Situational Crime Prevention: Reducing Opportunities for Crime, Lecture notes of Art

Download Situational Crime Prevention: Reducing Opportunities for Crime and more Lecture notes Art in PDF only on Docsity! 1 Intro to Situational Crime Prevention Ronald V. Clarke, Ph.D. International Problem-oriented Policing Conference Miami, October 11, 2011 2 The Tylenol Poisonings • In 1982, seven people died in Chicago as a result of taking Tylenol poisoned with cyanide • Mass murder - nowadays might be called terrorism • Perpetrators not caught and motivation never discovered • Caused widespread fear about safety of such products • Significant losses for makers of Tylenol • Some copycat offences in US and other countries 5 Why is SCP helpful for POP? 1. It is a problem solving approach just like POP 2. It provides a sound basis of criminological theory for opportunity reduction: a) Routine activity theory (Cohen and Felson) b) Crime Pattern theory (Patricia and Paul Brantingham) c) Rational Choice perspective (Clarke and Cornish) 3. Helps in thinking about displacement 4. Supplies many ways to reduce opportunities for crime 5. Provides many evaluated examples of successful opportunity reduction 6 Conclusions 1. Crime risks must be considered from the very early stages of policy formulation 2. Those who frame the new laws or regulations are usually best able to anticipate crime consequences 3. Unintended consequences are often anticipated - but not usually their extent 4. Political constraints might weigh heavier than crime reduction considerations 7 SCP: Key assumptions • Crimes result from the interaction of criminal propensities and crime opportunities • Offenders always decide to commit crime (bounded rationality) • Opportunity plays an essential part in every form of crime – More opportunities lead to more crime and reduced opportunities lead to less crime – Easy opportunities draw people into crime – Existence of easy opportunities makes possible a “life of crime” 10 Handgun Murders US and England & Wales, 2004-08 Handgun Murders Rate per Million People United States 36,840 24.7 England & Wales 159 0.6 11 Homicide and handguns • Despite recent convergence US homicide rate per million people still 4 times higher than UK • Many other crimes lower in US • Explanation: – Much greater availability of handguns in US – May not be the only reason – but clearly an important reason • Perhaps more cultural readiness to use guns in a dispute – But which comes first? Readiness or availability? 12 Lest we should doubt…. Suppose all situational controls were abandoned: no locks, no custom controls, cash left for parking in an open pot for occasional collection, no library check­outs, no baggage screening at airports, no ticket checks at train stations, no traffic lights, etc. Would there be no change in the volume of crime and disorder? Source: Nick Tilley and Gloria Laycock 15 “Risky facilities” (80-20 rule) 1. USA Convenience stores: 6.5% have 65% of robberies 2. UK Banks: 4% have robbery rates 4-6 times higher than other banks 3. Stockholm schools: 8% suffered 50% of violent crimes in 1993/4 school year 4. Liverpool bus stop shelters: 9% experience 40% of vandalism 16 City Center Parking Lots Nottingham UK, 2001 Car park Spaces Crimes Per 1000 Spaces Car park Spaces Crimes Per 1000 Spaces #1 1066 0.0 #11 167 53.9 #2 590 0.0 #12 412 63.1 #3 3000 3.7 #13 475 77.9 #4 1700 5.3 #14 50 140.0 #5 335 9.0 #15 625 164.8 #6 1200 19.2 #16 225 173.3 #7 125 24.0 #17 56 410.7 #8 600 25.0 #18 49 469.4 #9 425 40.0 #19 75 546.7 #10 550 47.3 17 The Methodology of Situational Prevention • Focus on highly specific categories of crime or disorder • Focus on crime concentrations • Understand how the crime is committed • Use an action-research / problem solving model • Consider a variety of solutions 20 Suburban Burglaries (Poyner and Webb 1991) • Offenders: Used cars • Targets: VCRs and TVs • Method: Break-ins at back of house. Cars needed to get to the suburbs and to carry the stolen goods. Cars parked near to the house, but not so close as to attract attention. • Prevention: Better surveillance of parking places and improved security at the back of houses. Crackdown on fencing of electronic goods. 