The formatting is a bit out of whack, all my footnotes are missing which is a pain because they are pretty informative, but all the material which I have referred to are at the end of this entry. I actually miss researching and writing down my conclusions into a nice, tight paper. Maybe if I'm bored I'll try and do some in my spare time. I've done some research on doctor's duties in relation to the emergence of alternative medicine. If I can find time, I may dabble a bit.
But now I'm way off track.
Okies, so if your bored, its an interesting read. Let me know what you think. If your lazy... perhaps move along and read another time, or at least read my hakea prison entry. lol
The importance of understanding criminological theory when responding to crime:
The Criminal Justice System in WA
Anna Sasson
1.0 Introduction
Theory is part of an explanation, which connects a particular trend to the world of information, beliefs and attitudes of a people at a particular time or place. Various criminological theories have emerged as a means to discover the causes of criminal behaviour and to utilise that knowledge to prevent and decrease the rate of crime within society. This ultimately has resulted in some contradicting criminological theories such as the classical and positivist schools of thought. Yet these inconsistencies within the field do not diminish the importance of utilising this body of knowledge that has grown over time when considering the administration of the WA criminal justice system.
In WA, there appears to be a lack active utilisation of criminological theory within its criminal justice system. Nevertheless, in hindsight, one can relate criminological theories to WA’s response to crime through its various situational crime prevention schemes such as the Neighbourhood Watch program and Operation Burglary Countdown. Despite the fact that these initiatives has had some success and is cost efficient, this paper argues that the WA’s criminal justice system should take a more self-conscious, multi-faceted approach when responding to crime by utilising criminological principles such as classicism and positivism as a foundation and guide to implement more schemes with a stronger focus on socio-political issues within the community, such as the WA Alcohol Plan (Alcohol Plan) and Liveable Neighbourhoods Sustainable Cities Initiative (Liveable Neighbourhoods) and to provide a more complex understanding of criminal behaviour within the WA criminal law sentencing process.
2.0 Criminological Theory
2.1 Classical and neo classical criminology
The underlaying concept of the classical school of criminological theory is that humans are capable of understanding themselves and as a consequence act in such a way to promote their own best interests. Crime is therefore perceived as a result of the free choice of the offender who rationalises his or her criminal behaviour by assessing the potential benefits against the potential costs. Neo classical criminologists built upon this foundation and updated the concept with the notion of “rational choice theory,” taking into consideration other disciplines such as economics, economics psychology and sociology.
Classical and neo classical criminology has led to the concept of deterrence. Deterrence refers to increasing the costs and decreasing the benefits of crime so that individuals will rationally choose not to commit the crime. In light of this, criminologists have attempted to formulate methods of punishment and various situational crime preventative schemes to decrease the rates of criminal offences. This approach has been prevalent in the WA criminal justice system’s response to crime and could be used more so within the criminal sentencing principles.
2.2 Positivism – The psychological and sociological factors
In contrast to the classical schools of criminology, positivist theorists rest their ideas on the concept that criminal behaviour is caused by factors that go beyond the offender’s control. Instead of balancing on the costs and benefits, thinking and reasoning are merely a process of rationalisation which individuals justify their predetermined courses of action. Originally positivism was focused was on biological factors, but more recently the emphasis has been shifted to the psychological and the social factors that contribute to causes of criminal behaviour. Some of the social factors include economic depravation and lack of education, where an individual as been cultured within an area that has been ‘fertile grounds’ for the evolution of delinquent behaviours and values over generations, therefore not knowing any better than to act in antisocial manner. This principle would be better utilised as an aspect to consider in developing crime preventative schemes, but may be problematic if used within the criminal sentencing process.
3.0 Criminological Theory and Preventing Crime in Western Australia
3.1 Criminology in community based situational crime prevention
Situational crime prevention initiatives can be said to stem from neo classicism and the rational choice theory. They emphasise micro-preventative crime strategies utilising local authorities, business and the public to use practical deterrents. Promoting a crime-specific approach, deterrents are focused on changing the environment or situational factors around an individual so that the costs to perpetrate the crime outweigh any possible benefits. In WA such measures can be exemplified by Neighbourhood Watch and Operation Burglary Countdown programs which target blue collared crimes.
