these are long term strategies , since they attempt to tackle the root cause of offending ,rather than simply removing the opportunities for crime
-because the causes of crime are often rooted in social conditions such as poverty , unemployment and poor housing , these strategies help to reduce crime

Question 16

What is one of the best known community programmes aimed at reducing criminality ?

Answer 16

-one of the best known community programmes aimed at reducing criminality is the experimental perry pre school project for disadvantaged black children in Michigan

Question 18

What did the perry pre school project involve ?

Answer 18

• an experimental group of 3-4 year olds were offered a 2 year intellectual enrichment programme , during which time the children also received weekly home visits

Question 19

What type of study was the perry pre school project and what did this show ?

Answer 19

-a longitudinal study followed the children’s subsequent progress
-it showed striking differences with a control group who had not undergone the programme
-by age 40, they had significantly fewer lifetime arrests for violent crime , property crime and drugs , while more had graduated from high school and were in employment

Question 20

What are examples of surveillance in today’s modern society ?

Answer 20

-CCTV Cameras
-Biometric scanning
-Automated number plate scanning
-Electronic tagging
These help to control the behaviour of individuals such as consumers and workers

Question 21

What are the 2 Different forms of punishment , that Foucault identifies in his study of the birth of the prison ?

Answer 21

-Sovereign Power
-Disciplinary Power

Question 22

Foucault - birth of prison study - types of punishment - Sovereign Power ?

Answer 22

-Sovereign power - was typical of the period before the 19th century , when the monarch had absolute power over people and their bodies
-control was asserted by inflicting disfiguring , visible punishment on the body such as limb amputations
-punishment was a brutal , emotional spectacle , such as a public execution

Question 23

Foucault - birth of prison study - types of punishment - Disciplinary power ?

Answer 23

-disciplinary power - become dominant from the 19th century
-In this form of control , a new system of discipline seeks to govern not just the body , but the mind or “soul”
-it does so through surveillance

Question 24

Why does Foucault believe disciplinary power replaced sovereign power ?

Answer 24

-Foucault claims that disciplinary power replaced sovereign power simply because surveillance is a more efficient “technology of power” - that is , a more effective way of controlling people

Question 25

How does Foucault illustrate disciplinary power with the panopticon ?

Answer 25

-Foucault illustrates disciplinary power with the panopticon -this was a design for a prison in which each each prisoner in his own cell is visible to the guards from a central watch tower , but the guards aren’t visible to the prisoners -thus the prisoners don’t know if they are being watched , but they do know they might be being watched -as a result , they have to behave at all times as if they were being watched , and so the surveillance becomes self surveillance and discipline becomes self discipline -control takes place inside the prisoners rather than outside of the body as a public spectacle

Question 26

What are some criticisms of Foucault ?

Answer 26

-Foucault has been criticised on several grounds -for example , the shift from sovereign power and corporal punishment to disciplinary power and imprisonment is less clear than he suggests -he is also accused of wrongly assuming that the emotional aspects of punishments disappear in modern society

Question 27

Criticism of Foucault -How does Norris’s findings about CCTV criticise Foucault findings ?

Answer 27

-CCTV cameras are a form of panopticism - we are aware of their presence but unsure whether they are recording us -however , this is not necessarily effective in preventing crime -Norris’s review of dozens of studies worldwide found that while CCTV reduces crime in car parks , it has little or no effect on other crime , and may even cause displacement

Question 28

Criticism of Foucault - how do feminists criticise the use of CCTV ?

Answer 28

-Feminists criticise CCTV as an extension of the male gaze , while it renders women to be more watched by male camera operators , it doesn’t make them feel more secure

Question 29

What is Mahiesen’s surveillance theory and what do he mean by this ?

Answer 29

Synoptic surveillance - where everybody watches everybody

Question 30

Synoptic surveillance -what does Thompson study about synoptic surveillance with powerful groups and how does this less crime ?

Answer 30

-For example , Thompson argues that powerful groups such as politicians fear the media’s surveillance of them as may uncover damaging information about them , and this acts as a form of social control over their activities

Question 31

What are other forms of synoptic surveillance and how does this change individuals behaviour ?

Answer 31

-another example of synoptic surveillance is where the public monitor each other , as with video cameras mounted on cycle helmets or dashboards to collect evidence in the event of accidents. -this may warn other road users that their behaviour is being monitored and results in them exercising self discipline -similarly , widespread camera ownership means that ordinary citizens may now be able to “control the controllers” for example by filming police wrongdoing

Question 32

What are the 3 ways in which Feeley and Simons Actuarial justice and risk management differ from Foucault disciplinary power ?

