Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Crime Control in America What Works 3rd Edition Ebook PDF
Crime Control in America What Works 3rd Edition Ebook PDF
Transportation 373
PUBLIC TRANSIT 373
AIRPORTS 374
Does It Work? 374
Other Places 375
PARKING GARAGES 375
OPEN SPACES 375
PARKING METERS AND PUBLIC PHONES 376
Does It Work? 377
Summary 377 • Notes 378
Appendix 403
Name Index 411
Subject Index 413
FOREWORD
xviii
Foreword xix
It is illogical in the extreme to think that a generation that could be thought of as the
crime prevention generation could have lived with this obsessive attention to crime and
yet have had no impact on it.
On the other hand, crime rates go up and down in relation to so many forces that
have nothing to do with the honed nature of our crime prevention apparatus. The size
of the at-risk age group of poor males, the economy, whether we are at war, drug mar-
kets, immigration, and popular culture all seem to have something to do with crime
and to have little capacity to be directly affected by narrow crime prevention strategies.
Surely any account of crime rates in the face of the crime prevention generation has to
take these forces into account as well.
The purpose of this book is to identify what works and what does not work to con-
trol crime in the United States. This is a difficult task—Herculean, as one reviewer
of the first edition put it—but still a necessary one. A few books (cited several times
throughout the chapters to come) have attempted to do what this book does, but
most of them have not been very accessible to nonexperts, particularly undergradu-
ate students in the fields of criminal justice, criminology, and policy studies. The
first reason I decided to write this book was therefore to reach a wider audience,
especially people with little background in the area, while keeping the content to a
reasonable length.
Other crime control books do not cover enough of what is done to control crime
in America. That is, the amount of material on crime control that has made its way into
textbooks and into the crime policy literature in general has been relatively modest.
This book will make it abundantly clear that a great deal is done in the United States
in response to crime, much of which has yet to be researched or laid out in the pages
of a textbook—until now. I believe that the field needs a more comprehensive look at
crime control in America, which was my second reason for writing this book. I’m sure
you will agree, after having read the book, that the range of alternatives for dealing with
crime is quite extensive.
Some competitive texts tend to take a strong ideological stance, almost to the
point at which a balanced review of the literature is not presented. My third reason
for writing this book, then, was to present a comprehensive view of crime control in
America while maintaining a neutral ideological stance. To be sure, even the driest of
introductory textbooks cannot be totally objective. Every book reflects a perspective;
this one reflects mine. But whether you agree or disagree with my perspective, you will
come to realize that it is not a predictable one. I lean in no particular ideological direc-
tion, I am not registered with any specific political party, and I have no specific agenda
to further by writing this book.
I have been teaching crime control courses at the university level for more than
15 years. They are the courses I most look forward to teaching. The subject of crime
control tends to liven up discussions in many a course, much more than other topics.
(When was the last time undergraduates expressed excitement over chi-square tests
or theoretical integration?) Even the most reserved students tend to chime in when
opinions are voiced as to the best method of targeting crime in America. Three-strikes
laws, the death penalty, and other approaches have brought some of my classes to the
brink of an all-out brawl. I hope that this book leads to much (constructive) discourse
in other university classes, as well.
PRESENTATION
There is no easy way to organize the study of crime control in the United States. Some
authors have organized it according to ideological perspectives. Others have presented
it in something of a linear fashion, in the order in which the criminal process plays out
(starting with police, then going on to courts, sentencing, corrections, and so forth). I
part with past approaches and present crime control from its point of origination. That
xxi
xxii Preface
is, most of the chapters in this book discuss crime control in terms of who does it and/
or where it comes from. But I also follow something of a linear progression by begin-
ning with police and then moving on to prosecution, courts, sentencing, and correc-
tions before getting into less traditional topics.
Importantly, much is done to control crime that is informal in nature, which
does not rely on involvement by the criminal justice system or other forms of govern-
ment intervention. For example, when a person purchases a firearm to protect himself
or herself, that person is engaging in informal crime control. Likewise, a person who
installs a home security system is engaging in informal crime control. Approaches
such as these have been largely overlooked in previous books on crime control, so a
significant effort has been made to include them here. Indeed, three chapters discuss
the effectiveness (and ineffectiveness) of what I call “approaches beyond the criminal
justice system.”
UNIQUE CONTENT
Another one of my motivations for writing this book was to include topics and
approaches that always seem to come up in my classes but have rarely been included
in the text I assigned for the course (for example, I have yet to find a book in our field
that discusses the effect of civil asset forfeiture on the drug problem). Yet another
impetus for this project was a desire on my part to educate readers about many of
the lesser-known and underexplored methods of crime control in America. When I
share these with my students, many of whom are outgoing seniors who have already
received the bulk of their criminal justice education, they often express surprise, if not
total shock.