Neighbourhood Watch
Neighbourhood Watch was initiated by the WA government in the 1980s in a response to the high rates of burglaries within the residential areas. It is a system of a positive communication and active citizenship between the community and the WA police, as it is the residents who have the special knowledge of what is usual social activity and what is unusual social activity within their neighbourhood. In hindsight, it can be read to be a situational crime preventative initiative as the aim is to change the residential environment to a place where individuals were to be deterred from making their rational choice to commit an offence in areas where the Neighbourhood watch is active. Despite the increased awareness and knowledge of citizens within a Neighbourhood watch area, the success of this initiative relies on the extent of the involvement and maintenance of interest of both the police and residents in the program, and the issue of displacement, where crimes would transfer to other neighbourhoods arises. Therefore there is uncertainty as to whether this program would have any long term effects on crime rates.
Operation Burglary Countdown
Operation Burglary Countdown specifically refers to utilising the rationale choice theory by introducing various schemes aimed to reduce the offender’s confidence and the appeal in conducting a successful burglary by making the crime more difficult to commit and making apprehension and conviction more likely. Some of the series of community based initiatives of Operation Burglary Countdown include ‘providing information and increasing awareness for householders, free home security audits for victims of burglary, support and advice for victims, development of divisionary recreational programs for youths at risk,’ local community development, an interactive email system that alerts residents of local crime in real time (E-Crime Alert). In comparison to the Neighbourhood watch programs this appears to have more success in that there is a stronger socio-political focus by the involvement within various groups within a community and the police, rather than just relying on the initiative of the residents within an area.
3.2 Criminology in macro level socio-political initiatives
Macro level socio-political initiatives are characterised as complex, costly and does not necessarily provide an immediate affect on crime. Yet despite the “costs” of implementing such schemes, the “benefits” are more long term. This is due to the fact it is a multifaceted approach which targets the environmental, social, economic and the psychological factors of citizens. These initiatives affect the rational choice of an individual, creating an environment which does not support criminal behaviour, it educates and focuses on changing the attitudes of society so that individuals are encouraged to interact positively within the community or face punishment and social disapproval. WA’s Liveable Neighbourhoods and Alcohol plan are examples of macro level preventative schemes.
WA’s Liveable Neighbourhoods
The Liveable Neighbourhoods initiative provides a planning framework of macro crime preventative measures such as community environmental design, movement network, public parkland, activity centres, employment and schools in order to open up and make neighbourhoods more accessible in order to ‘design’ out crime from communities. This retrospectively can be interpreted to focus on those environmental issues raised in positivism, that contribute to the development of an individual’s upbringing and the replacement of a social stigma and attitude away from a delinquent culture to a more positive and social way of life. The City of Gosnells utilised the recommendations from the Liveable Neighbourhoods and implemented a Safecity Urban Design Strategy which aimed to develop building designs and urban structure which would reduce the opportunities for crime to occur and promote an environment where the community would have more interaction, and passive surveillance. The success of this scheme has included the reduction of burglaries, theft and car crime within the whole City. Other programs such as the New Living projects under the Ministry of Housing attempt to revitalise urban areas such as Bunbury, and Armadale/Kelmscott attempt to achieve similar results.
WA’s Alcohol Plan
There is a strong correlation between alcohol abuse and crime. Therefore controlling and decreasing alcohol abuse provides multiple benefits to the community and to individuals. The WA Alcohol Plan (Alcohol Plan) is an initiative of the WA’s Drug and Alcohol Strategy implemented by the State Government to change the attitudes of the society to a culture of responsible alcohol use in order to promote healthier and safer community.
The Alcohol Plan targets three key aspects within the community in order to implement a multifaceted socio-political change in the attitudes towards alcohol, The first key area is the assistance to young people to avoid high risk alcohol consumption. This utilises the school system to instil a continuous drug and alcohol education to students that aims at developing a safe and positive attitude towards the use of drugs and alcohol. Educational programs include theory, reflective practice, evaluation and an increased parent and community involvement for an all-round approach that promotes non-contradictory messages. An emphasis is also placed on effective school organisation and behaviour management to encourage the development of positive social relationships within schools in order to prevent antisocial behaviour that leads to a greater risk in youth alcohol use.
The second area focuses increasing the ‘capacity and commitment of communities to take ownership and control of factors within their local environment that impact on alcohol related problems.’ This includes changing the attitudes within the community by the building awareness as to the possible health and social harms of alcohol abuse such as underage drinking, drink driving, and family and domestic violence through the use of the media. The last key area is the enforcement of responsible supply and service of alcohol. This includes enforcing laws that prohibit under age drinking, the requirement for persons serving alcohol to have taken a Responsible Service of Alcohol course, the review of the locality and trading hours of liquor outlets, and the consideration of the imposition of tax.
