Criminology 11th Edition by Larry Siegel

Exercise 1

Rational Choice
You are a criminology professor at a local college who is approached by the local police chief, who is quite concerned about high burglary rates in some areas of the city. She is a former student of yours and well aware of recent developments in criminological theory. The chief is a strong advocate of rational choice theory and has already instituted a number of programs based on deterrence/situational crime prevention model of control. The existing police initiatives include these programs:
The police offer target hardening measures to repeat victims. They install high-tech security equipment in homes so the homes can be monitored on a 24-hour basis. The police plan an advertising campaign to alert would-be offenders that they are on watch at prior target residences.
A new police initiative identifies repeat burglars in the area and provides intervention designed to supply them with legitimate economic opportunities to reduce their criminal motivation.
A new school-based program designed to reduce criminal motivation seeks to raise young people's awareness of the dangers of burglary and how it can result in a long prison sentence.
The police have developed a series of environmental improvements in the target area with a view to minimizing burglary opportunities. These include improved visibility, better access control, and lighting in areas that have relatively high burglary rates. They have also instituted high-visibility police patrols in these areas to deter criminals from committing crimes there.
A burglary control model house, fitted with lowcost methods of security such as strengthened door/window frames, bolts, locks, and so on, has been built and will be advertised to encourage residents to help themselves avoid burglary.

The chief has asked you to look over these initiatives and write a memo discussing their effectiveness. She wants you to develop a policy plan discussing whether you think there are any possible ethical pitfalls with these initiatives. If you do find problems, she wants you to suggest other policy initiatives that might prove effective in reducing the opportunity to commit burglary and deter potential burglars.