Situational And Situational Crime Prevention Theory

Routine activity theory states that for a crime to be committed, three important factors need to be present including: a motivated offender, an accessible target, and the absence of a capable guardian against a violation. Marcus Felson and Lawrence E. Cohen introduced the routine activity theory in 1979, where they believed that an individual who has these three characteristics gives them a greater possibility of committing a crime. Moreover, situational crime prevention is known as strategies of ways for preventing or reducing the opportunities for criminals to commit crimes that derive from the routines of an individual’s everyday life. Ronald V. Clarke introduced situational crime prevention theory in 1983, where he believed that removing the situation instead of removing the criminal could prevent crime. In this paper, I will be discussing what routine activity/situational crime prevention theory is, and apply two peer-reviewed articles from Google Scholar that test the routine activity/situational crime prevention theory by discussing what the authors are trying to figure out and discuss their findings, and lastly, tie the routine activity/situational crime prevention theory articles to our textbook in hopes to fully understand in depth what the theory encompasses.

In crime, there are two types of prevention, Situational and Social crime prevention. Situational crime prevention makes it harder for people to commit crimes without being caught. Situational strategies of crime prevention may include CCTV cameras which are great for proving that a person committed the crime but do not stop the crime completely. Soial crime prevention strategies include putting children into schooling to prevent them from living on the street and committing

This essay will outline how crime theories are able to assist in recognizing the causes of criminal activity, as well as demonstrating two criminological theories to two particular crimes. Overviews of trends, dimensions and victim/offenders characteristics of both crime groups will be specified. The two particular crimes that will be demonstrated throughout this essay are; Violent Crime (focusing on Assault) being linked with social learning theory and White Collar crime (focusing on terrorism) being linked to General Strain theory. In criminology, determining the motive of why people commit crimes is crucial. Over the years, many theories have been developed and they continue to be studied as criminologists pursue the best answers in eventually diminishing certain types of crime including assaults and terrorism, which will be focused on.

Ron Clark describes situational crime prevention as ‘a pre-emptive approach that relies, not on improving society or its institutions, but simple on reducing opportunities for crime’. He identifies three features of measures aimed at situational crime prevention, firstly that they

The Broken Windows theory predicts that police can most effectively fight crime by focusing their efforts on targeting disorder, minor crimes and nuisance behaviors. The theory has had a positive impact, but has also raised some challenges. The police can play a key role in disrupting this process. If they focus in on disorder and less serious crime in neighborhoods that have not yet been overtaken by serious crime, they can help reduce fear and resident withdrawal.

According to criminologists James Q. Wilson and George Kelling, “… crime is the inevitable result of disorder.” (qtd. In Gladwell, paragraph 2). Wilson and Kelling are the masterminds behind The Broken Windows theory. The theory states that is a window is left unfixed after it is broken, people will come to the conclusion that there is no control. If that happens, more windows will be broken signifying that anything can happen. Dress code violations, mass shootings, and police brutality encounters are examples of broken windows.

One pointed out in the article is the broken windows theory. This was a theory identified and brought to urban police departments in 1982. It became popular fast. The idea behind it is that if a symbol of disorder, such as a broken window, in a neighborhood is not dealt with, it invites the criminal or disorderly element into the area to cause further harm and mayhem. The author points out that the popularity of such a theory, while seemingly effective, brought negative impacts to neighborhoods by keeping the minor offenders on a path of recidivism. According to the author, this would in turn create an “impoverished society.” Causing people to be unable to achieve employment or maintain an honorable position in society. The idea of a person causing disorder became the focus, giving way to an increase in the arrest of the homeless or mentally ill, and an even further increase in the arrest of

The broken windows theory, originally pioneered by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling argues that a broken window is a sign that no one cares about the appearance of the property. This proverbial broken window in turn encourages other residents to neglect their property. This further sends the entire neighborhood into a downward spiral, we begin to see large amounts of litter scattered throughout the neighborhood, home owners move out, houses become vacant and left to deteriorate, rental properties begin to spring up, and single family homes are turned into multifamily homes. As the income of residents decreases so does the property value of the neighborhood, and gradually a criminal element begins to establish itself within the neighborhood.

Deterrence theory of crime is a method in which punishment is used to dissuade people from committing crimes. There are two types of deterrence: general and specific. General deterrence is punishment to an individual to stop the society as a whole from committing crimes. In other word, it is using the punishment as an example to “scare” society from precipitating in criminal acts. Under general deterrence, publicity is a major part of deterrence. Crime and their punishments being showing in the media or being told person to person can be used to deter crime. Specific deterrence is punishment to the individual to stop that individual from committing other crimes in the future. This type of deterrence is used to teach the individual a

The broken windows theory is a criminological theory that if a neighborhood looks rotten then the more trouble it welcomes. In 1982, George L. Kelling and James Q. Wilson released an article focusing on the importance of the disorder. This theory is strongly attached to the African- American community. An area that shows a low population of existences states that fear or crime related situations caused the massive egress of residents. The lack of people to care for a community results into buildings looking forgotten. Therefore, broken windows appearance is a great way for convicts to hide because no one would go near a place that comes into view as spine-chilling. In additions, this produces a high risk of anxiety for African -American males believe that any moment a police officer can stop, question, and frisk them out of anticipation.

In the article Broken Windows, it gives the reader insight on what broken windows stands for and how it plays a role in policing. Broken windows is based on bad behavior or actions in the community. Just like a broken windows it symbolizes nobody cares, which leads to greater fear of crime and a lessens of community bad behavior, which in turn can lead to more serious crimes and greater signs of bad behavior, and it could turn into a repeating the cycle. "If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge."(Wilson) This theory says that the little things matter. By focusing on the small acts of criminals, law enforcements hope to make the community have social control meaning taking control of their community and to prevent crime or corruption from happening. Broken Window philosophy has it positive and negative aspects. The theory states disorder causes fear in the community, and more crime to occur. Broken Windows strategy was to fight crime and keep the community safe from danger. In some ways Broken Windows did help the community and in other ways it didn’t. With that said I going on to talk about what Broken Windows has done for us in positive way.

According to Broken Windows (Adam J WORKCITE). The author explains how living in poor environment can cause people to commit crime. The broken windows theory proposed by James Q. Wilson and George Kelling in 1t982, explain how disordered environments can lead people to commit crime. This study explains why living in a poor area will initiate “cracked down on panhandling, disorderly behavior, with public drinking, street prostitution, and unsolicited windshield washing or other such attempts to obtain cash from drivers stopped in traffic” meaning people will do all these things just to make quick money not thinking about the

Situational crime prevention constitutes primary crime prevention measure. This is to say that it is aimed at deterring crime before it occurs. Situational prevention, like other similar primary prevention measures, focuses on subduing crime opportunities instead of the attributes of criminals or even potential criminals. It seeks to curtail opportunities for certain groups of crime by increasing the risks and difficulties associated with them and significantly reducing the rewards. Situational prevention is made up of three key elements: a sound theoretical framework, an authoritative methodology for dealing with specific crimes, and a collection of opportunity-reducing approaches (Felson & Clarke, 1997).

Throughout the article many different examples are used to support the idea that Broken Windows Theory Policing is an effective way to fight crime. The primary example of this is in New York City, when the then mayor of New York City took on Bratton as the new police chief. He then went on to bring in Broken Windows policing. Almost immediately crime rates began to fall. However, many people disagree about the true reason the crime rates fell.

The focus of this paper will be based upon different crime prevention strategies implemented by members of the communities, local and government authorities.