By way of overview, some of the relatively unique content (in comparison to com-
petitive texts) consists of sections or chapters on residency requirements for cops, col-
lege degrees for cops, police–corrections partnerships, multijurisdictional drug task
forces, Compstat, citizen patrol, citizen police academies, no-drop prosecution poli-
cies, federal–state law enforcement partnerships, community prosecution, deferred
sentencing and prosecution, fines, fees, forfeiture, sentence enhancements, chemi-
cal castration of sex offenders, civil commitment, anti-gang injunctions, job training,
shaming, problem-solving courts, self-protective behaviors, and several others.
Preface xxiii
DOES IT WORK?
As Chapter 1 will discuss at great length, it is nearly impossible to claim that a par-
ticular form of crime control is effective or ineffective. Additional research, new ana-
lytic techniques, and the like can cast doubt on what has been considered gospel
truth. At the other extreme, a slew of studies confirming a single finding would tend
to suggest an effective approach, but time passes and things change, which makes
scientific knowledge very tenuous and uncertain, especially in the crime control con-
text. Yet in an effort to avoid beating the “we-just-don’t-know-for-sure” horse to a
bloody pulp, I have decided to include “Does It Work?” sections in all but the first
and last chapters. In these sections, I attempt to summarize the state of the literature
as it currently stands.
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
The book is divided into five sections. The first section lays a foundation for assessing
the evidence. Chapter 1 discusses what is meant by crime, crime control, and effective-
ness. It also discusses many of the issues associated with research in the social sciences.
For example, Chapter 1 points out how difficult experimental research is in our field,
and it highlights the tentative nature of scientific knowledge. Chapter 2 continues in this
vein by introducing various crime control perspectives that readers should be familiar
with. Chapter 2 also presents the goals of crime control, including deterrence, retribu-
tion, incapacitation, and rehabilitation—each of which informs, to varying degrees, the
approaches discussed throughout the book.
The second section consists of the law enforcement approach to the crime prob-
lem. Because most research on the law enforcement approach has been concerned with
police, three chapters are devoted to the effectiveness of police approaches. Chapter 3
discusses traditional policing (e.g., hiring more cops), then Chapters 4 and 5 discuss
more imaginative approaches, including directed patrol and community policing.
Chapter 6 discusses the effectiveness of prosecutorial approaches to the crime prob-
lem. This is another unique feature of this book; it does not appear that anyone has
attempted to publish a summary of prosecutorial approaches to the crime problem
with attention to their effectiveness.
xxiv Preface
APPENDIX
I assume that not everyone who picks up this book is intimately familiar with the crimi-
nal justice system in America. Accordingly, the Appendix presents an ultra-brief intro-
duction to the criminal justice system. It discusses sources of crime statistics, the actors
involved in the justice system (in terms of executive, legislative, and judicial functions),
the criminal process (pretrial, adjudication, and beyond conviction), and sanctions. It
is not intended to replace an introductory text, but I feel that it gets much important
information across.
INSTRUCTOR SUPPLEMENTS
MyTest and TestBank represent new standards in testing material. Whether you use a
basic test bank document or generate questions electronically through MyTest, every
question is linked to the text’s learning objective, page number, and level of difficulty.
Preface xxv
This allows for quick reference in the text and an easy way to check the difficulty level
and variety of your questions. MyTest can be accessed at www.PearsonMyTest.com.
PowerPoint Presentations Our presentations offer clear, straightforward outlines
and notes to use for class lectures or study materials. Photos, illustrations, charts, and
tables from the book are included in the presentations when applicable.
Other supplements are:
• Instructor’s Manual with Test Bank
• Test Item File for ingestion into an LMS, including Blackboard and WebCT.
To access supplementary materials online, instructors need to request an instruc-
tor access code. Go to www.pearsonhighered.com/irc, where you can register for an
instructor access code. Within 48 hours after registering, you will receive a confirming
email, including an instructor access code. Once you have received your code, go to the
site and log on for full instructions on downloading the materials you wish to use.
