Showing papers in "European Journal of Criminology in 2009"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors make the case that more attention needs to be given to understanding how different criminal justice systems actually produce prison rates as well as to interpreting the ideas and values that animate those inside and outside the system.
Abstract: How can the study of comparative criminal justice avoid the opposite dangers of ethnocentrism and relativism? The problem is examined taking as an example Cavadino and Dignan's recent analysis of differences in prison rates. The case is made that more attention needs to be given to understanding how different criminal justice systems actually produce prison rates as well as to interpreting the ideas and values that animate those inside and outside the system.
185 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors highlight the evolution of defensible space theory from Newman's original theoretical model to some of the subsequent theoretical and empirical developments that have been made in the field.
Abstract: This paper will highlight the evolution of defensible space theory — from Newman's original theoretical model to some of the subsequent theoretical and empirical developments that have been made in...
131 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors highlight the evolution of defensible space theory from Newman's original theoretical model to some of the subsequent theoretical and empirical developments that have been made in the past 35 years.
Abstract: This paper will highlight the evolution of defensible space theory — from Newman's original theoretical model to some of the subsequent theoretical and empirical developments that have been made in the past 35 years. By charting these developments in our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of defensible space, the aim of this paper is to illuminate the aspects of the theory that remain ambiguous and those that have been clarified to some extent by developments in criminological research. This paper will suggest that the most ambiguous of Newman's concepts is that of `milieu'. It will be argued that this key defensible space concept draws on situational aspects of spatial layout and accessibility, land-use patterns and routine activities of place. With this in mind, this paper will attempt to re-conceptualize defensible space within the context of situational crime prevention theory by elucidating the effect that routine activities of place have on territoriality and the creation of defensible space.
93 citations
TL;DR: The concept of the surveillance society has become a central part of the emerging transdisciplinary narrative of surveillance studies, and is now to be found as much in criminology as in many of the other domains upon which it draws.
Abstract: The concept of the `surveillance society' has become a central part of the emerging transdisciplinary narrative of surveillance studies, and is now to be found as much in criminology as in many of the other domains upon which it draws. This piece takes on two key problems generated by contemporary use of the term `surveillance society'; those of its historical novelty and its general geographical or cultural generalizability. In this article, I show that the historical development of arguments about surveillance have created particular and changing ideas of the `surveillance society'. However the contemporary period opens up questions of geography and culture. With reference to the comparative case of Japan, I argue both that a contextual understanding of both surveillance and `surveillance society' is crucial. While surveillance is involved with processes of globalization, it is also not necessarily the same `surveillance society' that one sees in different places and at different scales. Surveillance is...
85 citations
TL;DR: In the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, 411 males were followed up from age 8 to age 48 as mentioned in this paper, where the age of marriage was stratified into early (18-21 years), mid-range (22-24 years), and late (25 years or later).
Abstract: In the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, 411 males were followed up from age 8 to age 48. This analysis of the effects of marriage on offending is based on 162 convicted males. The age of marriage was stratified into early (18—21 years), mid-range (22—24 years), and late (25 years or later). Risk factors at age 8—10 were used to calculate propensity scores that predicted the likelihood of getting married. Convictions before and after the age of first marriage were investigated for married males and for unmarried males who were matched on the number of convictions before marriage and on the propensity score. The results showed that getting married was followed by a reduction in offending but only for early (age 18—21) and mid-range (age 22—24) marriages. The analysis was replicated using risk factors at age 18, with the same results.
79 citations
TL;DR: This article examined the effects of custodial versus non-custodial sentences on recidivism and found that custodial sentences were more likely to result in recidivision.
Abstract: This article examines the effects of custodial versus non-custodial sentences on recidivism. An eight-year follow-up study was conducted to track and compare rates of recidivism between former pris...
65 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider the implications of cultural values, political-cultural arrangements and the changing mediascape for the distinct cultural resources on crime and punishment that we consume.
Abstract: This article considers the implications of cultural values, political-cultural arrangements and the changing mediascape for the distinct cultural resources on crime and punishment that we consume a...
56 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors formulated hypotheses derived from the Integrated Cognitive Antisocial Potential theory (Farrington 2005) with regard to long-term and short-term risk factors for serious delinquency, and tested these hypotheses using data from the WODC Youth Delinquency Survey (data sweep 2005) of 292 juvenile delinquents.
Abstract: Scholars in the field of developmental criminology traditionally assign a major role to long-term risk factors such as inadequate parental supervision or poor school performance. Only recently has attention been paid to the effects of situational risk factors such as the presence of co-offenders and being drunk. Hardly any empirical research, however, integrates both long-term and short-term risk factors. We formulated hypotheses derived from the Integrated Cognitive Antisocial Potential theory (Farrington 2005) with regard to long-term and short-term risk factors for serious delinquency, and tested these hypotheses using data from the WODC Youth Delinquency Survey (data sweep 2005) of 292 juvenile delinquents. The findings indicate that serious delinquency is related not only to (an accumulation of) long-term risk factors, but also to situational factors, such as lack of tangible guardians and having used substances (alcohol or drugs) prior to the offence.
