Designing out Crime from Products and Systems
Edited by Ronald V. Clarke and Graeme R. Newman
Monsey, NY: Criminal Justice Press, 2005
Clarke and Newman's Designing out Crime from Products and Systems examines a phenomenon that has received little attention in the crime prevention literature. While enormous attention had been paid to police response to crime, spatial aspects of crime and even citizen responses to crime, little research has examined the object of the crime. This work examines manufacturers' response to crime and ways in which efforts have been made to design products which are 'unsuitable' for crime.
This edited volume reports on six different pieces, each of which focus on different efforts on the part of designers to insure decreased criminal profitability from misuse of legitimate resources. Four of the six chapters of this text were initially intended to be reported to the U.K. Home Office "Design against Crime" research and development program. Unfortunately, as our editors’ report, "…government interest in the subject had waned under pressure of more urgent matters…"(p. 1). While government interest in the topic may have waned, it's clear that this is a substantive area which has received little academic research.
The volume itself is best suited for researchers or classes interested in the field of security. What is particularly compelling about this work is that it could have very easily been a volume of case studies which would have done little for a more comprehensive understanding of this type of problem. Instead, several of the chapters are devoted to organizational management efforts to deter crime, as well as outlining the role of the corporate sector and their responsibility in the products that they distribute.
One of two chapters that stand out as particularly poignant is authored by Cooper et al. titled Breaking the Cycle: Fundamentals of Crime-Proofing Design. In this chapter the authors outline fundamentals of the design process to limit criminal opportunity for products. What's interesting about this process is the number of factors the authors suggest need to be considered for each stage of the design process. Ultimately, it's suggested that everything from employee safety, victims' fear of crime, and potential offenders must be considered prior to a manufacturer delivering a final product. One can't help but wonder exactly how many industries take this process to heart, but still it provided a compelling foundation for a better understanding of the link between products and crime.
The second chapter worth mentioning is by Laycock and Webb titled Designing out Crime from the U.K. Vehicle Licensing System. This piece is an actual case study that examines how the current vehicle licensing system, while user friendly, provides remarkable opportunities for individuals to avoid paying their licensing fees (tax evasion). The efforts on the part of the re-designers are ultimately successful resulting in £75 million in vehicle excise duty. In addition, the redesign of the system has immediate benefits for the law enforcement agencies as it became easier to quickly identify vehicles with owners and make this information immediately available to law enforcement agencies.
Some interested only in security studies will most likely find little of interest in this text; however, it is clear that those interested in the role of situational crime prevention in the field of security will find this book interesting. From a wider perspective, the description of organizational and governmental roles in the designing of products makes for a compelling discussion. In a simpler sense, the focus on topics ranging from smart guns to v-chips to security coding insures that the material will be of interest to a variety of practitioners and researchers.
BRIAN A. LAWTON
Sam Houston State University |