ALTERNATE VERSIONS
eBooks This text is also available in multiple eBook formats including Adobe Reader
and CourseSmart. CourseSmart is an exciting new choice for students looking to save
money. As an alternative to purchasing the printed textbook, students can purchase an
electronic version of the same content. With a CourseSmart eTextbook, students can
search the text, make notes online, print out reading assignments that incorporate lec-
ture notes, and bookmark important passages for later review. For more information,
or to purchase access to the CourseSmart eTextbook, visit www.coursesmart.com.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author wishes to thank researchers everywhere for their efforts to inform crime
control policy. This book is a literature review, and it would not have been possible
but for their efforts. Thanks also go to Gary Bauer, Megan Moffo, and Steve Robb at
Pearson, plus Nitin Agarwal at Aptara, Inc., for their help in producing this edition.
Also, the reviewers who provided valuable feedback on this edition deserve thanks.
They are: Tim Goddard, Florida International University; Krystal E. Noga-Styron,
Central Washington University; and Cody Stoddard, Central Washington University.
Finally, I must once again thank my family, especially my wife, Sabrina, for putting up
with me on yet another book project; the compulsion to write is difficult to shake.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
xxvi
▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
1
Identifying and Evaluating
Crime Control
Crime Control and Prevention You Can Prove Anything with Statistics
The Crime Problem in America Qualitative and Quantitative Research
Types of Crime Macro- and Micro-Level Crime Control
The Ever-Expanding Criminal Law Displacement and Diffusion
Incidence of Crime Measuring Displacement and Diffusion
Costs of Crime and Criminals The Tentative Nature of Scientific Knowledge
Is Fear of Crime Worse Than Crime Itself? The Measures Used
Approaches, Not Just Policies When New Data Become Available
Laws Alternative Settings: The Generalization
Official Policies, Written and Unwritten Problem
Unofficial Approaches Other Concerns
On the Importance of Definitions Funding and Political Priorities
Defining the Crime Problem Academic Crusaders and Bandwagon Science
Defining the Solution Evidence-Based Justice
Defining the Desired Outcome Effective Does Not Always Mean Best
Evaluating Success: An Impossible Task? A Preview of the Book
The Hard and Soft Sciences Guns and Drugs: The Real Attention Getters
The Elusive Criminal Justice Experiment Summary
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
◾ Distinguish between crime control and prevention.
◾ Discuss the dimensions of the crime problem in America.
◾ Explain various “approaches” to the crime problem.
◾ Summarize the importance of definitions in the crime control debate.
◾ Discuss what crime control evaluations are problematic.
◾ Define displacement and diffusion.
◾ Explain why scientific knowledge is tentative.
◾ Explain how resources and political ideologies guide crime control priorities.
◾ Summarize the concept of evidence-based justice.
1
2 Chapter 1 • Identifying and Evaluating Crime Control
The United States of America has a crime problem. In response to it, we spend bil-
lions of dollars annually on everything from prison construction, police salaries, and
courthouse operations to home security systems, gated communities, and self-defense
courses. We cannot turn on the evening news without being witnesses to the violence
and mayhem that result from criminal activity. We flock to movie theaters to watch
crime-fighter movies. We elect politicians who promise to get tough with criminals
and lock them up and throw away the key. We long for safe neighborhoods, free from
violence and victimization.
Whether we like it or not, all Americans are influenced by the crime problem.
Some of us make a living because of the crime problem. This book wouldn’t have been
written but for the presence of crime! Others of us have been victims of crime, rang-
ing from violent assaults to petty theft. Even a person who has not been a direct victim
of crime pays for the costs of crime. Car insurance premiums, for example, are deter-
mined partly by the incidence of fraudulent claims. The locks on our doors probably
wouldn’t be in place but for the threat of burglary.
It is often said that people who make their living because of the presence of crime
enjoy a secure future in the United States. People ranging from the powerful Chief
Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court all the way down to the police motor pool mechanic
enjoy at least a part of their livelihood because of criminals. There are, quite literally,
millions of Americans who make their living from some dimension of the crime prob-
lem. It would seem that we cannot live without it, but to say that we are content to let
the problem thrive is obviously not true. We do a great deal in response to this nation’s
crime problem—hence the reason for this book. It is about methods of dealing with the
crime problem.
burglary might be too much to bear for one community, while another community
might be more tolerant of such activity.
Crime also varies from one place to another. South Central Los Angeles is clearly
different from, for instance, Beverly Hills. Washington, D.C., is clearly different from
Minot, North Dakota. Each city, county, or state has a crime problem that is its own.
