Crime Analysis for Problem Solvers in 60 Small Steps

When studying prisons and pubs, Richard Wortley noticed that crowding, discomfort, and rude treatment provoked violence in both settings. This led him to argue that situational prevention had focused too exclusively on opportunities for crime and had neglected features of the situation that precipitate or induce crime. As a result of his work, Clarke and Cornish have included five techniques to reduce what they called "provocations" in their new classification of situational techniques. These techniques are explained below, drawing on Wortley's examples.

Reduce frustration and stress. Everyone gets angry when treated rudely by waiters, when people push in front to be served, or when trains are delayed with no explanation. Sometimes they get so angry they become violent. This could be avoided by improved service, which is increasingly being demanded and delivered. However, complaints may be ignored when those mistreated have little power. For example, prisoners are often ignored when they complain that they cannot eat when hungry or choose their TV programs, even though these complaints could be met quite easily by staggering meal times and providing more TVs. Waiting one's turn to use the phone, another source of frustration for prisoners, can be reduced by computerized systems to ration phone use (see box). Outbursts of anger and violence can also result from people being subjected to extreme discomfort - too much noise, being jostled, and having nowhere to sit. These conditions exist in many clubs, bars, and delayed passenger airline flights and have consistently been found to induce trouble. More seating, soothing music, and muted lighting are all ways to reduce stress in these settings.

Avoid disputes. In the U.K., rival groups of fans are segregated in soccer stadiums and their arrival and departure is scheduled to avoid the periods of waiting around that promote trouble. Taxi fares from New York City's Kennedy Airport to Manhattan are fixed at a standard $45 to prevent cheating and disputes over fares. In an attempt to produce consensual crowd management at the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, riders were allowed to operate camp-sites for their fellow motorcyclists and were encouraged to develop rules for use of the facilities. This helped to eliminate the brawls between police and motorcyclists, which had marred the event in previous years.

Reduce arousal and temptation. Male doctors should not conduct detailed physical examinations of female patients without a nurse or receptionist present. This protects the doctor from false accusations, but it also reduces the temptation to sexually abuse the patient or make inappropriate advances. Laws that prohibit convicted pedophiles from taking jobs involving contact with children not only protect children, but also help adults to manage their sexual desires. That the very sight of a gun has been found to trigger feelings of aggression provides one good reason for regulating the display of weapons. Similarly, the fact that high proportions of sex offenders own or use violent pornography provides a rationale for controlling these materials. Finally, reducing temptation is the basis for advice about being careful with one's money in public as well as advice to young women about being careful when out alone at night.

Neutralize peer pressure. Many parents discourage friends who are a "bad influence" on their children and schools disperse groups of troublemakers into different classes. But adults as well as children are subject to peer pressure. Existing staff may induct new workers into stealing from their employers, and young men are often encouraged to drink too much by friends. One publicity campaign mounted in Australia to reinforce the powerful deterrent impact of random breath testing made use of the slogan, "Good mates don't let mates drink and drive." A publicity campaign in this country used "Friends don't let friends drive drunk."

Discourage imitation. All new television sets contain a "V-chip" so that parents can program their TVs to prevent children from viewing violent programs. Though the link between violent movies and violence in society is much disputed, there is some evidence of "copycat" crimes because media reports of unusual crimes sometimes provoke imitation elsewhere. It has also been shown, for example, that students who see their teachers engaging in illegal computer activity are more likely to commit computer crimes themselves, and that other pedestrians will follow someone crossing against a red light. Indeed, how often have you "run the red" only to find when glancing in your rear-view mirror that so has the car behind you? It has also been shown that picnic tables in parks that had been scratched and carved are more than twice as likely to attract further damage. Findings such as these provide the rationale for "rapid repair" programs to deal with vandalism. Wilson and Kelling extended this principle in their famous "broken windows" article by arguing that the failure to deal promptly with minor signs of decay in a community, such as panhandling or soliciting by prostitutes, can result in a quickly deteriorating situation as hardened offenders move into the area to exploit the breakdown in control.