Understanding Of Crime Research Articles

THE BIG PICTURE: 2010 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS TO THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY*

Microanalysis holds sway over macroanalysis in contemporary criminology. All of criminology would be better off if greater attention were devoted to the big picture—the relationship between crime and the interplay of institutions in the social systems of whole societies. Microlevel researchers often assume that the reduction of individual criminal propensities leads ipso facto to reductions in aggregate crime rates, but the implied connection is illusive, has not been demonstrated, and is belied by the macroanalysis of crime. The perspectives, methods, and data of macrocriminology also need to be developed, however, if they are to advance our understanding of crime at the level of social systems. Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, Karl Polanyi, and C. Wright Mills have contributed essential building blocks for the study of the big picture of crime. Improvements in the quality and timeliness of aggregate crime data, finally, are necessary to bolster the policy relevance of macrocriminology.

Making communities safer from crime: An undervalued element in impact assessment

Crime and safety are significant issues for individuals, communities and businesses but they have tended to be undervalued elements in the consideration of social impacts in impact assessment theory and practice. It has been argued that crime is a form of pollution and an externality of development. In principle, the precautionary impact assessment family of approaches should be very useful here. The paper explores first the coverage of crime and safety issues in both the longer history of EIA, followed by the much shorter history of SEA and Sustainability Appraisal (SA). It then considers several key issues for advancing better practice. These include: the recognition of the lifecycles of projects and plans and the relevant dimensions of the local safety and crime baseline; the need to employ meaningful data, including “fear of crime” considerations; and the consideration of innovative approaches to the use of indicators. Evidence and theories from the field of environmental criminology are presented as crucial to understanding crime and its association with land-use. The paper concludes with an exploration of appropriate mitigation measures for anticipating and designing out crime. Examples draw in particular on evolving practice in the UK and Australia.

Mike Presdee (1944—2009) — cultural criminologist and champion of a life less ordinary

Mike Presdee was a sociologist of international acclaim and considerable personal magnetism. His work focused on the sociology of youth and cultural criminology. He was fascinated by the way in which young people are criminalized and controlled; of youth being seen as the problem rather than young people being the locus of the problems of the system. Later in life he emerged as a key fi gure in the burgeoning fi eld of cultural criminology, convinced of the impossibility of understanding crime (or any other form of human behavior for that matter) in terms of survey data and quantitative analysis. He argued that ‘numerical life’ had little if any relationship with ‘actual life’, that there was a chronic split between academic knowledge, the gaze from above, and everyday experience and the view from below revealed by ethnography and biography. He maintained that orthodox criminology was driven by the administrative concerns of the powerful which present problems as obvious and uncontested and set the research agenda of the social scientist. Why he asks is it ‘obvious to all…that we need research into the “evilness” of young people rather than the oppression of young people; the evils of drink and drugs rather than why we take substances that might even include enjoyment and the excitement of transgression’? (Presdee, 2004a). Such a power driven knowledge presents itself as part of a rational research agenda where the very presence of power is occluded. He then turns to the researchers themselves, noticing their poverty of experience, their exclusion from the lived worlds of the people they research, thus neatly reversing the conventional nostrum: it is the social scientist who is marginalized from the social world rather than those deemed marginalized and objects of study.

Editors’ Introduction: Empirical Evidence on the Relevance of Place in Criminology

For most of the last century criminologists have focused their understanding of crime on individuals and communities (Nettler 1978; Sherman 1995; Weisburd et al. 2009). In the case of individuals, criminologists have sought to understand why certain people as opposed to others become criminals (e.g. see Akers 1973; Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990; Hirschi 1969; Raine 1993), or to explain why certain offenders become involved in criminal activity at different stages of the life course or cease involvement at other stages (e.g., see Moffitt 1993; Sampson and Laub 1993). In the case of communities, criminologists have often tried to explain why certain types of crime or different levels of criminality are found in some communities as contrasted with others (e.g., see Agnew 1999; Bursik and Grasmick 1993; Sampson and Groves 1989; Shaw and McKay 1942) or how community-level variables, such as relative deprivation, low socioeconomic status, or lack of economic opportunity may affect individual criminality (e.g. see Agnew 1992; Cloward and Ohlin 1960; Merton 1938; Wolfgang and Ferracuti 1967). In most cases, research on communities has focused on the ‘‘macro’’ level, often studying states (Loftin and Hill 1974), cities (Baumer et al. 1998), and neighborhoods (Sampson 1985; Bursik and Grasmick 1993). While concern with the relationship between crime and place goes back to the founding generations of modern criminology (Guerry 1833; Quetelet 1842), the ‘‘micro’’ approach to places emerged only in the last few decades (e.g. see Brantingham and Brantingham