Also, we all know that the crime problem fluctuates with time. The manner in which
it fluctuates, however, is difficult to understand. During the “dot-com” heyday of the
late 1990s, crime rates were at historic lows. Many were convinced that crime and the
health of the economy were positively correlated. But the economy took a significant
downturn starting around 2008 and crime also declined. According to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI), for example, the “2011 estimated violent crime total was
15.4 percent below the 2007 level and 15.5 percent below the 2002 level.”1
Next, the cost (or the lack thereof) of crime often factors into people’s perceptions
of whether crime is a problem. Some people say, “If it doesn’t affect me, why should I be
concerned about it?” Others feel that if one extra dollar of their hard-earned money is lost,
something needs to be done to address the root causes of crime. Finally, some people con-
fuse the crime problem with fear of crime. In many ways, fear of crime is worse than the
crime problem itself. The following sections consider each of these issues in more detail.
Types of Crime
It is easy to talk about crime in the abstract, but crime is a multifaceted concept. It is
“multifaceted” because there are many varieties of crime. Just look at your state’s penal
code, and this fact will become clear. Crime is a “concept” because it is something that
needs to be defined. In other words, most types of crimes are considered criminal acts
because they are defined as such by appropriate authorities. Certain crimes are almost
universally considered wrong in and of themselves, but most criminal acts are defined
as such by authorities, notably by legislators and the authors of the bills they champion.
It is important to be aware of the various types of criminal activities because one
cannot convincingly discuss solutions to the crime problem without reference to spe-
cific criminal acts; that is, there are no panaceas or complete solutions to some abstract
concept known as “crime.” Accordingly, we will discuss the importance of focusing on
specific criminal acts later in this chapter, but for now let us briefly discuss the more
common varieties of criminal behavior that we face every day. They can be placed
in four categories, even though there is some overlap between them: (1) violent crime,
(2) property crime, (3) white-collar and organized crime, and (4) public-order crimes.
Violent crime is what most captures our attention and inspires the greatest fear
in the minds of most Americans. There are many types of violent crimes, but the types
that have received the most attention historically are forcible rape, murder/homicide,
assault and battery, and robbery. The common thread running through these types of
crimes is that each involves a degree of physical force inflicted on one or more other
human beings. This book will pay more attention to crimes of homicide, assault, and
battery. The reason for this is that these crimes—and supposed solutions to them—have
been researched at great length. Comparatively little research has focused on responses
to crimes such as forcible rape. The same holds true for research on other types of
crimes, especially those of the white-collar variety.
Property crimes come in many varieties. However, most property crimes fall into
the categories of larceny/theft and burglary. Larceny/theft can include such offenses as
4 Chapter 1 • Identifying and Evaluating Crime Control
shoplifting, writing bad checks, credit card theft, auto theft, fraud, and embezzlement.
Depending on state law, burglary can come in several varieties. The most common
are residential burglaries and commercial burglaries. Some states define theft from (in
contrast to theft of) vehicles as a form of burglary. Most of the research on responses
to the crime problem has focused heavily on residential and commercial burglaries,
car theft, and various forms of larceny. A few studies reviewed throughout subsequent
chapters will attest to this.
White-collar crime is ill-defined but generally consists of crimes committed by
people during the course of their professional careers. One of the early definitions of
white-collar crime was any “crime committed by a person of respectability and high
social status in the course of his occupation.”2 More recently, white-collar crime has
come to be defined with reference to the specific types of activities it comprises, with-
out reference to precisely who commits it. That is, white-collar crime includes many
acts and can be committed not just by the rich, but also by middle-class Americans. It
can include tax evasion, credit card fraud, insurance fraud, solicitation of bribes, medi-
cal fraud, swindles, influence peddling, securities fraud, overbilling, and so forth.
Finally, public order crimes consist, not surprisingly, of crimes that offend the
social order. Often these are called vice crimes. They can include prostitution, pornog-
raphy, gambling, and substance abuse. Even homosexuality and certain paraphilias
(also known as fetishes) are considered by some people to offend the social order. The
most common types of crimes against the social order that receive attention throughout
the criminal justice system include drugs and prostitution. Indeed, the drug problem
is so ubiquitous that we will revisit it many times throughout the book. Public order
crimes are also important because many recent approaches to the crime problem in the
United States advocate targeting low-level crimes, such as street-level drug dealing and
prostitution, in an effort to deter more serious crime. This is commonly known as the
“broken windows theory,” and we will discuss it further in Chapter 4.3
use of marijuana. We discuss these and similar approaches to the drug problem later in
the book.
Incidence of Crime
The incidence of crime can be defined in several ways. First, it is useful to distinguish
between the volume of crime, its geographic distribution, and its temporal distribution.
The volume is concerned with how much crime takes place. The geographic distribu-
tion of crime is concerned with where it takes place. Finally, the temporal distribution
of crime is concerned with patterns over time.