Answer 32

It differs from Foucaults disciplinary power in 3 main ways ; -it focuses on groups rather than individuals -its not interested in rehabilitating offenders , but simply in preventing them from offending -it uses calculations of risk or “actuarial analysis “ . This calculates the statistical risk of particular events happening to particular groups eg young drivers higher risk of having an accident

Question 33

How do Feeley and Simon apply their theory of surveillance to crime control such as airport security ?

Answer 33

-Feeley and Simon apply the idea of surveillance and crime control -for example , airport security screening checks are based on known offender “risk factors” -using information gathered about offenders eg their age , sex , religion , ethnicity etc, they can be profiled and given a risk score eg young males may be scored higher than old females -anyone scoring above a given level is then stopped , questioned and searched etc

Question 34

What is the aim of Feeley and Simon’s actuarial justice ?

Answer 34

-the aim of surveillance is not to correct , treat or rehabilitate -instead , it seeks to predict and prevent future offending -according to Feeley and Simon it does so by applying surveillance techniques to identify , classify and manage groups sorted by levels of dangerousness

Question 35

What is one problem of Feeley and Simons actuarial justice ?

Answer 35

-one problem with actuarial justice is the danger of the self fulfilling prophecy -for example , profiles of typical offenders are often compiled against official crime statistics -if these show for example , that young black inner males are the group most likely to carry a weapon , then police using this data will be more likely to stop them than members of other groups

Question 36

How did Norris and Armstrong find that labelling takes place when conducting surveillance such as CCTV Cameras and what does this lead to ?

Answer 36

-Norris and Armstrong found that there is a massively disproportionate targeting of young black males for no other reason than their membership of that particular social group -such judgements are based on typifications or stereotypical beliefs held by those operating surveillance systems about who are likely to offend -one result of these beliefs is the self fulfilling prophecy in which the criminalisation of some groups such as young black males is increased so they are targeted and their offences are revealed , while the criminalisation of others is lessened because their offences are ignored

Question 37

What are the 3 ways that punishment prevents future crime ?

Answer 37

-Deterrence -Rehabilitation -Incapacitation

Question 38

Ways punishments prevent future crime - what is deterrence ?

Answer 38

-deterrence - punishing the individual discourages them from future offending

Question 39

Ways punishment prevents future crime - what is rehabilitation ?

Answer 39

-rehabilitation - is the idea that punishment can be used to reform or change offenders so they can no longer offend -rehabilitation policies include providing education and training for prisoners so that they are able to “earn an honest living” on release and anger management courses for violent offenders

Question 40

Ways punishment prevents future crime - what is incapacitation ?

Answer 40

-incapacitation - is the use of punishment to remove the offenders capacity to offend again -policies in different societies have included imprisonment , execution , cutting off hands , chemical castration etc

Question 41

Punishment - what is retribution and what is the purpose of it ?

Answer 41

-retribution means paying back -its a justification for punishing crimes that have already been committed , rather than preventing future crimes -it is based on the idea that offenders deserve to be punished , and that society is entitled to take its revenge on the offender for having breached the moral code

Question 42

What do functionalists such as Durkheim believe the function of punishment is ?

Answer 42

-functionalists like Durkheim argue that the function of punishment is to uphold social solidarity and reinforce shared values -through rituals of order such as public trials and punishments , societies shared values are reaffirmed and its members come to feel a sense of moral unity

Question 43

What are the 2 types of Justice that Durkheim identifies which corresponds to the type of society ?

Answer 43

-Retributive justice -Restitutive justice

Question 44

Durkheim types of justice - what is retributive justice and what society does it exist in ?

Answer 44

-retributive justice - in traditional society , there is little specialisation and solidarity between individuals is based on their similarity to one another -this produces a strong collective conscience ,which , when offended , responds with vengeful passion to repress the wrongdoer -punishment is severe and cruel

Question 45

Durkheim types of justice - what is restitutive justice and what society does it exist in ?

Answer 45

-restitutive justice - in modern society , there is extensive specialisation , and solidarity is based on the resulting justice interdependence of individuals -crime damages this interdependence , so it is necessary to repair this damage , for example through compensation -Durkheim calls this restitutive justice because it aims to restore things to how they were before the offence

Question 46

What do Marxists see the function of punishment as ?

Answer 46

-for Marxists , the function of punishment is to maintain the existing social order -as part of the repressive state apparatus , it is a means of defending ruling class property against the lower classes

Question 47

Punishment -Marxism - how do Melossi and Pavarni see imprisonment as reflecting capitalist relations of production ?

Answer 47

Melossi and Pavarni see imprisonment as reflecting capitalist relations of production .for example ; -capitalism puts a price on the workers time , so prisoners do time to pay for their crime or to repay a debt to society -the prison and the capitalist factory both have similar strict disciplinary style , involving subordination and loss of liberty

Question 48

What is the changing role of prisons eg in pre industrial Europe and now ?