Teaching and Learning Guide for: Transnational Crime and Transnational Policing

Teaching and Learning Guide for: Transnational Crime and Transnational Policing

Super controllers and crime prevention: A routine activity explanation of crime prevention success and failure

Why does crime prevention fail? And under what conditions does it succeed? Routine Activity Theory provides the foundation for understanding crime and its patterns by focusing on variations in the convergence of offenders, targets and controllers in space and time. But Routine Activity Theory does not provide a full understanding of why the controllers may be absent or ineffective. This article expands Routine Activity Theory to explain controllers. It claims that the behaviors of controllers can be understood in the context of their relationship with super controllers – those who regulate controllers’ incentives to prevent crime. The article lists and describes types of super controllers. Drawing on a rational choice perspective and Situational Crime Prevention, the article examines the methods super controllers use to regulate the conduct of controllers. Examples are used throughout to illustrate specific points and to show the diversity of super controlling. This article concludes with a discussion of the implication of super controllers for the practice of crime prevention and research into crime reduction methods.

The Value of Quantitative Analysis for a Critical Understanding of Crime and Society

The value of quantitative analysis for a critical understanding of crime and society has often been questioned. This paper joins the debate by reviewing quantitative evidence on key criminological topics: the causes of crime, public opinion on crime, and the operation and impact of the criminal justice system. This evidence highlights the importance of economic deprivation and racial prejudice and discrimination for understanding U.S. crime and justice and points to the ineffectiveness of the nation’s “get tough” approach to crime control. In these ways, quantitative analysis has already bolstered central propositions in critical criminology and promises to continue to do so.

Another Kind of Justice: Transitional Justice as Recognition

What criteria of justice should guide societies emerging from mass atrocity? This question lies at the heart of the ongoing debate on 'Transitional Justice.' It has become commonplace in mainstream Transitional Justice discourse to speak as though we were presented with an either/or choice: retributive or restorative justice? In arguing that this is a false antithesis, this essay elaborates on the idea of 'justice as recognition' — the kind of justice that is involved in recognizing the victims of massive wrongs, and thereby acknowledging their human and civic worth. This argument is developed through a series of critical engagements with recent works in moral and political theory that are representative of a general shift away from an exclusive concern with a 'politics of distribution,' focused on the just distribution of social goods, toward a 'politics of recognition,' focused on the reduction of humiliation and moral cruelty. Drawing on the ideas of social and political thinkers such as Axel Honneth and Avishai Margalit, this analysis sets out to construe transitional justice as a moral, political and legal project of recognition that puts victims and their negative experiences of injury and humiliation at its center. In formulating this project, it identifies two levels at which recognition may operate. While the first level focuses on an understanding of crime as interpersonal conflict, the second level concerns the inherently political nature of large-scale instances of evil. The strategy pursued here is to argue for an integrative approach that encompasses both aspects of recognition.

Science in the Context of International Crime Control

This paper is based upon a series of presentations given at Michigan State University as the 2006 Dae Chang International Visiting Scholar. It is not, therefore, a ‘normal’ journal article describing a particular study or review. Rather, it aims to make the case for a more systematic consideration of the role of science and technology in international crime control —not only in relation to our general understanding of crime, but also in developing techniques for its prevention and detection. In doing so, it draws, for illustration, upon a small international study funded by ADT Alarms as part of its thought leadership programme. The study provides one example of the kind of developments in international crime research of which, the paper argues, there is a need for more.

Bag theft in bars: An analysis of relative risk, perceived risk and modus operandi

Crime is often found to concentrate in and around bars. Although numerous studies have looked at the relationship between bars and violent crime, research concerned with acquisitive crime in bars is lacking. This study focuses on bag theft in bars and presents analyses of 1023 recorded bag thefts in 2005–2006 from 26 bars of 1 chain in central London. We also report analysis of 317 customer surveys conducted in 14 bars of the same chain. In most crime prevention studies, a denominator is used to allow for a generalizable calculation of risk. Typically that denominator is selected by considering the crime in question and the commensurate population at risk: burglary using households, car theft using cars. For bag theft in bars various denominators exist: the number of seats, the number of customers or the number of bags per bar. This type of information is rarely available, and its impact on understanding crime risk is discussed here. Furthermore, bags might be at differential levels of risk of theft depending upon where they are placed. By comparison with a relevant denominator, here we show that bags are most at risk when placed over a chair or on the floor. Although surveys indicate that the public tend to know this, their bag placement behaviour appears to be at odds with their (accurate) perception of risky bag theft locations. We therefore propose that targeted publicity and greater bag stowage options that enable customers to store bags off the floor are likely to be effective crime prevention measures to reduce bag theft in bars.

