Question 2: “Broken Windows” Theory
The broken windows theory is one of the models that have developed in the history of policing and focus on the importance of disorder, such as broken windows, in creating and sustaining serious criminal behaviors in society. James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling introduced the theory in a 1982 article, “Broken Windows: The police and neighborhood safety.” They argued that disorder is not directly related to serious criminal behavior, but leads to higher rates of fear that cause people,to withdraw and leave the room of severe crimes to enter because of the reduced level of social control. Broken Windows policies suggest the increased involvement of officers in troubled areas to restore order and reduce the fear of serious crimes among residents (Taylor, 2018). The theory further suggests that the police can disrupt the process if they emphasize on the disorder and minor crimes in residences that have not been overtaken by crime. The police presence can help to reduce fear and withdrawal among residents and promote informal social control, which enables people to take charge of their safety and prevent the occurrence of serious crimes.
The broken windows approach applies in the evaluation and critique of community policing and the generation of community crime. Community policing is a model that focuses on problem-solving and partnerships between the law enforcement and members of the target community to address issues that give rise to social disorder, such as crime and fear of crime. Although Broken Windows differ from community policing, it can apply in understanding the efficacy of the latter and the development of community crime. The theory suggests that presence or absence of close partnerships between the police and members of a community can prevent or cause the development of community crimes because of the withdrawal of residents because of the fear of crime (Taylor, 2018). Thus, Broken Windows theory is useful in determining the extent to which community policing is effective in a specific community that involves the close presence of the police working with residents. The two theories differ philosophically but relate to the extent to which they transform the role of policing in community settings.
The Broken Windows policies have received increasing attention in policing, including reviews of their efficacy and limitations in reducing the level of serious crimes in target communities. Law enforcement professionals focus their evaluation on various aspects of policing, including actual reduction of crime and the effect on the fear of crime. Consequently, they greatly disagree on the actual effect of the Broken Windows policies in addressing crime and social disorder. Some experts suggest that the policies have had a modest effect on all types of crime, but they are limited to the use of place-based, problem-oriented approaches to crime. However, critics suggest that Broken Windows policies have not had a major effect on crime reduction, but only addressed the fear of crime in target communities, which make them ineffective in fighting crime in target neighborhoods (Taylor, 2018). The strategies only create a perception of safety but lack sufficient evidence of actual impact on crime reduction in the neighborhoods where they are implemented. Therefore, they propose the need to complement Broken Windows policies with more effective strategies, such as problem-solving and community involvement in policing.
Question 3: Gang Development
The concept of the gang is common in modern society as youth or delinquent gangs, and street or criminal gangs have become commonplace in many communities across the country. Gangs develop in localized settings, which indicates that they are a community issue, rooted in neighborhoods, providing surrogate families, representing a rite of passage, or providing access to economic opportunities in deprived neighborhoods. Even gangs with a national influence begin at and recruit local youth and capitalize on local opportunities to perform their criminal activities. Gangs engage in criminal activities, ranging from minor offences such as vandalism to more violent crimes, such as drug trafficking and homicide (Howell & Griffiths, 2018). Consequently, gangs play an important role in community crime development because of their localized criminal behaviors. While some members of the gang age out of crime, especially if their involvement was a rite of passage, others grow up to become criminals in their communities. Gangs remain a critical part of organized crime and drug-related offences in many communities in the country, which has made attempts to address the issue complicated.
Criminologists study gangs and gang development using various theories that focus on why young people form or join gangs. They also emphasize on gang structure and their primary functions in communities where they develop. Social learning theories suggest that gangs form and develop through observation of what others are doing. Furthermore, through differential association, criminal behavior, such as gang violence develop in communities, as members interact and learn values perceived through association. Failure to have positive values to learn from, because of social disorganization, creates a room for the youth to learn from negative associations, including membership of gangs. Consequently, some criminologists suggest that gangs develop in communities that lack social order or proper institutions to provide protective resources, such as proper education, for the youth to develop positively (Howell & Griffiths, 2018). For example, gangs are more common in poor communities that lack adequate resources and social support. Other theories, such as social conflict and social disorganization, support the narrative that gangs develop in communities that lack proper social structures. Therefore, effective interventions to gangs and gang violence should focus on the individuals and the community.
Criminologists, sociologists and other scholars in gang violence propose effective interventions to address the problem in society. Some theorists suggest that a problem-solving model would be effective in addressing gang problems in society. The model involves SARA (scanning, analysis, response, and assessment), which are the four steps that would be effective in dealing with gang activity or violence. Problem-solving strategies involve effective partnerships between law enforcement and members of the affected community to search for and identify gang problems (scanning), investigating the specific gang issue (analysis), development of a local solution in the community (response), and evaluation of the efficacy of the solution (assessment). Some of the solutions that could be effective in addressing the gang problem include increasing the community resilience and responsibility in addressing the issues, promoting positive youth development and developing conditions, such as youth empowerment, to prevent gang membership, and creating a community-wide plan and networks to find effective solutions to gang problem in the community (Howell & Griffiths, 2018). All efforts should involve partnerships between law enforcement and members of the affected community.
