The dominant scientific methodology utilised by social scientists to study problems of crime and disorder is a macroscopic perspective that focuses on order and control; the molar. It assumes the ‘outside’ position of the researcher who focuses on functionality. Researchers construct their object of research as a distinct phenomenon and try to find links between it and its environment: the research object is assumed to be goal-driven. However, social reality is much more complex than this dominant perspective is able to research. This thesis argues that the molar cannot be fully understood without the molecular, a concept that expresses the idea of the unpredictable: sentiments, such as misunderstandings, fears and aspirations are key. However, the molar and the molecular are inextricably connected and emerge at the same time. Consequently, small changes on the molecular level could have huge and unpredictable effects on the molar level. Then, it becomes key to study the emergence of systems of control, such as law and partnerships, in relation to these molecular liquidities. Such an approach might teach us how crime policies deviate from the goals intended and start to produce undesirable side-effects. The thesis explores an alternative epistemology for examining issues of criminological concern which centers the molecular. It presents three case studies to illustrate the way both levels are interconnected. The first is concerned with the messiness and unpredictability of everyday relations and interactions in a criminal network. The second explores two Dutch police partnerships. Molecular elements such as personal preferences, frustrations and tensions are found to have a significant impact on the outcome of these partnerships. The third examines a measure introduced to prevent anti-social behaviour in the Netherlands which made shopkeepers and security personnel co-responsible for detecting and punishing acts such as shoplifting and fraud. The case is embedded in civil, not criminal, law and it is the diffuse nature of quasicriminal law that leads shopkeepers to refer to internal rules to justify their own actions. The cases show that the molecular is crucial in understanding crime problems and possible solutions, and the thesis concludes that the molecular should form the basis of a new epistemology for criminology research.

This thesis takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the impact that constructions of meaning and personal identity have upon the processes of professional decision-making, in the delivery of community safety services. The research draws upon the previous work undertaken in the fields of psychology, sociology, social anthropology, criminology and community safety. The research was composed of five separate studies. Study one was a Delphi exercise to determine consensus of meaning for different community terms in common usage for policy makers, practitioners and academics. The research was able to define consensual meanings for ten of the thirteen terms presented, including crime prevention, crime reduction and community safety. Consensus was not achieved for the terms community engagement, respect and quality of life and suggestions are made which may account for this result. Study two utilised repertory grids to investigate the ways that community safety professionals might construe the decisions that they have to make as part of their duties. Studies three and four utilised bespoke ISA/lpseus instruments, whose structures were informed by the results from Study Two. These instruments were used to further explore the construals and worldviews of a variety of community safety professionals through six process postulates. It was found that whilst an individual's initial job role or gender did not have significant impact upon their professional decision-making, the training that they had received in community safety and the time that they had spent working in the field did have a significant impact upon their professional decision-making. It was also found that the groups of community safety professionals differed in their attitudes towards those members of society who are the target of community safety activity. Study five involved the generation and piloting of a survey instrument whose various sections were designed to validate the findings generated from the previous studies, as well as providing further data on the decision-making processes of those working within community safety. The final chapter presents the Warren Person Process Priority (WaPPP) layered model of decision-making that was derived from the data collected to inform the current thesis. The outer Person layer is defined by the four-way typology derived from the Procedural / Free-form and Cautious / Adventurous bi-polar constructs of identity types that were identified from the ISA/lpseus studies. The middle layer of the model describes a number of different decision-making processes that professionals may follow when making a judgement or coming to a conclusion. The order of the processes was given by the results of the survey pilot. The central portion of the model presents a number of factors that may impact upon professional decision-making, determined from the ethnographic work that informed the ISA/lpseus studies. The order of these factors was determined from the preparatory data collection instrument that was used with the ISA/lpseus studies and confirmed by the results of the survey pilot. Suggestions are made for further research that may expand upon the results presented in this thesis. These include a larger version of the Delphi, with an international panel of experts; correlation of the ISA/lpseus instruments with other validated instruments for the measurement of personality, identity and decision-making and an expansion of the survey pilot.