Glen Elder's Influence on Life-Course Criminology: Serendipity and Cross-Disciplinary Fertilization

In this manuscript, we discuss the interdisciplinary influence of Glen Elder on the core ideas of life-course criminology and the role of serendipity in research discoveries. In describing the intellectual roots and evolution of this perspective we describe our long-term project on the life course of crime using a unique data archive—the Unraveling Juvenile Delinquency study and subsequent follow ups. We illustrate how Elder played a key role in the development and scope of our research program. Many of the key ideas from the life course—trajectories, transitions, turning points, behavioral continuity and change—generate important insight and understanding of crime and human development over the life course.

Victimology: A Social Science in Waiting?

Victimology was first proposed as a social science in the 1940s during a shift in interest in victims to gain a better understanding of crime. The early victimologists focused on the role that victims played in crime, which resulted in the concept that some victims contribute to, or precipitate, their victimisation. Later victimologists focused on the process of victimisation, including the treatment of victims in the criminal justice system. These and other theoretical perspectives have evolved from data obtained from various investigational techniques, such as victim surveys. As empirical knowledge has evolved so too has the push for victimology to be considered a social science. This paper canvases the debate on whether victimology is a social science. It proposes that victimology cannot be a social science unless victimologists apply a scientific method. This paper also argues that victimology, like other social sciences, cannot employ the pure scientific method associated with the natural sciences but victimologists should be empirical, theoretical and cumulative. As well, it gives an overview of several steps taken by victimologists to raise the status of their fledgling science, including establishing institutes and even proposing a single victim-centred theory. It concludes that victimology has not yet attained the status of a social science but also it is no longer just a sub-discipline of criminology, as it once stood accused.

A critical review of recent literature on crime and criminal justice in China: research findings, challenges, and prospects (Introduction)

BackgroundCriminological research was virtually non-existent in China from the time that theCommunists took power in 1949 up until the nation initiated the economic reformand “open door” policy in the 1980s. This neglect was due in part to the Communistideology that crimes, especially street-level crimes, are not compatible with asocialist society. In addition, levels of these types of crime were by all accounts verylow. Political directives warned the Chinese people to stay clear of any criminalinvolvement. As a result, China enjoyed very low crime rates and was characterizedby some as a virtually “crime-free” society [2, 5]. Criminological enterprise was notvery prevalent.However, since China implemented its economic reform and open door policy,the level of criminal behavior has been increasing. Official statistics reported a 340%increase of total crime and a tenfold increase in serious crime from 1979 to 1990 [1,5]. In 1978, the crime rate was 55.91 per 100,000; it reached 355.5 per 100,000 in2005 [4]. The increases in crime combined with the ascendance of China as aneconomic superpower have attracted many scholars to the field of crime and criminaljustice. China provides a great opportunity for Chinese and Western researchers toadvance knowledge and understanding of crime and criminal justice in a differentsocial and cultural setting where there had been virtually no criminological researchfor a long time. Consequently, studies on China’s crime and criminal justice have

Discussion on The Trail from the Perspective of Christianism Theology

Kafka is a writer of strong religious complex. In The Trail, he illustrates his religious thoughts by probing into the alienation of modern human beings from the God and also shows his pursuit and befuddlement of beliefs. This paper analyzes the crimes and punishment in The Trail through three parts, the accusation of crime, the understanding of crime and the pleading of crime.

How Well Do Criminologists Explain Crime? Statistical Modeling in Published Studies

Understanding of the phenomenon of crime lies at the heart of criminology. A century and a half of theory and research has accumulated, but there does not yet exist an evaluation of how much explanatory power (summarized as the amount of variance explained) there is in criminological research. Examination of empirical tests of criminological theory in Criminology between 1968 and 2005 yields three key findings. The overall level of variance explained is often very low with 80 or 90 percent unexplained. There has been no improvement over time. Individual‐based models provide relatively weak explanatory power, but models that took a more crime‐specific focus indicated some strength. Criminologists will need to pay much more attention to “what is not explained” in criminological modeling if they are to make significant advances in understanding crime.