The incidence of crime also varies among categories of people. The most common
method of understanding the incidence of crime in this way is with reference to: (1) gender,
(2) age, (3) race, and (4) social status. That is, the incidence of crime tends to vary
between the sexes, between different racial categories, between different age groups,
and between different levels of social status (income, marital status, etc.).
Figure 1.1 shows violent victimization trends between 1993 and 2011, the most
recent year for which data were available at the time of this writing. Table 1.1 captures
the distribution of violent crime by sex, race/ethnicity, age, and marital status. It further
classifies crime into the categories of violent crime and serious violent crime. Table 1.2
captures the geographic distribution of crime, broken down by region and residential
location (urban, suburban, and rural).
Percent change
10
−10
−20
−30
−40
−50
−70
Serious violent crime
−80
−90
'93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06* '07 '08 '09 '10 '11
Year
FIGURE 1.1 Percent Change of Violent Victimization Since 1993
Source: Jennifer L. Truman, Criminal Victimization, 2011 (Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice
Statistics, 2012), bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv11.pdf (accessed March 19, 2013).
6 Chapter 1 • Identifying and Evaluating Crime Control
TABLE 1.1 Rate and Percent Change of Violent Victimization, 2002, 2010, and 2011
Violent Crime Serious Violent Crimea
b c
Rates Percent Change Ratesb Percent Changec
Demographic Characteristic
of Victim 2002 2010 2011 2002–2011 2010–2011 2002 2010 2011 2002–2011 2010–2011
Total 32.1 19.3 22.5 −30%† 17%† 10.0 6.6 7.2 −28%† 9%
Sex
Male 33.5 20.1 25.4 −24%† 27%† 10.4 6.4 7.7 −26%† 20%
† †
Female 30.7 18.5 19.8 −36 7 9.5 6.8 6.7 −30 −2
Race/Hispanic origind
Whitee 32.6 18.3 21.5 −34%† 18%† 8.6 5.8 6.5 −24%† 13%
e † †
Black 36.1 25.9 26.4 −27 2 17.8 10.4 10.8 −39 4
Hispanic 29.9 16.8 23.8 −20† 42† 12.3 6.7 7.2 −42† 7
‡
American Indian/ 62.9 77.6 45.4 −28 −42 14.3! 47.3! 12.6! −12 −73†
Alaska Nativee
Asian/Native Hawaiian/other 11.7 10.3 11.2 −4 9 3.4! 2.3! 2.5! −25 12
Pacific Islandere
Two or more racese -- 52.6 64.6 -- 23 -- 17.7 26.2 -- 48
Age
12–17 62.7 28.1 37.7 −40%† 34%† 17.0 11.7 8.8 −48%† −25%
† † †
18–24 68.5 33.9 49.0 −28 45 24.7 17.0 16.3 −34 −4
† ‡
25–34 39.9 29.7 26.5 −34 −11 12.3 7.1 9.5 −22 34
35–49 26.7 18.2 21.9 −18† 21‡ 7.6 5.6 7.0 −8 24
50–64 14.6 12.7 13.0 −11 3 4.4 3.7 4.3 −4 15
65 or older 3.8 3.0 4.4 17 48 1.8 0.9 1.7 −9 91
Marital status
Never married 56.3 31.8 35.5 −37%† 11% 16.1 11.9 11.7 −27%† −2%
† † †
Married 16.0 7.8 11.0 −31 40 5.7 2.2 3.7 −34 70†
Widowed 7.1 6.7 3.8 −46‡ −43 4.4 3.0! 0.7! −85† −78†
Divorced 44.5 35.2 37.8 −15 7 10.9 11.2 9.2 −15 −18
Separated 76.0 60.2 72.9 −4 21 34.8 18.8 26.4 −24 40
†
Significant at 95%.
‡
Significant at 90%.
! Interpret with caution. Estimate based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%.
- -Less than 0.5.
a
Includes rape or sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault.
b
Per 1,000 persons age 12 or older.
c
Calculated based on unrounded estimates.
d
The collection of racial and ethnic categories changed in 2003 to allow respondents to choose more than one racial category.
e
Excludes persons of Hispanic or Latino origin.
Source: Jennifer L. Truman, Criminal Victimization, 2011 (Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2012), bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv11.pdf
(accessed March 19, 2013).