This dissertation adopts a quantitative approach to investigate the determinants of residents’ perceptions of neighbourhood crime, focusing specifically on a series of structural factors at the community level, in accordance with the social disorganisation model. Using different statistical models, including correlations, linear regression, multilevel models and spatial regression analyses, and several Spanish data sources, in particular the 2001 Population and Housing Census and a nationally representative survey conducted in 2006, the research confirms the relevance of its exogenous sources in explaining perceived neighbourhood crime. These include classical variables, such as neighbourhoods’ socioeconomic status, residential stability, ethnic diversity, family disruption and degree of urbanisation, but also other features related to the time, skills and resources deployed by residents in their residential areas such as commuting time to work, the number of working hours and the availability of a second home. For its part, other local conditions traditionally associated specifically with perceived neighbourhood crime, such as social incivilities and physical decay, act as mediators of other contextual effects, in particular of the number of retail shops and offices. The research also demonstrates the urban nature of the social disorganisation theory. That is, that the local conditions typically associated with social disorganisation, urban unease and the various social problems that can affect neighbourhoods, are better predictors of residents’ perceptions of crime in town and large cities than in rural areas, operationalized as municipalities of less than 5,000 inhabitants. Small municipalities seem particularly successful in controlling their younger residents for neither the proportion of adolescents and young adults, nor the number of children per family exert an important effect on residents’ perceptions of neighbourhood crime. Among these local conditions, special attention has been devoted to measures of diversity and immigration demonstrating that their effect on residents’ perceptions of neighbourhood crime, except for the positive impact of Asians, is not necessarily robust to different model specifications and statistical methods. This erratic immigrant effect is surprising given how consistent the belief in a crime-immigration nexus is among Spaniards. Precisely on this point, the dissertation has investigated why the belief in a crime-immigration nexus varies significantly between individuals and across communities. Three variables have been identified as determining factors: contextual parochialism, right-wing ideology and the media. In rural areas with high residential stability, a significant presence of elderly population and a low socioeconomic status, residents are more likely to unconsciously associate immigration and crime, even when individual attributes are adjusted for and, more importantly, even if few migrants live in the surroundings. Not surprisingly, right-wing residents are more likely to associate both phenomena yet, in contrast to many statements by scholars and pundits, the media in Spain seems to exert a moderator effect.

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) is a concept which has developed over the past five decades through a range of fields. It is based on the premise that modifications to the built and natural environment can reduce both crime and fear, and improve the overall quality of life. CPTED relies on the cooperation of a variety of agencies; however, research has revealed important inherent difficulties regarding multi-agency working and that current practice is neither sustainable nor does it consider social characteristics which may impact upon crime and the effectiveness of CPTED initiatives. Criticisms of diverse factors relating to CPTED have been expressed but how robust such criticisms are and if suitable resolutions exist has not been explored. Using a mixed methods approach, this PhD seeks to improve and update the CPTED concept by addressing issues of communication and collaboration between CPTED stakeholders, and suggests robust ways of enhancing the social context within CPTED planning. The research answers the following fundamental questions: what are the underlying problems of the CPTED concept and how did they come to fruition; and can the approach to CPTED planning be re-examined and updated to reduce the inherent underlying difficulties and improve the transferability and practical application of CPTED initiatives. The research highlights language and definition inconsistencies in the CPTED framework, transferability and engagement issues between CPTED stakeholders and an unestablished but vital link between CPTED and social sustainability and context. The thesis delivers three major academic contributions to new knowledge. It firmly identifies failings in the CPTED concept since its inception to present; it proposes an updated framework which is theoretically driven, and represents a holistic catchment of all CPTED knowledge; and it makes a solid link between crime prevention and the sustainable development of communities highlighting its importance for context analysis.

