Environmental Criminology

1. Environmental Criminology By: Siamak Razzaghi, Rose Noordeh and Miki Amakawa

2. What is Environmental Criminology? • Study of the relationship between the immediate physical environment and crime which is independent of prevalent social conditions. • This theory argue that some types of architectural designs are more likely than others to precipitate certain types of behavior and result in greater incidence of crime.

3. Background Information • The theory of environmental criminology argues that the immediate situation is more relevant to the decision to commit a crime than those social factors that represent the root causes of crime. • Zimbardo car study

4. Background Information • The earliest theories which posit a relationship between crime and the physical environment argued that the use of modern architectural and spatial designs minimizes social interaction, breaks down community cohesiveness, and destabilizes informal social control. In turn, this will lead to increases in crime.

5. Previous Research • Newman 1972 – High rise buildings • Relationship between building design, the loss of social cohesion and crime • Argued that high-rise projects had higher crime rate than low-rise ones despite their similarity in social composition, family composition, and residential stability. • It was concluded that tall buildings foster dissociation between dwellings and street activities, and promote a sense of alienation both from the surrounding neighborhood and from other residents of the housing project. • Cause: larger buildings have more people in them so residents are unable to identify neighbors from intruders. • This leads to the criminal having a perception of low probability of identification and increases anonymity.

6. Previous Research • Waller and Okhiro 1978 – Low rise buildings • Found the same effect as Newman in low-rise buildings where the victims tended to reside on the lower floors. • This finding suggests the importance of ease of access as the most critical variable differentiating burglarized and non burglarized residences.

7. Releaser Cues • Environmental cues that give us information on how to behave properly in that context. They also stimulate the release of otherwise inhibited behavior. • Samdahl and Christenson 1985 • Nietzel and Himelien 1987 • Wilson and Kelling

8. What is CPTED? • Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) • Pro-active crime prevention strategy • Proper design and effective use of the built environment can lead to a reduction in the incidence and fear of crime and improve the quality of life. • It promotes greater responsibility and control over neighborhoods by its residence. Emphasis is placed on the physical environment, productive use of space, and behavior of people to create environments that are absent of environmental cues that cause opportunities for crime to occur. • CPTED theories operate on the explicit assumption of “rational choice” theory; criminals make rational choices, (not random and therefore uncontrollable) and thus can be deterred from crime

9. CPTED • CPTED operates in two ways… 1. Directly: to reduce crime by reducing access to property and removing criminal opportunities For example, target hardening via security hardware (locks) 2. Indirectly: to reduce crime, fear and related problems by influencing the social behavior and social perceptions of residence and/or potential offenders For example, creating environments with natural surveillance (pedestrians, security guards), or creating environments that encourage community building

10. CPTED • Environment: includes people and their physical and social surroundings • Design: includes physical, spatial, social, psychological, and management directives that seek to positively affect human behavior as people interact with their environment

11. CPTED Components • Defensible space • Surveillance • Target Hardening • Neighborhood Design http://www.cptedontario.ca/index.php

12. Defensible Space • Newman’s theory argues that the physical environment can be designed to release the latent sense of territoriality among inhabitants which in turn would translate into their assumption of responsibility for preserving a safe, clean, and well maintained living environment. • The result is a greater control by individuals, families, and neighborhoods over their adjacent spaces, an enhanced sense of community, the exertion of informal social control, and ultimately a reduction in crime, disorder, and fear of crime. • What are some examples?

13. Defensible Space • Relies on collective rather than individualistic responses • Territoriality • Core of the defensible space concept • The capacity of the physical environment to create for each individual perceived zones of spatial influence that result in a proprietary interest and felt responsibility. • Deterrence would occur indirectly through the influence that environmental design has on the behavior of its residents

14. Defensible Space • 4 ways defensible space deters crime: • Capacity of physical environment to create perceived zones of territorial influences • Capacity of physical design to provide surveillance opportunities for residents • Capacity of physical design to influence the perception of a projects uniqueness, isolation, and stigma • Influence of geographical juxtaposition with safe zones on the security of adjacent areas, referring to the general quality of a housing complex’s location, including environmental and socioeconomic characteristics

15. Defensible Space • Theory of defensible space and the concept of territoriality is premised on 3 interconnected design principles. • Providing a clear definition of controlled space • Providing clearly marked transitional zones • Designing space to maximize natural surveillance

16. Defensible Space • Providing a clear definition of controlled space

17. Defensible Space • Providing clearly marked transitional zones

18. Defensible Space • Designing space to maximize natural surveillance http://www.yorku.ca/security/crimePrevention.htm

19. Defensible Space • Study by Robert Sommer - Crime and vandalism in university residence halls • A confirmation of defensible space theory compared crimes committed on a per capita basis in university high-rise halls and cluster halls. Residence halls with good defensible space (i.e., the cluster halls) were found to have substantially lower crime and vandalism than residence halls with poor defensible space (i.e., the high-rise halls) characteristics.