55 citations
TL;DR: In 2003, it was decided, in order to reduce fear of crime, to reintroduce attendants on all trains after 9 p.m. As well as dealing with order on the trains, these attendants had to check the tickets of all passengers as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Since 1993, Zurich’s suburban transport systems have operated without attendants on the trains, and passengers’ tickets were checked only sporadically. After increasing worries about crime and passenger safety on suburban trains, it was decided, in order to reduce fear of crime, to reintroduce attendants on all trains after 9 p.m. As well as dealing with order on the trains, these attendants had to check the tickets of all passengers. The programme was launched in June 2003, and once it was fully implemented the resources devoted to ticket checks and, thus, the number of passengers controlled after 9 p.m. rose by roughly 1500 percent. However, ticket checks remained stable and sporadic during day-time hours. The programme led to a dramatic reduction in fare-dodging on trains operating during the evening and, as an unexpected outcome, during day-time hours. The decline in fare evasion eventually levelled off. The results suggest that certainty of punishment works as a deterrent in a non-linear way, and that benefits from increased certainty can be maximized if checks are concentrated on critical hours and areas.
53 citations
TL;DR: Although prior research concerning Agnew's General Strain Theory (GST) has generated renewed support for the perspective, it remains limited in two critical ways as discussed by the authors, namely, research tends to measure s...
Abstract: Although prior research concerning Agnew's General Strain Theory (GST) has generated renewed support for the perspective, it remains limited in two critical ways. First, research tends to measure s...
53 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the privacy and non-discrimination rights that are core to the European legal framework are being challenged by the increased surveillance and profiling of terrorism suspects and organizations that have been observed using the Internet for communication, propaganda, research, planning, publicity, fundraising and creating a distributed sense of community.
Abstract: As the Internet has become a mainstream communications mechanism, law enforcement and intelligence agencies have developed new surveillance capabilities and been given new legal powers to monitor its users. These capabilities have been particularly targeted toward terrorism suspects and organizations that have been observed using the Internet for communication, propaganda, research, planning, publicity, fundraising and creating a distributed sense of community. Policing has become increasingly pre-emptive, with a range of activities criminalized as 'supporting' or 'apologizing for' terrorism. The privacy and non-discrimination rights that are core to the European legal framework are being challenged by the increased surveillance and profiling of terrorism suspects. We argue that their disproportionate nature is problematic for democracy and the rule of law, and will lead to practical difficulties for cross-border cooperation between law enforcement agencies.
TL;DR: In this article, a revised version of a paper presented to a workshop organized by the European Commissioner for Human Rights on police complaints is presented, examining the subject from the complainant's standpoint.
Abstract: This is a revised version of a paper presented to a workshop organized by the European Commissioner for Human Rights on police complaints. Examining the subject from the complainant's standpoint, d...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the traditional paradigm used to explain the leniency accorded to women offenders in US criminal courts ignores advances in feminist research which suggest how normative patterns that reinforce gender identities can and do change.
Abstract: In this study, we argue that the traditional paradigm used to explain the leniency accorded to women offenders in US criminal courts ignores advances in feminist research which suggest how normative patterns that reinforce gender identities can and do change. Using data from Finland, a society generally characterized by more gender equality than is found in the USA, we examine whether an offender's sex has a significant impact on the decision to imprison. Controlling for relevant legal and social characteristics, and considering the conditional effects of labour force participation and parental responsibilities, the findings show that the often-noted preferential treatment given to female offenders, relative to their male counterparts in the USA, is not present in Finland.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyse three aspects of the surveillance consensus, namely, correlating with the aesthetical concept of consensus, what they call (after Luhmann) the illusion of total inclusion, which is hardened by media arrangements and eventually by regulation.
Abstract: This article is inspired by Haggerty and Ericson's notion of the `surveillant assemblage', which draws on philosophical concepts of Deleuze and Guattari in order to analyse the dynamics of contemporary increasingly extensive and intensifying surveillance. The surveillant assemblage has a twofold character. On the one hand it aims to increase visibility and on the other hand it works invisibly, `beyond our normal range of perception'. The surveillant assemblage offers a surveillance consensus. To disentangle this consensus this article focuses particularly on CCTV as a technology that is still visible. We analyse three aspects of the surveillance consensus, namely, correlating with the aesthetical concept of consensus, what we call (after Luhmann) (1) the illusion of total inclusion, which is hardened by (2) media arrangements and eventually by (3) regulation. We will refer to these three aspects empirically along with examples from the development of CCTV in the UK, France and Germany.