Building on a growing body of research linking an opportunity framework to drops in acquisitive crime and most recently, acquisitive violence, the present thesis extends this framework to the downward trajectory of nighttime economy violence in England and Wales, during the phenomenon of the crime drop. Using secondary data analysis of the Crime Survey for England and Wales, the rate of stranger and acquaintance violence within the night-time economy is found to have halved between 1995 and 2011/12; mirroring the dramatic declines experienced by other crime types within England and Wales, and more widely across other westernised countries. Disaggregating this overarching trend by offence and victim characteristics reveals a reduction in alcohol-fuelled, common assaults between young males, occurring in and around the drinking venues of the night-time economy, and during weekends, to be the main driver of the drop. Boden, Fergusson and Horwood (2013) argue that to date there is limited knowledge surrounding the nature of alcohol-related violence. The present research explores the nexus between alcohol and violence through a situational lens. The opportunistic nature of night-time economy violence is identified through offenders' choice of tools (weapons) and selection of targets, as well as the clustering of violence along certain spatial, temporal, and individual, dimensions. The opportunity structure of night-time economy violence is established using multivariate modelling techniques designed to isolate the role of opportunity in assault-victimisation, and resultant severity, from the personal characteristics of the actors involved. Measures of a 'risky lifestyle', characterised by an increase in routine activities that take respondents away from the safety of the home, are found to be the strongest predictors of assault victimisation-risk across every available sweep of the survey. A significant shift in population lifestyle - namely a significant net decline in routine engagement with the drinking venues of the night-time economy, as well as a shift in the gender and age composition of drinking venue patronage - co-varies with the decline in night-time economy violence. However, residual effects of respondents' socio-demographic characteristics on victimisation-risk, after mediating for differences in lifestyle, presents violent victimisation in the night-time economy as a result of a process by which personal traits interact with criminogenic environments. Personal characteristics, however, are weaker in their prediction of offence severity in the night-time economy. Rather, the present research supports a collection of research identifying the context of violence to be the strongest predictor of violent dispute escalation (Brennan, Moore & Shepherd, 2010; Marcus and Reio, 2002).

Thesis (Ph. D. (Criminology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2015 / The research concerned with the aim of this study, was to assess the appli-cation of intelligence-driven investigation in combating organised motor vehicle theft. The strategic intelligence plan, information sharing and understanding of or-ganised vehicle theft, are some of approaches which will assist in dealing with the challenge of the illegal sale of vehicles and vehicle parts. There is indeed a need to address police corruption, if the battle against vehicle theft is to be realised. The objectives of this study were the following: to explain the strategic intelli-gence plan for investigating motor vehicle theft; to evaluate whether investiga-tions of organised motor vehicle theft in Thohoyandou cluster are intelligence-driven; to assess if the cluster uses intelligence offender profiling in investi-gations; to explore how intelligence-driven investigation assists in information sharing; and, to make recommendations for the improvement of intelligence-driven vehicle theft investigation. The researcher wanted to apply new research knowledge, in order to develop good practice in the field. This has been done by recommending new proced-ures to enhance performance and to improve the ways and means of combating organised vehicle theft. KEY TERMS Intelligence-driven investigation; strategic intelligence; intelligence cycle; crime investigations; modus operandi; offender profiling; organised crime; systems theory; motor vehicle theft; information sharing.

The South African mining industry has not been shielded from the criminal threat the country faces. In this case study, the nature and extent of asset theft at one of the largest mining companies in South Africa is analysed. The crime prevention strategy adopted by the mine to curb asset theft was studied over a period of five years. This involved a survey of the views of the security managers on the effectiveness of the strategy implemented by the mine. Against the background of the South African Government’s broad description of the crime prevention approach adopted by the country, the researcher explored whether it would be practicable to implement an integrated crime prevention strategy – encompassing situational, social and law enforcement crime prevention approaches on primary, secondary and tertiary level – at the participating mine in order to curb asset theft. / Police Practice / M. Tech. (Policing)

