|
|
|
|
|
"the search for the causes of crime is futile but the opportunities to commit crime can be controlled". Discuss with reference to situational crime prevention.
|
|
|
“The search for the causes of crime is futile but the opportunities to commit crime can be controlled”. Discuss with reference to situational crime prevention. Introduction. Ever since criminology was established it has sought to answer as to why some people choose to commit crime. Cessare Lombrosso (1835-1901) “has been called the father of modern criminology” (Williams p141) known as the first phrenologist, he believed that people were ‘born’ criminals and destined to a life of crime. Primarily Lombrosso believed that a person’s physical appearance and make up were what determined a person’s potential criminality, for example “enlarged jaw and cheek bones” (Williams p142). Today we know that every possible theory as to why some choose to live a life of crime has been investigated, and the answer is simple, there will always be reasons such as poverty and drugs, but what about those who simply just choose crime as a way of life, they always have and probably always will. Finding out what causes crime is futile (pointless, not worthwhile etc.) as people are always going to commit crime, therefore those in control; the Government and the Police, shouldn’t concentrate one hundred per cent on trying to find the causes of crime but should concentrate on and investigate more effective ways to control and prevent crime. “It is better to prevent crimes than to punish them” (Beccaria p11 in Muncie et al). Crime prevention needs to be investigated greater by those in control and also by the individual. It can be very frustrating having you’re car broken into, this type of crime is usually opportunistic, for example the offender walks past, sees a mobile phone and decides that he/she would like to steal it, “there are some purely opportunist crimes, where a person responds ‘there and then’ to a set of attractive environmental cues (e.g. a teenage boy calls at a friend’s house, find the back door open and £20 unguarded on the table)” (Bottoms et al p324 in Maguire et al). Trying to establish what causes this type of crime is pointless as it is never going to stop people from breaking into cars. Car owners should be aware that in today’s society car crime is a very big problem, be that opportunist theft of valuable’s from inside the car or actually stealing the car itself. Individual car owners should take it upon themselves to employ several crime preventative measures so as to make it as hard as possible for their car to be broken into. car should always be fitted with an alarm, this won’t stop the passenger window being smashed ( the easiest way of breaking into a car) bit with the load alarm being activated it is likely to deter the offender from continuing with the act. Cars should always be parked somewhere safe, if it was left unattended in a dark side street it would stand a greater chance of being broken into; a car criminals are very good at spotting vulnerable and easy targets such as this, which is why in order to maximise the security of an individual’s car they should always leave it in a car park or area which has security. Valuables should never be left on display, if a car doesn’t have an alarm and immobiliser (device that doesn’t allow the car to be started without a special key) fitted the offender will be able to notice this by the fact that there will be no flashing light on the dash board. So if a car has been left in an area which could be considered as an unwise decision, has no alarm and has valuables on display, such as a car stereo; the car then becomes very unsafe and a very easy target for the criminal. Closed Circuit television (CCTV) is a very big part of today’s crime prevention tactics employed by the Government, and contrary to popular belief its main objective is not to catch criminals in the act of committing a certain crime but it is actually to deter them from doing so. In 1996 the then Home Secretary, Howard, said “I am absolutely convinced that CCTV has a major part to play in helping to detect and reduce crimes and to detect criminals” (Pease p 971 in Maguire et al).
|
|
|
|
Still Can't Find What Your Looking For? Then Try a Essay Search!
|