TL;DR: The role of community (dis)organizational processes is a major issue in contemporary criminology as discussed by the authors, and researchers have been increasingly eager to measure community-level social mechanization.
Abstract: The role of community (dis)organizational processes is a major issue in contemporary criminology. As a consequence, researchers have been increasingly eager to measure community-level social mechan...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report the findings of two observational studies conducted in different areas to better understand how cyclists park their bicycles in public spaces and whether a simple communication strategy might encourage them to lock in a more secure manner.
Abstract: Throughout Europe various policy targets have recently been proposed to encourage cycling as a sustainable transport alternative. From a criminological perspective, if successful, increases in the population of cyclists may generate increases in the number of opportunities for cycle theft. Although there is little research into bicycle theft compared with other volume crimes, analyses of data from the International Crime Victim Survey indicate that cyclists are around three times more likely to have their bike stolen than car owners their car or motorcyclists their motorbike. In relation to the described policy aims, theft and the fear of bicycle theft are found to discourage cycle use. Consequently, neglecting the crime risks associated with increased cycle usage might impede the achievement of otherwise commendable policy targets. Here we report the findings of two observational studies conducted in different areas to better understand how cyclists park their bicycles in public spaces and whether a simple communication strategy might encourage them to lock in a more secure manner. The results of the first study, conducted across five sites in central London ( England) indicated a statistically significant reduction in 'bad' locking practices and increases in both 'good' and 'ok' locking practices at those sites receiving intervention. No changes were observed at the control site. Study 2 was conducted in Brighton, England, and constituted a replication of Study 1. A similar pattern of results was observed. The implications of the findings for preventing bicycle theft, the importance of implementability and maintainability in crime prevention initiatives, and the use of publicity in the prevention of crime are discussed.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the relationship between family dissolution and children's crimes and found that there is a large and significant effect from family dissolution that persists after controlling for important economic confounders.
Abstract: This study examines the relationship between family dissolution and children's crimes. The study uses a total population sample of a Norwegian birth cohort born in 1982 ( N = 49,975) and follows them through the crime statistics from ages 10 to 22 years, applying growth curve modelling. Both married and cohabiting parents are considered. There is a large and significant effect from family dissolution that persists after controlling for important economic confounders, even though these also show a high and significant effect. This suggests that, although some of the effect of parental break-up is explained by socioeconomic conditions, there also seems to be an independent and strong effect of family dissolution.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors test the assumptions that family structure explains individual differences in lifestyle risk, and these effects are moderated by mechanisms of social control, and the effects of mechanisms of control are moderate by the effect of propensity to offend (morality and self-control).
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to explain individual differences in lifestyle risk. Lifestyle risk has previously been identified as a key social mechanism which has strong direct effects on juvenile offending. Building on statements derived from the Situational Action Theory (SAT), we test the assumptions that (1) family structure explains individual differences in lifestyle risk, (2) these effects are moderated by mechanisms of social control, and (3) the effects of mechanisms of control are moderated by the effect of propensity to offend (morality and self-control). It is assumed that this model holds in different population segments such as subpopulations by gender and ethnic background. Results from two independently drawn urban samples in Belgium and Sweden are used to discuss the generalization of these findings. Mixed support is found for the 'equality of effects' thesis.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors derived hypotheses from social disorganization theory at the city level as well as at the neighbourhood level to study the influence of ecological contexts on youth delinquency.
Abstract: Previous research has not yet integrated determinants of youth delinquency at the city, neighbourhood and individual levels simultaneously. In this study we derived hypotheses from social disorganization theory at the city level as well as at the neighbourhood level. We use individual-level data from 11 cities in the Netherlands, supplemented with information about the structural characteristics of these cities and their neighbourhoods. Our results show that concentrated contextual disadvantage at both city and neighbourhood levels affects juvenile delinquency. More detailed analyses demonstrate that it is particularly the percentage of one-parent families that has a significant effect on youth delinquency. The implications for the study of the influence of ecological contexts on youth delinquency are discussed.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the effects on property crime of this economic adjustment to accession to the EU, using Lithuania as a case study and found that accession led to a significant increase in theft, burglary, and juvenile delinquency.
Abstract: The European Union (EU) has expanded its membership significantly in recent years to include Central and Eastern European countries. These countries are at significantly different levels of economic development than the other member states of the EU and are expected to undergo an economic adjustment to their new social, political, and economic reality. This paper investigates the effects on property crime of this economic adjustment to accession to the EU, using Lithuania as a case study. Using Lithuanian municipalities and fixed-effects estimation for 2001—6, the statistical results indicate that accession to the EU has led to a significant increase in theft, burglary, and juvenile delinquency.