Chapter 1 • Identifying and Evaluating Crime Control 7
TABLE 1.2 Rate and Percent Change of Violent Victimization by Household Location, 2002, 2010, and 2011
Violent Crime Serious Violence Crimea
b c
Rates Percent Change Ratesb Percent Changec
Household Location 2002 2010 2011 2002–2011 2010–2011 2002 2010 2011 2002–2011 2010–2011
Total 32.1 19.3 22.5 −30%† 17%† 10.0 6.6 7.2 −28%† 9%
Region
Northeast 28.5 17.2 20.3 −29%† 18% 7.1 6.8 6.4 −9% −6%
† ‡ †
Midwest 38.8 22.0 26.3 −32 19 11.5 7.6 7.8 −32 3
† †
South 27.4 16.6 18.3 −33 10 10.8 5.4 6.5 −40 20
† ‡
West 35.6 22.4 27.1 −24 21 9.5 7.5 8.4 −12 12
Location of residence
Urban 41.0 24.2 27.4 −33%† 13% 15.2 9.5 9.7 −36%† 3%
† † †
Suburban 28.3 16.8 20.2 −29 20 7.8 5.5 5.7 −27 4
Rural 28.6 17.7 20.1 −30† 14 7.9 4.7 6.7 −15 42
†
Significant at 95%.
‡
Significant at 90%.
a
Includes rape or sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault.
b
Per 1,000 persons age 12 or older.
c
Calculated based on unrounded estimates.
Source: Jennifer L. Truman, Criminal Victimization, 2011 (Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2012), bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv11.pdf
(accessed March 19, 2013).
As to the costs of crime on an aggregate level, there are not as many estimates
available as one might expect. But of the studies that are available, it is clear that crime
is costly. The RAND Corporation recently took stock of the cost-of-crime literature
and determined an average cost for each incident of the following offenses:
• Homicide: $8,949,216
• Rape: $217,866
• Robbery: $67,277
• Serious assault: $87,238
• Burglary: $13,096
• Larceny: $2,139
• Motor vehicle theft: $9,079.6
Add white-collar crime to these figures, and the amounts become even more
shocking. Securities regulators estimate that securities and commodities fraud costs the
United States approximately $40 billion per year.7 Check fraud has been estimated to
cost $10 billion per year,8 and consumers appear to lose roughly $40 billion per year to
telemarketing fraud alone!9 Health care fraud costs in excess of $100 billion per year.10
The list goes on and on. One fact is clear: The aggregate cost of crime in America is
almost beyond belief.
If you are not convinced that the costs of crime are beyond belief, consider econo-
mist David Anderson’s estimates of the “net burden” of crime each year, which includes
not just the direct costs of crime but also fear of crime, costs of private security, oppor-
tunity costs, and several other factors.11 “Opportunity costs” refer to the loss of active
criminals’ and inmates’ potential productivity were they not criminal. Ready for the
numbers? He estimates that crime costs more than $1 trillion per year, in the United
States alone. This translates into $4,118 for each U.S. citizen. Imagine what you could
do each year with that kind of money!
Is Fear of Crime Worse Than Crime Itself?
“Fear, in some ways, is a worse problem than crime. While victims suffer the direct
consequences of crime when it happens, fear can affect the quality of life of victims and
nonvictims over an indefinite period of time.”12 Fear of crime can also lead to with-
drawal from the community and a breakdown in social relations among people.13 It can
even suppress investment, discourage new business, and it can contribute to neighbor-
hood deterioration and abandonment.14 At an individual level, excessive fear can lead
to anxiety and depression.15
People become fearful of crime for several reasons. They talk about personal vic-
timization experiences.16 The mass media heighten people’s fear through the graphic
portrayal of violence.17 People also watch many reality television shows (e.g., COPS),
leading them to believe that crime is more prevalent than it really is.18 Fear of crime can
also stem from the location in which a person lives; dangerous areas promote feelings
of discomfort and nervousness with respect to the possibility of victimization.19
In general, people fear becoming victims of violent crime much more than their
victimization likelihood of being victimized would suggest. Researchers call this the victimization
paradox: A high
paradox. The term refers to high levels of fear and correspondingly low rates of self-
level of fear with
a correspondingly reported victimization. Studies have shown, specifically, that women are more fearful
low likelihood of of crime than they should be,20 and so are the elderly.21 Recent research has shown that
victimization. fear levels remain high even when the crime rate drops.22
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DANCE ON STILTS AT THE GIRLS’ UNYAGO, NIUCHI
I see increasing reason to believe that the view formed some time
back as to the origin of the Makonde bush is the correct one. I have
no doubt that it is not a natural product, but the result of human
occupation. Those parts of the high country where man—as a very
slight amount of practice enables the eye to perceive at once—has not
yet penetrated with axe and hoe, are still occupied by a splendid
timber forest quite able to sustain a comparison with our mixed
forests in Germany. But wherever man has once built his hut or tilled
his field, this horrible bush springs up. Every phase of this process
may be seen in the course of a couple of hours’ walk along the main
road. From the bush to right or left, one hears the sound of the axe—
not from one spot only, but from several directions at once. A few
steps further on, we can see what is taking place. The brush has been
cut down and piled up in heaps to the height of a yard or more,
between which the trunks of the large trees stand up like the last
pillars of a magnificent ruined building. These, too, present a
melancholy spectacle: the destructive Makonde have ringed them—
cut a broad strip of bark all round to ensure their dying off—and also
piled up pyramids of brush round them. Father and son, mother and
son-in-law, are chopping away perseveringly in the background—too
busy, almost, to look round at the white stranger, who usually excites
so much interest. If you pass by the same place a week later, the piles
of brushwood have disappeared and a thick layer of ashes has taken
the place of the green forest. The large trees stretch their
smouldering trunks and branches in dumb accusation to heaven—if
they have not already fallen and been more or less reduced to ashes,
perhaps only showing as a white stripe on the dark ground.