Answer 48

-pre industrial Europe had a wide range of punishments , including warnings , banishment , transportation , execution -until the 18th century , prison was used mainly for holding offenders , prior to their punishment -it was only following the enlightenment that imprisonment began to be seen as a form of punishment itself , where offenders would be reformed through hard labour , religious instruction and surveillance

Question 49

Imprisonment is considered the most severe form of punishment - what is evidence that it is not the most effective method of rehabilitation ?

Answer 49

-imprisonment isn’t proved to be an effective method of rehabilitation - about 2 thirds of prisoners commit further crimes on release -many critics regard prisons as simply an expensive way of making bad people worse

Question 50

What are the problems of the prison population being at record size ?

Answer 50

-overcrowding -poor sanitation -barely edible foods -clothing shortages

Question 51

What does Garland mean by the USA and to a lesser extent the UK are moving towards an era of mass incarceration ?

Answer 51

-According to Garland , the USA and to some extent the UK is moving towards an era of mass incarceration - this is because for the most of the last century , the prison population was stable -however ,from the1970s the numbers began to rise rapidly

Question 52

As well as mass incarceration , there is a trend towards transcarceration - what is meant by this ?

Answer 52

-Transcarenation is the idea that individuals become locked into a cycle of control , shifting between different agencies during their lives -for example , some might be brought up in care , then sent to a young offenders institution , then adult prisoners with bouts in mental hospitals in between

Question 53

What do some sociologists see transcarceration as a product of ?

Answer 53

-some sociologists see transcarceration as a product of the blurring of boundaries between the criminal justice system and welfare agencies -for example , health ,housing and social services are increasingly being given a crime control role , and they often engage in multi agency working with the police , sharing data on the same individuals

Question 54

Alternatives to prison - in the past a major way of dealing with young offenders was diversion , what is meant by this ?

Answer 54

-diversion - diverting children away from contact with the criminal justice system to avoid the risk of the self fulfilling prophecy Turning them into serious criminals -they focus on welfare and treatment , using no custodial , community based controls such as probation -there has been a growth in the range of community based controls , such as curfews ,community service orders and electronic tagging but the numbers in custody has been rising , especially among the young

Question 55

What does Cohen argue has happened due to the growth of community controls ?

Answer 55

-Cohen argues that the growth of community controls has simply cast the net of control over more people -cohen argues that the increased range of sanctions available simply enables control to penetrate even deeper into society -far from diverting young people from the criminal justice system , community controls may divert them into it -for example some argue that the police have used anti social behaviour orders as a way of fast tracking young offenders into custodial sentences

Question 56

How do the United Nations define victims ?

Answer 56

-The United Nations define victims as those who have suffered harm including mental , physical , emotional suffering , economic loss and impairment of their basic rights through acts that violate the laws of the state

Question 57

How does Christie take a different approach of what a victim is ?

Answer 57

-Christie takes a different approach , highlighting that the notion of victim is socially constructed -the stereotype of the ideal victim ,favoured by the media , public and criminal justice system is a weak , innocent and blameless individual - such as a small child or an old women - who is the target of a strangers attack

Question 58

What is the study of victims sometimes referred to as ?

Answer 58

-study of victims is sometimes known as victimology

Question 59

What are the 2 broad perspectives that we can identify when looking at victimology ?

Answer 59

-positivist victimology -critical victimology

Question 60

What are the 3 features of positivist victimology that Miers identifies ?

Answer 60

Miers defines positivist victimology as having 3 features ; -it aims to identify the factors that produce patterns in victimisation -especially those that make some individuals or groups more likely to be victims -it focuses on interpersonal crimes of violence -it aims to identify victims who have contributed to their own victimisation

Question 61

Positivist victimology - what did Hentig study show about victim proneness ?

Answer 61

-Hentig identified 13 characteristics of victims such as they are likely to be females , elderly or mentally subnormal -the implication is that the victims sometimes invite victimisation by being the kind of person they are

Question 62

Positivist victimology - example of Wolfgang’s study ?

Answer 62

-An example of positivist victimology is Wolfgangs study of 588 homicides in Philadelphia -Wolfgang found that 26% involved victim precipitation- the victim triggered events leading to the homicide , for instance by being the first to use violence -for example , this was often the case where the victims were male and the perpetrator was female

Question 63

Evaluation of positivist victimology include Amir’s ?

Answer 63

-positivist victimology identifies certain patterns of interpersonal victimisation , but ignores wider structural factors influencing victimisation such as poverty and patriarchy -it can easily tip over into victim blaming , for example , Amir’s claim that one in every five rapes are victims precipitated is not very different from saying the victim asked for it -it ignores situations where victims are unaware of their victimisation , as with some crimes against the environment , and where harm is done but no law broken

Question 64

What theories is critical victimology based on ?