20. Surveillance • Operates in two ways: • Psychological • Feelings of territoriality • Real • Ability of residents and bystanders to actually spot offenders

21. Target Hardening • Strategy that involves efforts to make houses, buildings, and other crime targets more difficult to physically penetrate and thus prevent victimization entirely, or at least reduce the amount of loss that occurs

22. Neighborhood Design • Concerns safety attributes of multi residential complexes and neighborhoods • Attributes include: • Open public spaces • Pathways • Immediate space around housing • Parking lots • Landscaping • Exterior lighting • Access and exit control

23. Neighborhood Design • Open public spaces

24. Neighborhood Design • Pathways

25. Neighborhood Design • Housing and immediate surrounding areas

26. Neighborhood Design • Parking Lots

27. Neighborhood Design • Parking Lots

28. Neighborhood Design • Landscape Design

29. Neighborhood Design • Exterior Lighting

30. Neighborhood Design • Access and exit control

31. CPTED Support Factors • Management • Resident participation • Multi-organizational approach

32. Discussion Questions Question #1: • According to the CMHC review, what specific crime prevention measures can be utilized through the use of environmental design?

33. Discussion Questions Answer #1: • Design and location of single and multi family dwelling units • Layout of residential streets • Landscaping • Street lighting • Security hardware • Surveillance • Design and use of public space • Access and exit control • Resident action • Territorial identity • Social interaction • Community development • Addressing physical deterioration and property destruction • Property identification • Neighborhood image

34. Discussion Questions Question #2: • What are some criticisms of crime prevention through environmental design? What is your evaluation of these objections? This review represents a good example of environmental determinism in that it emphasizes design as the major influence in criminal behavior.

35. Discussion Questions Answer #2: • CPTED falls short of more fundamental measures to address causes of crime • Crime can’t be prevented by architects and planners by simply papering over cracks of society • Does not address root causes of crime • Concentrates on deterring the crime but displaces it to another place • Criminals may use CPTED to their advantage • Increase in public activity results in diffusion of responsibility when a crime occurs (i.e. bystander effect) • Target hardening may reduce amount of loss but does not decrease chance of being burglarized • CPTED studies lack long term longitudinal studies • Concept of territoriality does not guarantee intervention by bystanders

36. Geographic Profiling • Is used most often in cases of serial homicide and rape. • Geographic profiling predicts the most likely area where the offender resides by using crime scene locations.

37. Geographic Profiling • The suspects are rank ordered based on how close they live to the predicted home location. • It is used by police to help them prioritize potential suspects. • “it turns out that serial offenders tend to be consistent in their crime site selection choices, often committing their crimes very close to where they reside”. (Rossmo, 2000)

38. Geographic Profiling Software • The Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Crime (STAC) software, developed by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority has been used to analyze crimes and was the first system designed for geographic profiling. • Dr. Kim Rossmo who was a police officer with the Vancouver Police Department and the first Canadian police officer to get his Ph.D. in criminology developed a geographic profiling system called Rigel. It was used to assist the Washington sniper case.

39. Geographic Profiling Software • “Geographically coded information from police records can be used to detect crime trends and patterns, confirm the presence of persons within geographic areas, and identify areas for patrol unit concentration” (Rogers, Craig, & Anderson, 1991, p.17, quoting from a 1975 International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) report).

41. Connection Between Crime Location and Offender’s Residence • If the scene of the murder and the body dump sites are different, then the killer generally lives in the area where the victim was attacked • If the body is left at the murder scene, then the killer generally does not live in the area. • A hidden body generally means that the offender is geographically stable and is likely to use the same dump site.

42. Factors to Consider • Crime locations • Offender Type • Hunting Style • Target Backcloth • Arterial Roads and Highways • Bus Stops and Rapid Transit Stations • Physical and Psychological Boundaries • Zoning and Land Use • Neighborhood Demographics • Victim Routine Activities • Singularities • Displacement

43. Investigative Tools That Can Be Used With Geographic Profiling • Suspect Prioritization • Police Information Systems • Task Force Management • Sex Offender Registries • Government and Business Databases • Motor Vehicle Registrations • Patrol Saturation and Stakeouts • Response Plans • Mail outs • Neighbourhood Canvasses • News Media • Bloodings • Peak-of-Tension Polygraphy • Fugitive Location • Missing Bodies

44. In 1998 a geographic profile was produced based on the body dump sites. The peak area was around Flower and Dean Street and Thrawl Street. Jack the Ripper • Polly Nichols used to live at Thrawl Street and moved into Flower and Dean Street. • Annie Chapman lived at Dorset Street • Elizabeth Stride usually lived at Flower and Dean Street. • Catharine Eddowes occasional stayed around Flower and Dean Street • Mary Kelly lived off Dorset Street. She used to live between Flower and Dean Street.

45. Jack The Ripper

46. Not All Cases can be Geographically Profiled The Following Conditions has to be met: • There has to be a chain of crimes that are linked • There are at least 5 crime sites • The crime must be of a serious nature

47. Guidelines to Geographic Profiling • An Official Letter of Request must be sent to the Chief Constable. • An information package including a list of all locations connected to the crime, a street map with all crime locations marked, case summaries. • A geographic profile takes about two weeks to complete

48. Steps to Profile Preparation • Review of case file including reports. • Examination of crime scene and area photographs • Interview with analysts and investigators • Visits to crime sites • Examine neighborhood and demographic information • Examine street, land use, and transit maps • Analysis • Report preparation

49. Geographic Profiling • Maps out crime trends and locations. It provides clues for investigators to help find offenders. • Is only a support tool and does not solve cases on its own.