This work of destruction is carried out by the Makonde alike on the
virgin forest and on the bush which has sprung up on sites already
cultivated and deserted. In the second case they are saved the trouble
of burning the large trees, these being entirely absent in the
secondary bush.
After burning this piece of forest ground and loosening it with the
hoe, the native sows his corn and plants his vegetables. All over the
country, he goes in for bed-culture, which requires, and, in fact,
receives, the most careful attention. Weeds are nowhere tolerated in
the south of German East Africa. The crops may fail on the plains,
where droughts are frequent, but never on the plateau with its
abundant rains and heavy dews. Its fortunate inhabitants even have
the satisfaction of seeing the proud Wayao and Wamakua working
for them as labourers, driven by hunger to serve where they were
accustomed to rule.
But the light, sandy soil is soon exhausted, and would yield no
harvest the second year if cultivated twice running. This fact has
been familiar to the native for ages; consequently he provides in
time, and, while his crop is growing, prepares the next plot with axe
and firebrand. Next year he plants this with his various crops and
lets the first piece lie fallow. For a short time it remains waste and
desolate; then nature steps in to repair the destruction wrought by
man; a thousand new growths spring out of the exhausted soil, and
even the old stumps put forth fresh shoots. Next year the new growth
is up to one’s knees, and in a few years more it is that terrible,
impenetrable bush, which maintains its position till the black
occupier of the land has made the round of all the available sites and
come back to his starting point.
The Makonde are, body and soul, so to speak, one with this bush.
According to my Yao informants, indeed, their name means nothing
else but “bush people.” Their own tradition says that they have been
settled up here for a very long time, but to my surprise they laid great
stress on an original immigration. Their old homes were in the
south-east, near Mikindani and the mouth of the Rovuma, whence
their peaceful forefathers were driven by the continual raids of the
Sakalavas from Madagascar and the warlike Shirazis[47] of the coast,
to take refuge on the almost inaccessible plateau. I have studied
African ethnology for twenty years, but the fact that changes of
population in this apparently quiet and peaceable corner of the earth
could have been occasioned by outside enterprises taking place on
the high seas, was completely new to me. It is, no doubt, however,
correct.
The charming tribal legend of the Makonde—besides informing us
of other interesting matters—explains why they have to live in the
thickest of the bush and a long way from the edge of the plateau,
instead of making their permanent homes beside the purling brooks
and springs of the low country.
“The place where the tribe originated is Mahuta, on the southern
side of the plateau towards the Rovuma, where of old time there was
nothing but thick bush. Out of this bush came a man who never
washed himself or shaved his head, and who ate and drank but little.
He went out and made a human figure from the wood of a tree
growing in the open country, which he took home to his abode in the
bush and there set it upright. In the night this image came to life and
was a woman. The man and woman went down together to the
Rovuma to wash themselves. Here the woman gave birth to a still-
born child. They left that place and passed over the high land into the
valley of the Mbemkuru, where the woman had another child, which
was also born dead. Then they returned to the high bush country of
Mahuta, where the third child was born, which lived and grew up. In
course of time, the couple had many more children, and called
themselves Wamatanda. These were the ancestral stock of the
Makonde, also called Wamakonde,[48] i.e., aborigines. Their
forefather, the man from the bush, gave his children the command to
bury their dead upright, in memory of the mother of their race who
was cut out of wood and awoke to life when standing upright. He also
warned them against settling in the valleys and near large streams,
for sickness and death dwelt there. They were to make it a rule to
have their huts at least an hour’s walk from the nearest watering-
place; then their children would thrive and escape illness.”