Answer 64

-critical victimology is based on conflict theories such as Marxism and feminism and shares the same approach as critical criminology

Question 65

What are the 2 elements which critical victimology focuses on ?

Answer 65

-structural factors - such as patriarchy and poverty , which places powerless groups such as women and the poor at greater risk of victimisation -the states power to apply or deny the label of victim - victim is a social construct , the criminal justice process allows the state to apply the label of victim to some but withhold it from others eg when police decide not to press charges against a man for assaulting his wife , thereby denying her victim status

Question 66

Critical victimology - what do Tombs and Whyte find about safety crimes ?

Answer 66

-Tombs and Whyte show that safety crimes , where employers violations of the law lead to death or injury of workers are often explained as the fault of accident prone workers -as with many rape cases , this both denies the victim official victim status and blames them for their fate

Question 67

What do Tombs and Whyte note about the ideological function of the failure to label in as victims their study ?

Answer 67

-tombs and Whyte note the ideological function of this “failure to label” or “delabelling” -by concealing the true extent of the victimisation and its real causes ,it hides the crimes of the powerful and denies the powerless victims any redress -in the hierarchy of victimisation , the powerless are most likely to be victimised but least likely to be acknowledged by the state

Question 68

Evaluation of critical victimology ?

Answer 68

-critical victimologists disregard the role victims may play in brining victimisation on themselves through their own choices eg not making their homes secure or their own offending -it is valuable in drawing attention to the way that “victim status “ is constructed by power and how this benefits the powerful at the expense of the powerless

Question 69

What are the 5 factors which impact the patterns of victimisation ?

Answer 69

-class -age -ethnicity -gender -repeat victimisation

Question 70

Patterns of victimisation - class , and include study of Newburn and Rock ?

Answer 70

-Class - the poorest groups are more likely to be victimised , for example , crime rates are typically at their highest in areas of high unemployment and deprivation -the fact that marginalised groups are most likely to become victims is borne out by a survey of 300 homeless people by Newburn and Rock -they found that they were 12 times more likely to have experienced violence than the general population -one in 10 had been urinated on while sleeping rough

Question 71

Patterns of victimisation - age ?

Answer 71

-Age -young people are most at risk of victimisation -those most at risk of being murdered are infants under one , while teenagers are more vulnerable than adults to offences including assault , sexual harassment , theft and abuse at home -the old are also at risk of abuse , for example in nursing homes , where victimisation is less visible , but in general the risk of victimisation declines with age

Question 72

Patterns of victimisation - Ethnicity ?

Answer 72

-Ethnicity - Minority ethnic groups are at greater risk than whites of being victims of crimes in general , as well as of racially motivated crimes -in relation to the police , ethnic minorities , the young , and the homeless are more likely to report feeling under protected yet over controlled

Question 73

Patterns of victimisation - Gender ?

Answer 73

-Gender - males are at greater risk than females of becoming victims of violent attacks , especially by strangers -about 70% of homicides victims are male -However , women are more likely to be victims of domestic violence ,sexual violence , stalking and harassment , rape

Question 74

Patterns of victimisation - repeat victimisation , what does it mean and findings from British crime survey ?

Answer 74

-repeat victimisation - refers to the fact that, if you have been a victim once , you are likely to be one again -according to the British crime survey , about 60% of the population have not been victims of crimes in a given year , whereas a mere 4%of the population are victims of 44% of all crimes reported in that period

Question 75

What does research show about the impact of victimisation ?

Answer 75

-crime may have physical and emotional impacts on its victims -for example , research has found a variety of effects depending on the crime , including distrusted sleep , feelings of helplessness , increased security consciousness and difficulties in social functioning

Question 76

Impact of victimisation - What did Pynoos et al find about how crime may also create indirect victims ?

Answer 76

-Crime may also create indirect victims such as friends , relatives and witnesses to the crime -for example , Pynoos et al found that child witnesses of a sniper attack continued to have grief related dreams and altered behaviour a year after the event

Question 77

Impact of victimisation - what is meany by secondary victimisation , what do feminists say about this ?

Answer 77

-secondary victimisation is the idea that in addition to the impact of the crime itself , individuals may suffer further victimisation at the hands of the criminal justice system -feminists argue that rape victims are often so poorly treated by the police and courts , it amounts to double victimisation

Question 78

Impact of victimisation - fear of victimisation - what does this mean ?

Answer 78

-fear of victimisation - crime may create fear of becoming a victim -some sociologists argue that surveys show this fear to be often irrational -for example , women are more afraid of going out for fear of attack , yet its young men who are the main victims of violence from strangers