Most criminological theories focus on what makes people
"criminal". They find causes in distant factors, such as
child-rearing practices, genetic makeup, and psychological or social processes.
These theories are very difficult to test; are of varying and unknown
scientific validity; and yield ambiguous policy implications that are mostly
beyond the reach of police practice. But you will find that the theories and
concepts of environmental criminology (and of the new discipline of crime
science) are very helpful in everyday police work. This is because they deal
with the immediate situational causes of crime events, including temptations
and opportunities and inadequate protection of targets.
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member of the problem-oriented team if you are familiar with these concepts.
The problem analysis triangle (also known as the crime triangle) comes from one
of the main theories of environmental criminology - routine activity theory.
This theory, originally formulated by Lawrence Cohen and Marcus Felson, states
that predatory crime occurs when a likely offender and suitable target come
together in time and place, without a capable guardian present. It takes the
existence of a likely offender for granted since normal human greed and
selfishness are sufficient explanations of most criminal motivation. It makes
no distinction between a human victim and an inanimate target since both can
meet the offender's purpose. And it defines a capable guardian in terms of both
human actors and security devices. This formulation led to the original problem
analysis triangle with the three sides representing the offender, the target,
and the location, or place (see inner triangle of the figure). By directing
attention to the three major components of any problem, the inner triangle
helps to ensure that your analysis covers all three. Police are used to
thinking about a problem in terms of the offenders involved - indeed, the usual
focus is almost exclusively on how to identify and arrest them. But POP
requires that you explore a broader range of factors and this requires
information about the victims and the places involved.
The latest formulation of the problem analysis triangle adds
an outer triangle of "controllers" for each of the three original
elements (see figure):
• For the target/victim, this is the capable guardian of the
original formulation of routine activity theory usually people protecting
themselves, their own belongings or those of family members, friends, and
co-workers. Guardians also include public police and private security.
·
For the offender, this is the handler, someone
who knows the offender well and who is in a position to exert some control over
his or her actions. Handlers include parents, siblings, teachers, friends and
spouses. Probation and parole authorities often augment or substitute for
normal handlers.
• For the place, the controller is the manager, the owner or
designee who has some responsibility for controlling behavior in the specific
location such as a bus driver or teacher in a school, bar owners in drinking
establishments, landlords in rental housing, or flight attendants on commercial
airliners.
The problem analysis triangle is the basis for another
useful analytic tool - a classification of the three main kinds of problems
that confront police and a theory about how these problems arise. John Eck and
William Spelman have proposed classifying such problems as "wolf,"
"duck" and "den" problems:
1. Repeat offending problems involve offenders attacking
different targets at different places. These are ravenous WOLF problems. An
armed robber who attacks a series of different banks is an example of a pure
wolf problem. Wolf problems occur when offenders are able to locate temporarily
vulnerable targets and places. The controllers for these targets and places may
act to prevent future attacks, but the offenders move on to other targets and
places. It is the lack of control by handlers that facilitates wolf problems.
2. Repeat victimization problems involve victims repeatedly
attacked by different offenders. These are sitting DUCK problems. Taxi drivers
repeatedly robbed in different locations by different people is an example of a
pure duck problem. Duck problems occur when victims continually interact with
potential offenders at different places, but the victims do not increase their
precautionary measures and their guardians are either absent or ineffective.
3. Repeat location problems involve different offenders and
different targets interacting at the same place. These are DEN of iniquity
problems. A drinking establishment that has many fights, but always among
different people, is an example of a pure den problem. Den problems occur when
new potential offenders and new potential targets encounter each other in a
place where management is ineffective. The setting continues to facilitate the
problem events. Note that pure wolf, duck, and den problems are rare. Most
problems involve a mixture. The question is, which is most dominant in a given
problem: wolves, ducks, or dens? When crime is occurring, all inner elements of
the triangle must be present and all outer elements weak or absent.
If potential offenders are constantly
present, for example, but crimes occur only when guardians are absent, then
rescheduling guardians might be a useful solution. Ask yourself, "What
does the problem analysis triangle looklike before, during, and after
crimes?"
Understanding how problems are created by opportunities will
help you think about what might be done to: prevent offenders from reoffending
by making better use of handlers; help victims reduce their probabilities of
being targets; and to change places where problems occur, be these schools,
taverns, or parking lots. In short, right from the beginning, it helps you to
focus data collection on those six aspects most likely to lead to practical
solutions.
What is Crime
Science?
Traditional criminology seeks to improve understanding of
the psychological and social forces that cause people to become criminals in
the hope of finding ways to change these causes. Crime science takes a
radically different approach. It focuses not on the reasons why criminals are
born or made, but on the act of committing crime. It seeks ways to reduce the
opportunities and temptations for crime and increase the risks of detection. In
doing so, it seeks contributions from a wide range of disciplines, including
psychology, geography, medicine, town planning, and architecture. Crime science
explicitly seeks to be judged by the extent to which it helps to reduce crime
on our streets, and in our homes and businesses.