The explanation of the name Makonde given by my informants is
somewhat different from that contained in the above legend, which I
extract from a little book (small, but packed with information), by
Pater Adams, entitled Lindi und sein Hinterland. Otherwise, my
results agree exactly with the statements of the legend. Washing?
Hapana—there is no such thing. Why should they do so? As it is, the
supply of water scarcely suffices for cooking and drinking; other
people do not wash, so why should the Makonde distinguish himself
by such needless eccentricity? As for shaving the head, the short,
woolly crop scarcely needs it,[49] so the second ancestral precept is
likewise easy enough to follow. Beyond this, however, there is
nothing ridiculous in the ancestor’s advice. I have obtained from
various local artists a fairly large number of figures carved in wood,
ranging from fifteen to twenty-three inches in height, and
representing women belonging to the great group of the Mavia,
Makonde, and Matambwe tribes. The carving is remarkably well
done and renders the female type with great accuracy, especially the
keloid ornamentation, to be described later on. As to the object and
meaning of their works the sculptors either could or (more probably)
would tell me nothing, and I was forced to content myself with the
scanty information vouchsafed by one man, who said that the figures
were merely intended to represent the nembo—the artificial
deformations of pelele, ear-discs, and keloids. The legend recorded
by Pater Adams places these figures in a new light. They must surely
be more than mere dolls; and we may even venture to assume that
they are—though the majority of present-day Makonde are probably
unaware of the fact—representations of the tribal ancestress.
The references in the legend to the descent from Mahuta to the
Rovuma, and to a journey across the highlands into the Mbekuru
valley, undoubtedly indicate the previous history of the tribe, the
travels of the ancestral pair typifying the migrations of their
descendants. The descent to the neighbouring Rovuma valley, with
its extraordinary fertility and great abundance of game, is intelligible
at a glance—but the crossing of the Lukuledi depression, the ascent
to the Rondo Plateau and the descent to the Mbemkuru, also lie
within the bounds of probability, for all these districts have exactly
the same character as the extreme south. Now, however, comes a
point of especial interest for our bacteriological age. The primitive
Makonde did not enjoy their lives in the marshy river-valleys.
Disease raged among them, and many died. It was only after they
had returned to their original home near Mahuta, that the health
conditions of these people improved. We are very apt to think of the
African as a stupid person whose ignorance of nature is only equalled
by his fear of it, and who looks on all mishaps as caused by evil
spirits and malignant natural powers. It is much more correct to
assume in this case that the people very early learnt to distinguish
districts infested with malaria from those where it is absent.
This knowledge is crystallized in the
ancestral warning against settling in the
valleys and near the great waters, the
dwelling-places of disease and death. At the
same time, for security against the hostile
Mavia south of the Rovuma, it was enacted
that every settlement must be not less than a
certain distance from the southern edge of the
plateau. Such in fact is their mode of life at the
present day. It is not such a bad one, and
certainly they are both safer and more
comfortable than the Makua, the recent
intruders from the south, who have made USUAL METHOD OF
good their footing on the western edge of the CLOSING HUT-DOOR
plateau, extending over a fairly wide belt of
country. Neither Makua nor Makonde show in their dwellings
anything of the size and comeliness of the Yao houses in the plain,
especially at Masasi, Chingulungulu and Zuza’s. Jumbe Chauro, a
Makonde hamlet not far from Newala, on the road to Mahuta, is the
most important settlement of the tribe I have yet seen, and has fairly
spacious huts. But how slovenly is their construction compared with
the palatial residences of the elephant-hunters living in the plain.
The roofs are still more untidy than in the general run of huts during
the dry season, the walls show here and there the scanty beginnings
or the lamentable remains of the mud plastering, and the interior is a
veritable dog-kennel; dirt, dust and disorder everywhere. A few huts
only show any attempt at division into rooms, and this consists
merely of very roughly-made bamboo partitions. In one point alone
have I noticed any indication of progress—in the method of fastening
the door. Houses all over the south are secured in a simple but
ingenious manner. The door consists of a set of stout pieces of wood
or bamboo, tied with bark-string to two cross-pieces, and moving in
two grooves round one of the door-posts, so as to open inwards. If
the owner wishes to leave home, he takes two logs as thick as a man’s
upper arm and about a yard long. One of these is placed obliquely
against the middle of the door from the inside, so as to form an angle
of from 60° to 75° with the ground. He then places the second piece
horizontally across the first, pressing it downward with all his might.
It is kept in place by two strong posts planted in the ground a few
inches inside the door. This fastening is absolutely safe, but of course
cannot be applied to both doors at once, otherwise how could the
owner leave or enter his house? I have not yet succeeded in finding
out how the back door is fastened.