Forensic Psychology For Dummies (80 page)
Read Forensic Psychology For Dummies Online
Authors: David Canter
Although academics may argue whether lack of education is the cause or consequence of an involvement in truancy and related criminality, this chicken-and-egg question doesn’t matter when the aim is to reduce crime. The important objectives are first to try to keep youngsters in school and second to give offenders the skills to survive legally outside of prison.
Tough on crime, but. . .
Tony Blair, the erstwhile British Prime Minister, very famously declared that he was ‘tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime’. This statement was a clever attempt to show that although he wasn’t going to be lenient with offenders, he understood that considering and dealing with the relevant social issues was necessary as well. As a result, he hedged his bets as to whether he thought the individual or society was responsible for criminal acts – which was probably fair enough as neither one nor the other is the sole cause – but politicians are required to show leadership and such vagueness doesn’t help create a clear approach to preventing crime.
Succeeding only in displacing crime
Efforts to prevent or reduce criminal activities often face the difficulty of
displacement,
which is where the crime simply moves to another jurisdiction or no longer shows up in official statistics under previously used headings. Superficially, the crime figures appear to have improved but the overall crime rate (and people’s suffering from it) is the same.
Experts have identified the following changes in crime as a result of crime prevention initiatives, all of which contain a psychological element:
Criminals move from one area to another:
for example, muggings stop where CCTV is present but increase away from the cameras.
for example, office burglaries happen when security guards are away.
for example, start to wear hoods to avoid being identified on hidden cameras.
for example, an improvement in vehicle security reduced the number of cars stolen from the street, but instances of
carjacking
(stealing cars at gunpoint) slightly increased.
: for example, aircraft hijacking is much rarer due to the great increase in security checks of passengers, but terrorists changed their tactics to kidnapping or suicide bombing.
for example, terrorists move away from attacking highly protected consulates and embassies to striking more vulnerable tourist locations.
Of course, I’m not saying that society shouldn’t use all the crime prevention strategies at its disposal, but an understanding of criminal psychology can help to recognise and perhaps anticipate some of the consequences. The fact is that new crime prevention measures change the landscape for criminals and as a result offenders adapt to the new surroundings and take advantage of new opportunities.
Some attempts at crime prevention can in fact increase crime if not handled carefully. For example, a new policy of arresting anyone accused of domestic violence may shame some offenders into less violent behaviour, but others may respond by becoming more defiant, more dangerous and more violent towards their victims.
The possibility of displacement, and of even more serious crimes resulting from attempts at crime prevention, shows the need to understand criminals’ psychologies and points of view when trying to change their actions. If due attention is paid and the prevention procedures aren’t introduced blindly, research suggests that many new initiatives can be successful in reducing the overall crime rate.