4.0 Criminology in criminal sentencing
Another area where criminology should have a stronger influence is WA’s criminal sentencing process. The inclusion of criminological theory into the decision making process for the judiciary allows judges to impose the most appropriate sentencing by taking into consideration all the circumstances of the offence and the offender. Criminological theories would shed light as to the motivation and the reason for the criminal offence. Yet, so far with respect to judicial decision making in criminal matters, criminology is not actively utilised. Instead it appears that criminology merely runs parallel with the ideological administration of criminal justice as commentary rather than actual implementation or influence in the development of criminal sentencing.
Criminology not being utilised in the decision making process for criminal sentencing and for the developmental stages of government schemes to prevent crime, could be attributed to the fact that the theories tend to pose a lot more contradictions than providing a concrete explanation of crime. Contradictions such as those found in positivism referring to the rates of crime relative to the rates of unemployment, poverty and lack of education. The issue is the inability of criminological theory to establish the cause of crimes to the appropriate standard of proof. There are too many inconsistencies in the theories behind why some people would commit a crime, and while others do not.
5.0 Conclusion
In comparison to the Neighbourhood Watch and Operation Burglary Countdown initiatives, the WA Liveable Neighbourhoods and Alcohol Plan are more complex, costly and do not necessarily provide an immediate affect on crime. Yet despite the “costs” of implementing these schemes, the “benefits” are more long term. Unlike the Neighbourhood Watch, Operation Burglary Countdown and other situational crime preventative schemes which targets a specific crime, the Liveable Neighbourhoods and Alcohol Plan aims to eliminate or control possible significant factors that attribute to the causes criminal behaviour therefore providing a slow, but long lasting cultural change within the community. Unfortunately there does not seem to be any direct reference or application of criminological theory within the public policies of the community based situational crime prevention, the socio-political initiatives or within the criminal sentencing process, yet the importance of criminology in the WA criminal law remains. Without criminological theories our WA criminal law and its justice system would not be a self conscious, reflective process and therefore may create blind spots which would develop over time with the changes in society.
References:
Books:
• Clarke, Ronald V, Situational Crime Prevention – Successful Case Studies, Harrow & Heston Publishers, Guilderland, NY (1997).
• Vold, George b., Bernard, Thomas J., Snipes, Jeffery b., Theoretical Criminology 5th Edition, NY, Oxford Uni Press (2002).
Journal Articles:
• Edney, Richard, ‘Models of Understanding Criminal Behaviour and the Sentencing Process: A Place for Criminological Theory?,” The Journal of Criminal Law (2006) Vol 70, Issue 3, pg 247.
• Glaser, Daniel, Rice Kent, ‘Crime, Age and Employment,’ American Sociological Review (1959) Vol 24, pg 679-686.
• Hayward, Keith, ‘Situational Crime Prevention and its Discontents: Rational Choice Theory verses the ‘Culture of the Now,’’ Social Policy & Administration, (2007), Vol 41, No 3 pg 232.
• Mukheriee, Satyanshu, Wilson, Paul, ‘Neighbourhood watch: issues and policy implications,’ Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice,’ (1987) No 8, Australian Institute of Criminology.
• Schlag, P, ‘Law and Phrenology’ (1996) Harvard Law Review 877.
Reports:
• Cummings, Dr Rick, ‘Operation Burglary Countdown, November 2003-October 2004 – Evaluation Study Final Report,’ (2005) Prepared for the Office of Crime Prevention Government of Western Australia,
• Haigh, Yvonne, ‘Promoting Safer Communities through Physical Design, Social Inclusion and Crime Prevention through Environmental Design – a Developmental Study,’ (2006) published by the Centre for Social and Community Research.
• Loxley, Wendy, Lien, Debbie, ‘Drug Use Monitoring in Australia: Western Australian 2000 Report on Drug Use Among Police Detainees,’ (2001) Published by the National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University of Technology, Perth WA, pg v;
• West Australian Alcohol Plan 2006-2009, produced by the Drug and Alcohol Office, 2006.
Ministerial Media Statements:
• ‘State Government launches successful anti-burglary program in Carnarvon.’ 26/07/2004, at: http://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Lists/Statements/DispForm.aspx?ID=122421 Viewed on 30 April 2006.
Websites:
• Enough is Enough Website at: http://www1.enoughisenough.com.au/ , Viewed on 30 April 2008,.
• Land and Housing Development website: http://www.dhw.wa.gov.au/landsales/site_files/communities/community.htm Viewed on 25 April 2008.
• Neighbourhood Watch (WA Online) at : http://www.nhw.wa.gov.au/ . Viewed on 28 April 2008.
• Office of Road Safety website at: http://www.officeofroadsafety.wa.gov.au/index.cfm?event=topicsDrinkDriving. Viewed on 15 April 2008.
posted by anna at 4:24 PM