Introduite dans le Code de procédure pénale par la loi n° 2014-896 du 15 août 2014 relative à l'individualisation des peines et renforçant l'efficacité des sanctions pénales, à l'article 10-1, la justice restaurative rejoint désormais l'ensemble des réponses socio-pénales que le système de justice pénale français peut mobiliser pour répondre aux conséquences et aux répercussions du phénomène criminel. Depuis le 1er octobre 2014, date d'entrée en vigueur de l'article 10-1 du Code de procédure pénale, toute personne victime ou auteur d'une infraction pénale peut se voir proposer une mesure de justice restaurative, dans toute procédure pénale et à tous les stades de la procédure. Insérée dans le titre préliminaire du Code de procédure pénale, dans un sous-titre II "De la justice restaurative", la possibilité d'un tel recours à une mesure de justice restaurative prend place parmi les grands principes qui irriguent la procédure pénale et montre l'ambition du législateur en faveur de la justice restaurative présentée comme une des réponses à la crise que traverse le système de justice pénale actuel. Toutefois, au-delà de cette seule possibilité, se pose la question de la place que la justice restaurative peut occuper au sein de ce système, en particulier en ce qui concerne son institutionnalisation concrète et pratique. La démonstration de la forte complémentarité existant entre justice restaurative et justice pénale, au service d'un système de justice pénale répondant pleinement aux attentes des justiciables, ouvre la voie à une application conjointe de mesures de justice issues spécifiquement des deux modèles de justice. Il peut en résulter un système reposant sur une application conjointe de mesure de justice restaurative et de justice pénale et permettant un traitement différentiel, à la fois du conflit de nature infractionnelle et des attentes criminologiques et juridiques des personnes concernées. Cette approche, mise en perspective avec les initiatives naissantes de programmes en France, présente l'avantage de ne pas nécessiter d'importantes modifications du système de justice pénale. Elle consiste en la construction d'une offre locale de justice restaurative, complète et disponible, structurée par des organismes de coordination du partenariat sur lequel elle repose. Elle se manifeste actuellement, tant à l'échelon local, à travers la création de Services régionaux de justice restaurative (SRJR), qu'à l'échelon national, à travers les actions de l'Institut Français pour la Justice Restaurative (IFJR), aux côtés des principales fédérations et administrations concernées. / The law n° 2014-896 of August 15th 2014 on “Individualization of penalties and for strengthening the effectiveness of criminal sanctions” introduced in the Criminal Procedure Code restorative justice. From now on, it belongs to the socio-criminal responses proposed by the French criminal justice system to respond to the consequences and impact of the criminal phenomenon. Since October 1th 2014, the date of entry into force of the law, a “restorative justice measure” may be proposed to any victim or offender during every criminal procedure and at all stages of the proceedings. Inserted in the preliminary title of the Code of Criminal Procedure, subtitle II, entitled "About restorative justice", the possibility of such recourse to a restorative justice measure takes place among the great principles that define the criminal procedure and shows the French legislator ambition for restorative justice, which is presented as a possible answer to the criminal justice system current crisis. However, it raises the question of the place of restorative justice in this system, especially with regard to its concrete and practical institutionalization. The demonstration of the strong complementarity between restorative justice and criminal justice to create a criminal justice system that fully meets the expectations of victims and offenders pleads in favour of a joint implementation of legal measures from these two models of justice. This can lead to a system, based on a joint application of restorative justice and criminal justice, and permitting differential treatment, both of the criminal conflict and of the criminological and legal needs of individuals. This approach, put into perspective with the emerging program initiatives in France, has the advantage of not requiring major changes to the criminal justice system. It involves the construction of a local offer of restorative justice, complete and fully available, structured by coordinating bodies from the parternership the offer is based on.. This approach is currently visible at the local level, through the creation of Restorative Justice Regional Services (SRJR), as at the national level, through the actions of the French Institute for Restorative Justice (IFJR), with the main federations and administrations.

The South African mining industry has not been shielded from the criminal threat the country faces. In this case study, the nature and extent of asset theft at one of the largest mining companies in South Africa is analysed. The crime prevention strategy adopted by the mine to curb asset theft was studied over a period of five years. This involved a survey of the views of the security managers on the effectiveness of the strategy implemented by the mine. Against the background of the South African Government’s broad description of the crime prevention approach adopted by the country, the researcher explored whether it would be practicable to implement an integrated crime prevention strategy – encompassing situational, social and law enforcement crime prevention approaches on primary, secondary and tertiary level – at the participating mine in order to curb asset theft. / Police Practice / M. Tech. (Policing)