TL;DR: Maltese criminology occupies a significant place in the national life of Malta as discussed by the authors and has a well-prepared core of researchers carrying out relevant research, however, some institutions are more reluctant than others to incorporate academic research into the policy-making process.
Abstract: Maltese criminology can be said to occupy a significant place in the national life of Malta. As a course of study, criminology makes a relatively recent appearance with the founding of the Institute of Forensic Studies at the University of Malta in 1993, although Maltese criminology has roots in forensic medicine from the 19th century. Criminologists in Malta, in their role of teaching and training police, probation and other criminal justice officials, have an identifiable influence on the practice of criminal justice. Some institutions are more reluctant than others to incorporate academic research into the policy-making process, but there is a well-prepared core of researchers carrying out relevant research.
TL;DR: In this paper, it is argued that the possibility of predicting or explaining trends in crime by individual data is quite limited and that the predictive power of individual childhood or teenage properties is too weak to explain total crime or specific types of crime.
Abstract: A typical solution proposed by both politicians and academics to the problem of crime in society today is individual prediction and early intervention. The question then is how this approach contributes to the central question of how to explain trends in crime. Data used to illustrate this question are drawn mainly from prediction studies, official statistics and level-of-living surveys in Sweden. It is argued that the possibility of predicting or explaining trends in crime by individual data is quite limited. First, the predictive power of individual childhood or teenage properties is too weak to explain total crime or specific types of crime. Second, changes in aggregate measures of conditions during upbringing are not easily compatible with changes in trends in crime. Third, other variables relating to changes in the opportunity structure than changes in the family of upbringing can account for the development of crime trends.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors tested whether or not there is a combined effect between strain and some techniques of neutralization, especially with respect to two different criminal behaviours: major and minor crimes.
Abstract: Classic strain theorists, such as Cohen (1955) and Cloward and Ohlin (1960), placed the emphasis on the relationship between strain and neutralization techniques. They argued that strains foster the adoption of beliefs favourable to crime. According to General Strain Theory(GST), stressful events are most likely to result in crime when a form of criminal reasoning already exists in the individual's mind. But few researchers have tested this idea. This study is one of the first to apply GST to a sample of 500 Italian subjects, in an attempt to merge two important theories: Agnew's theory and the neutralization theory. We aimed to test whether or not there is a combined effect between strain and some techniques of neutralization, especially with respect to two different criminal behaviours: major and minor crimes. The results provide partial support for the core idea of GST, namely of there being a relationship between strain, anger and crime.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluated the effectiveness of alley-gating in preventing burglary via statistical and geographic information system (GIS) analysis of crime data from alley-gate treatment sites in Oldham.
Abstract: Terraced housing is particularly vulnerable to burglary where the offender gains access from the rear of the premises. 'Alley-gating' attempts to prevent this by fitting robust gates across alleyway access points and is currently used in Oldham, North West England. This study evaluates its effectiveness at preventing burglary via statistical and geographic information system (GIS) analysis of crime data from alley-gate treatment sites in Oldham. Focus group data also identify secondary effects beyond crime reduction not apparent from the quantitative analyses. We argue that clearer understanding of the contextual dynamics specific to the gated area, together with careful analytical work and use of computerized crime mapping programmes, can inform strategic decision-making and further reduce victimization.
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of having a religious affiliation and an individual's level of religiosity on social norms in relation to victimless crimes were investigated using the World Values Survey (WVS) 1981-2004.
Abstract: This study investigates the effects of having a religious affiliation and of an individual’s level of religiosity on social norms in relation to victimless crimes. Two mechanisms are hypothesized to influence these norms: having a religious affiliation, via external sanctioning by others, and religiosity via internal sanctioning. In addition, it was predicted that the effects of internal sanctioning would be stronger than the effects of external sanctioning. To test these hypotheses, we used the data from the World Values Survey (WVS) 1981—2004. The final data set contains information on 128,243 respondents residing in 70 countries. The results of the multivariate analyses show that having a religious affiliation and a higher level of religiosity both result in a stronger condemnation of victimless crimes and that the effects of religiosity are stronger than the effects of belonging to a religious group.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that detailed engagement with these areas is currently neglected and that such neglect leaves problematic spaces in discussions regarding the development of biometric technologies, and argue that social science can map out ways to engage with technological uncertainty, the challenges of producing and mobilizing identity and the politics of technology development.
Abstract: This article engages empirically with the futures of biometric identification It does so by engaging with the current UK political debate regarding the introduction of identity cards, by participating in a trial of biometric technologies and by working with an organisational setting where ID cards would be introduced (an airport) The article suggests that, although social science can not predict the future, it can map out ways to engage with technological uncertainty, the challenges of producing and mobilizing identity and the politics of technology development The article argues that detailed engagement with these areas is currently neglected and that such neglect leaves problematic spaces in discussions regarding the development of biometric technologies