Special Topics in Crime Prevention

1
Special Topics in Crime Prevention
Week 13
2

• Today
• Introduction/Overview
• The major dilemma in crime prevention 
• Crime prevention in disadvantaged neighbourhoods
• Applying crime prevention to organized and
  white-collar crime
• Crime prevention for women
• Crime prevention for youth
• Crime prevention for schools
•  

3
The Major Dilemma in Crime Prevention

• The neighbourhoods that are in the most need of
  crime prevention projects, are the ones that are
  most resistant to organizing and programs taking
  root

4
Major Challenges

• Major challenges facing crime prevention programs
  in disadvantaged neighbourhoods/social housing
• Social poverty, lack of ownership, transience,
  lack of belonging, heterogeneity (ethic, racial),
  low social interaction, low level of social
  cohesion, little informal social control
• Organizational problems with program
  implementation lack of leadership, few
  resources, poor/inappropriate outreach/communicat
  ions, lack of integration with surrounding
  neighbourhoods
• Physical Multi-residential environments (esp.
  high rises) encourage crime and discourage crime
  prevention

5
Case Studies

• Crime Free Multi-Housing Program - Specifically
  designed to provide services to multi-residential
  (social housing) properties
• Comprehensive - Attacks crime disorder
  problems from many different angles (preventative
  enforcement strategies).
• Problem-oriented - Crime prevention strategies
  are tailored to the specific problems of the
  environment. Prior to program implementation,
  research and site assessment is conducted.
• Manager and tenant involvement - The resident
  manager is an especially critical factor in the
  success of crime prevention programs in
  multi-residential properties.
• Partnerships Strong partnerships among police,
  security, staff and residents of the
  multi-residential complex.

6
Case Studies

• Crime Free Multi-Housing Program
• site assessments to identify the nature and scope
  of the problem
• development of site-specific crime prevention
  strategies
• training of building managers
• training and mobilization tenants
• promoting community, collective action programs
• training of security personnel in crime
  prevention community policing
• security upgrades and design modifications
• screening managers and tenants
• identifying and helping to evict problem tenants
• implement as a formal program, including
  certificate/plaque for successful completion

7
Case Studies

• Crime Free Multi-Housing Program Training
  Resident Managers
• Orientation - The overall role of the property
  manager in keeping multi-residential properties
  safe, secure and healthy.
• Tenant screening - Screening out potentially
  troublesome applicants, while assuring that
  honest applicants are encouraged to apply how to
  identify potentially troublesome tenants how to
  conduct a background check.
• Eviction - Learn the eviction process and laws
  for that province. How to evict problem tenants
  without incident.

8
Specific Programs/Case Studies

• Crime Free Multi-Housing Program Training
  Resident Managers (cont.)
• Community-building - How to build a healthy
  livable community, within multi-residential
  complexes training and organizing residents.
• Criminal activity recognition - How to recognize
  suspicious people and activities (including drug
  trafficking, prostitution, gang problems).
• Working with the Security/Special
  Constables/Police - How to maximize the
  managers, owners and tenants working
  relationship with law enforcement.
• Security and maintenance - How to conduct ongoing
  security and maintenance checks of the property,
  the use of CPTED and security technology

9
Youth

• What Young People Need to Lead Crime-Free Lives
• Opportunities and responsibilities to go along
  with rights.
• Meaningful things to do.
• Fair, clear, consistent and meaningful
  consequences for their actions
• A life free from abuse
• Both physical and emotional support.
• Freedom from other types of harm
• Accurate, complete information.
• Positive role models
• A voice in what happens to them
• A chance to be part of the solution.
• Source NCPC (Canada). 1995. Clear Limits and
  Real Opportunities The Keys to Preventing Youth
  Crimes. Ottawa NCPC.

10
Youth Case Studies

• Sosjale Joenits (The Netherlands)
• 60 youth advisory centres (Sosjale Joenits) exist
• Offer advice support to young people on matters
  relating to housing, employment, education,
  social security, substance abuse
• Target at-risk youth runaways, unemployed,
  homeless
• Philosophy help young people help themselves
• Emphasis teach young people
• how to make decisions for themselves and live
  with the consequences
• how to gain self-confidence and self-esteem
• how they are worthy in spite of their limitations
  and the difficulties they may face

11
Youth Case Studies

• The Ete-Jeunes Program (France)
• Summer camps and activities for young people
• Wide range of activities sporting and outward
  bound activities, discos, open-air film shows,
  theatre, etc.
• Objectives
• Remove young people from deleterious
  environments, while providing them with some form
  of supervision
• Allow them to take part in activities which
  interest them and gave them a positive image of
  themselves and their society while protecting
  them (at least temporarily) from their deprived
  environment and
• Give them some say in the design and
  implementation of activities.
• Integrate marginalized and ethnic minority groups
  into mainstream social and sporting activities.
  

12
Organized Crime
13
Traditional Enforcement

• State-sanctioned enforcement carried out by
  criminal justice agencies (little help solicited
  from public or other organizations)
• A reactive, situational, and tactical enforcement
  approach
• The unilateral operations of one enforcement
  agency exclusively within their jurisdictional
  boundaries
• The use of traditional investigative and
  interdiction techniques
• A reliance on a retributive model of criminal
  sanctions, which stresses punishment and
  imprisonment.

14
Non-Traditional Criminal Justice Approaches

• (Community) crime prevention
• Passive citizen participation Information
  dissemination, awareness raising, hotlines
• Active citizen participation Civic action
  groups, crime commissions, grand juries
• Community policing key to developing source
  intelligence within communities

15
Financial Services Sector Regulatory Agencies

• United States Federal Reserve Board
• Anti-money laundering program by regulatory
  agency
• Prevention and deterrent guidelines for banks
• Integrate money laundering prevention and BSA
  compliance into regulatory examinations
• Imposed strong penalties for non-compliance
• Canada Office of the Superintendent of Financial
  Institutions
• Policies and procedures (guidelines and best
  practices) to prevent and deter money laundering
  through banks
• No compliance measures
• Little action taken by other regulatory agencies,
  especially at provincial level

16
Economic Crime
17
Economic Crime Prevention

• The best tools to combat consumer fraud is
• Education of the Public!!
• Awareness Raising
• Information Dissemination

18
Case Study Fraud Prevention in Nassau County,
Florida

• In cooperation with seniors groups and the
  private sector, the police developed a
  multi-faceted strategy
• Increased education and information
  dissemination to the public (e.g., info on latest
  scams printed on back of ATM receipts)
• Training bank officials on the latest fraud
  techniques
• Working with banks to detect fraud by
  developing a warning system that identifies
  practices inconsistent with clients banking
  history,
• Educating police officers on all available
  resources to combat fraud, including the use of
  municipal laws and consumer affair regulations,
• Encouraging seniors and others to use certified
  cheques, money orders, or wire transfers in lieu
  of large cash withdrawals, and