Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
orders) as well as by strengthening the role of
capable guardians, for example by pubs and clubs
employing trained door staff. This brief review
does scant justice to huge efforts being made to
find effective ways of reducing crime—efforts in
which geographical skills have a vital place. Box
32.2 provides a case study in the reduction of
residential burglary in Hull that was cited as an
example of good practice in the White Paper for
the 1997 Crime and Disorder Bill. Examples of
good practice in American burglary reduction
may be traced through Sherman
et al
. (1997).
much more contemporary emphasis on the social
and cultural, in the ways in which identity is
conceived and realised. The concept of
community may lack clarity, but the importance
of factors beyond the individual and his or her
immediate surroundings is well attested across a
wide range of issues relating to crime and fear.
Whether it is street, neighbourhood or some less
tangible spatial entity, the defining role of
community is evident if not always readily
unravelled. There remains much to be done, not
least in attempting to explain the paradoxes, but
also in grappling with new conceptions of spatial
justice and equity that the recognition of
differences in community reactions to crime
demands.
For the practitioner, the future lies in the
application of new technologies and new skills of
geographical enquiry. GIS are coming of age in
crime pattern analysis. No longer confined to
retrospective application by highly skilled
specialists, they are increasingly being used by
front-line staff—police officers, probation officers,
social workers—as a management tool, particularly
in the assessment of risk. This sort of application is
still in its infancy, and much remains to be done to
make it more effective. Display mapping practices
are still crude, but maps are beginning to appear as
a means of communicating understanding and
assessment in an increasing variety of professional
contexts. The power of the map as a means of
CONCLUSIONS: REVIVING THE ROLE
OF COMMUNITY
Crime and fear of crime remain an area of great
geographical potential for student, researcher and
practitioner alike. For the student, analysis of
spatial patterns has thrown up a number of
paradoxes (Box 32.3), which illustrate the complex
nature of the relationships involved. While some
are well researched, like the spatial paradox of
women's fear, in others explanation remains
elusive due to the dynamic impact of crime over
space and time. An emerging and consistent focus
of geographical perspectives on crime is
community. In one sense, this is a reaffirmation of
old-established themes—the ecological tradition
of the Chicago School—but it also represents a
Box 32.3
Spatial paradoxes in crime and fear of crime
1
Even in high-crime areas, people tend to believe that
crime is committed by someone else, somewhere else
The displacement of fear, outsider theory, area
stereotyping.
(see Conklin 1975; Hindelang
et al.
1978; Damer 1974)
2
Local events increase fear, distance events do not
Influence of media, cultivation hypothesis, concept of
resonance.
(see Gerbner
et al.
1979; Smith 1985; Williams and
Dickenson 1993)
3
Crime increases social cohesion in some areas,
decreases it in others
Durkheim's 'functionality of deviance'.
(see Conklin 1975)
4
Women's fear is greatest in places where they are least
at risk
Explaining the 'irrationality' of fear; space and the
patriarchy.
(see Pain 1993; Valentine 1989)
5
Neighbourhood Watch is most successful where it is
least needed
Contradictory definitions of success makes evaluation of
crime prevention difficult.
(see Husain 1988; Bennett 1990; Rosenbaum 1987)
6
The best-lit areas have the highest crime rates
Long-term effects in crime prevention may be very
different from short-term effects.
(see Atkins
et al
. 1991; Townshend 1997)