Question 4: Criminal Opportunity
Theories of crime opportunity suggest that criminal offenders decide rationally and select targets with high rewards and minimal risk and effort. Criminologists who focus on the criminal opportunity theory suggest that the occurrence of criminal activity depends on two factors. First, the occurrence of a crime depends on the presence of a motivated criminal who is prepared to commit an offence. Second, the occurrence of a crime depends on the availability of environmental conditions in the surrounding of the offender, which is the opportunity to commit the crime. One of the approaches to the theory is that all crimes necessitate an opportunity, although not all are used by an offender to commit the crime. However, others suggest that although a motivated criminal is necessary to commit a crime, the condition is not sufficient for an offence to occur. The greatest part of the theory emphasizes differences in lifestyle or routine activities and the implication on crime opportunities (Land, 2018). Opportunity is the limiting factor determining the outcomes in the crime-prone environment since the criminal has minimal or lacks control over environmental conditions.
Clarke and Cornish and Cloward and Ohlin present understanding of criminal opportunity in their attempt to propose situational interventions to reduce the opportunity and make targets hard for criminals to access. For example, Clarke’s taxonomy of situational crime prevention interventions provides a conceptual tool to analyze situational techniques and provide clear guidance on their application in reducing the opportunity to commit a crime. Cloward and Ohlin’s concerns were about the tendency of young people to commit criminal offences and the role of the opportunity in the process. However, their focus on the criminal opportunity was somewhat different from the situational view of Clarke and Cornish. They focused on the lack of opportunity among the youth, whom the society pressurizes to success, but fails to provide legitimate resources to achieve their goals. Therefore, since they lack legitimate opportunity to pursue their goals, they focus on those available, including committing the crime to attain their goals. The opportunities available to individuals determine the possibility of turning to delinquency (Land, 2018). Generally, crime occurs when young people are left out of legitimate opportunities and can access illegitimate ones to achieve their objectives.
Policy analysts consider strategies to counteract the influence of criminal activity on the continuation of crime by focusing on the theory of crime opportunity. From the first perspective of criminal opportunity that criminals decide rationally depending on the availability of an opportunity, the focus should be on removing it from their environment to stop the continuation of crime. The most effective strategy is to create situational interventions to address the two conditions for criminal action. Unlike conventional theories of crime, theorists suggest the need to curtain the motivation of the criminal and remove the opportunity to commit an offence. Therefore, law enforcers should work with members of the affected community to create strategies that empower youth to avoid motivation to commit a crime by providing them with legitimate opportunity and create situational interventions to remove opportunities in their communities to perpetrate crime and continue offending (Land, 2018). Generally, the crime opportunity theory plays an important role in preventing the commission and continuation of offending in a community.
Question 6: The Racialization of Crime
The racialization of crime in the United States emerges from the systematic historical injustices focusing on racial disparities in the country. Current statistics indicate a high level of racism in the criminal justice system and an unprecedented representation of some races, such as African Americans, in the justice systems, such as in arrests and incarceration. Various social factors explain the racialization of crime, including racial disparities, systematic racism, marginalization, and unequal distribution of resources. Communities around the country have marginalized groups that live in poverty and are at a high risk of committing a crime and getting arrested. The perspective suggests that people living in poverty are more likely to engage in crime because they lack legitimate opportunities to achieve their goals (Linnemann & Medley, 2017). However, the high risk of crime among the racial minority groups is not the sole factor in the racialization of crime in society. Institutionalized racism has always been a major factor in the racialization of crime in the U.S. Individual and organizational factors combine to create the racialization of crime in the country.
Community policing has a close relationship with race and crime, especially within urban areas. Community policing focuses on the relationship and partnerships between the police and members of the community to implement interventions that can solve crime issues that are unique to the target area. The police can work with residents of high-crime neighborhoods and disadvantaged communities to implement interventions that can help to address racial injustices and create crime-free neighborhoods. Community policing plays a role in creating a high level of trust between residents of the target neighborhood, which is a key resource in addressing the issue of crime (Linnemann & Medley, 2017). For example, when the police work with residents, they can learn about one another and agree on how to address social issues affecting the marginalized communities. Besides, the police can understand the needs of the racial minorities in their neighborhoods and become actively involved in solving them. They can also help them to develop necessary resources to empower young people from the marginalized communities, prevent the opportunity for crime and promote legitimate means to achieve their goals. Consequently, they will address the issue of radicalized crime.
The case study of the racial divide within the Newark, NJ video tells an interesting story about the intractability of the problem. The video narrates the story of racial disparity in the region that has led to an increase in the rate of crime. It focuses on the social disorganization theory and the lack of equal opportunities for all people in the community to pursue their goals. In such an environment, the youth tend to pursue crime as the available means to achieve their objectives, which has made crime difficult to control. The racial divide creates a disillusioned part of society that become at a high risk of offending and engaging in crimes, such as burglary and vandalism. The racial divide has created a cycle of crime that is difficult to break because youth born in the marginalized communities have higher chances of becoming criminals and getting arrested (Linnemann & Medley, 2017). Unfortunately, society has not provided them the opportunity to change because racialism determiners their possibility of being arrested and incarcerated. The high rate of incarceration has increased the gap in the communities between the minority and the mainstream residents, which creates a further increase in the possibility of becoming criminals.
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