A crossroad in combating and preventing financial crime

PurposeThe paper aims to address regulators, enforcers and the academy, presenting reflections on some research‐driven innovative approaches, strategies and tools in the fight against financial and economic crime, with reference to some instances of concrete application deriving from the Italian FIU's experience and know‐how.Design/methodology/approachThe paper focuses on the need for a systemic approach both in considering the problems of the regulatory/operational apparatus for combating financial crime (including evaluation issues) and in identifying solutions devised to improve such apparatus and its results. This approach cannot be detached from a methodological attitude based on synergies between the various parts involved.FindingsIn the light of such systemic approach, new perspectives and innovative ideas are put forward with reference to some major topics of the strategies for combating financial crime. These refer to themes such as measuring AML/CTF costs and benefits, bridging regulatory and professional frontiers, modelling and monitoring the status of the financial system and the behaviour therein, developing prevention tools, integrating interdisciplinary knowledge, and profiting from research.Research limitations/implicationsA systemic approach in understanding and fighting financial crime and its complex issues implies pooling together knowledge and expertise gathered under different complementary disciplines. This may provide information on the manifold sides and tinges of the phenomenon. By the same token, it is essential to take into consideration the systemic effects that specific action undertaken by the authorities may entail due to the subsequent reactions from other parts in the system.Practical implicationsData provided by the system offer a privileged practical basis in order to model the system's structure and understand its dynamics and its reactions to endogenous and exogenous impulses.Originality/valueThe paper explores themes and issues to which the international community is becoming increasingly sensitive, and which would certainly benefit from innovative vision and approach. The ideas and solutions expressed surely need further development, test and discussion, but they are bound to become part of the most significant prospective challenges in the combat against economic and financial crime.

Revenge and Poetic Justice in Classical France

Until the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Parisian judges of the court of law sat beneath a large painting of the Crucifixion, as a way of symbolizing, for the benefit of the criminals, both suffering and redemption. Human crimes had to be paid for in pain, as the example of Christ illustrated. In 1804, Nicolas Frochot, Governor of Paris, ordered that this be replaced by a painting representing Themis and Nemesis (Justice and Revenge) pursuing crime. This is not simply a pagan reference taking over the Christian model; it is also another understanding of crime and punishment. Pierre-Paul Prud'hon, a well-known painter and a regular visitor to the Governor, was asked to execute such a painting. It took him four years, but when he first presented it in the 1808 Exhibition, it was a huge success: Napoleon himself gave him the ldgion d'honneur. And when it was at last hung on the wall of the court of law, people are said to have fainted from fear.

Crime Orientations, Social Relations and Involvement in Crime: Patterns Emerging from Offenders' Accounts

: This article presents findings from a research project that set out to inform our understanding of crime by exploring offenders' accounts of themselves, their lives and their offending behaviour. Eighteen convicted offenders were interviewed. Official data about their offending were also collected. Analysis of these qualitative data revealed two central concepts in participants' accounts of their involvement in crime that are reported here: (i) crime orientation – an individual's stance towards crime; and (ii) social relations – an individual's formal and informal connections to society. More positive crime orientations and more negative social relations were associated with deeper levels of involvement in offending. The analysis also indicated that these were gendered concepts, being experienced differently and having different implications for men and women. It is concluded that crime orientations, social relations and gender are central to understanding offending behaviour when seen from offenders' perspectives.

TROUBLE WITH SHE-DICKS: PRIVATE EYES AND PUBLIC WOMEN INTHE ADVENTURES OF LOVEDAY BROOKE, LADY DETECTIVE

C. L. (CATHERINE LOUISA)PIRKIS'S“The Murder at Troyte's Hill,” second in her series of stories about Detective Loveday Brooke, begins with Brooke's boss debriefing her on a case: “Griffiths, of the Newcastle Constabulary, has the case in hand…. Those Newcastle men are keen-witted, shrewd fellows, and very jealous of outside interference. They only sent to me under protest, as it were, because they wanted your sharp wits at work inside the house” (528). This is a typical beginning for one of Brooke's adventures, which were published in the London magazineLudgate Monthlyin 1893 and 1894. As one of the earliest professional female detectives in English literary history, Brooke's career was marked by conflicts with territorial male officers and the ever-present pressure to keep her detective work “inside the house.” Emerging at a historical moment when understandings of women, criminality, and law enforcement were rapidly changing in Britain, Pirkis's stories offer an interpretation of these intersecting cultural shifts that is surprisingly different from her contemporaries. In a decade rife with scientific interrogation into the nature of criminality, such as in the work of Havelock Ellis and Francis Galton, detective fiction of the 1890s tended to mimic scientific discourse in its representations of criminals. The Brooke stories, however, challenge such conceptions of deviance and reveal the poverty of their underlying understandings of crime as well as gender.

Police Recording of Theft in a Prefecture in Greece: A Research Note

The ‘dark figure’ of crime is a key aspect in understanding crime rates, as it constitutes an obstacle in validating the quantification of criminality. Theft, although it is significant in terms of perceived personal victimisation, may be trivial in terms of financial cost in many instances, and it is thought to have a big ‘dark figure’. The purpose of this research note is to provide some information about the police recording of theft, one of the factors that influence the construction of its ‘dark figure’, in a prefecture in Greece.