21 How is the crime committed? 1. Adopt the offender's perspective – “Think thief” (Ekblom) 2. Study how rather than why 3. Study the offence, step by step. For example, Shoplifters must decide: – Which store to hit – Which goods to steal – How to accomplish the theft – How to escape from the store – How to sell the items and at what price – etc 22 25 techniques of SCP (see handout) 5 main mechanisms: –Increase the Effort –Increase the Risks –Reduce the Rewards –Reduce Provocations –Remove Excuses 5 techniques for each 25 Crime is often dramatically reduced 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 Jan- Mar 1968 July- Sept 1968 Jan- Mar 1969 July- Sept 1969 Jan- Mar 1970 July- Sept 1970 Robberies of bus drivers, NYC Average daily incidents, 1968-1969 (Chaiken et al. 1974) 26 Clean Cars on NYC Subway (Reduce rewards) Clean cars 1984 400 1985 1915 1986 3454 1987 4839 1988 6077 1989 6245 27 Airline hijackings and baggage/passenger screening Years Hijackings per year 1961-67 2 1968-72 29 1973-85 10 1986-2000 1 2001-2003 2 30 Cloning study Clarke, Kemper and Wykoff (2001) • Criminals obtained mobile numbers by “scanning” calls or hacking into telecom databases • Cloned phone calls cost the US industry $800 million in 1995 alone • 5 different technologies introduced to eliminate cloning (at a cost $240 million) • No real displacement to subscription frauds - these frauds not committed by organized crime 31 Alley-gating in Liverpool • 3178 gates installed • Burglary reduced by 37% in first year • No significant displacement • Cost benefit ratio of gates in first year was 1.86 • Resident satisfaction and preventive gains sustained in later follow- up 32 Claims of Displacement Often Wrong • In the 1980s, Newport News Police (VA) cracked down on a street corner marijuana market leading to its closure. • Some officers claimed the dealers had moved to a nearby corner. • Closer study revealed: 1. The nearby market was selling heroin, not marijuana 2. No dealers from the marijuana market were found at the heroin market 3. The heroin market was much smaller 4. It predated the opening of the marijuana market 35 Diffusion of benefits: CCTV at Surrey University Poyner (1991) 36 Other evaluated examples of Diffusion of Benefits • “Red light” cameras in Strathclyde, Scotland • Electronic tagging of library materials books at University of Wisconsin • Improved security in NJ electronics retailer’s warehouse • Vehicle tracking systems (Lojack) in six North-eastern cities 37 “Running the red” in Strathclyde Traffic lights with cameras and nearby controls Before = one day in Sept 1991 After = one day in Sept 1994 CAMERAS Before After CONTROLS Before After Bridge St 209 88 Edinburgh Rd 53 27 Garscube Rd 113 107 Auldhouse Rd 38 5 Edinburgh Rd 97 13 Carntynehall Rd 29 14 Ballater St 111 35 Merrylee Rd 17 25 Auldhouse Rd 68 7 Hyndland Rd 51 51 Aikenhead Rd 55 19 Burnside Dr 13 5 Totals 653 269 Total 201 127 40 POP and SCP SIMILARITIES • Originated about same time (U.K./U.S.A.) • Both preventive approaches • Both focus on highly specific problems • Both use action research model 41 POP and SCP CONVERGENCE • Scholars intermingling • Literatures converging • POP Guides make use of 25 techniques • Popcenter website contains much SCP material www.popcenter.org 42 TO CONCLUDE • SCP is a valuable resource for POP • It has strong base in criminology, yet it is highly practical • It has solid support from more than 200 published studies • It provides a wealth of suggestions for reducing opportunities for crime • It is highly compatible with POP in objectives and methods • SCP is under continuous development