Big Crimes, Small Crimes and Self-Selection Policing
Fri, 14 Feb 2014 10:02:00 GMT
On Wednesday 29 January 2014, Dr Jason Roach delivered the fourth lecture as part of the Institute for Research in Citizenship and Applied Human Sciences (IRCAHS) 2013/14 Public Lecture Series, entitled ‘Big Crimes, Small Crimes and Self-Selection Policing’.
As Director of the Crime and Policing Research Group (CPRG), established within the Applied Criminology Centre, Dr Jason Roach focused on how serious offenders could possibly be identified from the small crimes in which they commit.
The lecture, held in the George Buckley Theatre at the University, was well attended and included members of the West Yorkshire Police. Live tweets were also streamed throughout the lecture via the School of Human and Health Sciences twitter account @UoHHealthSocSci.
Dr Roach opened the lecture by showing the audience an optical illusion and questioning them what they initially saw. His focus was on Kahneman’s theory of cognitive psychology, which refers to a two-way system of decision making. Firstly, intuition and instinct and secondly, slowing down and thinking more clearly about what we are doing or seeing. It is therefore impossible to see two things at the same time instinctively.
He then asked the audience what crime they assumed a burglar would typically be more likely commit next. Some predicted they would carry out the same crime of burglary again, whilst others assumed they would move on to more serious crimes within the same area, such as robbery or armed robbery.
By identifying offence homogeneity, Jason explained assumptions are made that a criminal will ‘move up the ladder’, almost “graduating from the school of criminality” and become more violent, but why? Criminals are versatile and it is simply opportunity that is their main motivator.
Jason, then focused on self-selection policing, a method whereby a serious offender volunteers him or herself for police attention by a minor infraction of the law. If criminals are caught for lesser crimes which are easier to recognise, they are more likely to be caught for the more serious crimes they commit, that are much harder to identify. Self-selection policing does not discriminate, instead focuses on the action of breaking the law and looks at the reasons behind it.
Examples used in Jason’s lecture included:
- Peter Sutcliffe aka the Yorkshire Ripper, who was identified because he was found to have false number plates on his car. This lesser crime led to his incarceration for the serial murder of at least 13 women.
- Doctor Harold Shipman was firstly detected for forging the will of one of his elderly patients which then led to his investigation and incarceration for the murders of up to 250 people.
Jason also explained that those who lie whilst being questioned about their address or date of birth can also be a tell-tale sign that the criminal is lying to cover up something more sinister, commenting, “those who do big bad things also do little bad things”.
Dr Roach concluded his lecture by focusing on the importance of giving police officers on the front line as much know-how as possible so they are able to identify serious offenders more easily. He also suggested that a closer working relationship between traffic wardens and the police would help identify active serious offenders.
The next public lecture will be held on 19 February, entitled From ‘Feckless Fathers’ to ‘Dynamic Dads’: Fatherhood in Contemporary British Culture. Dr Abigail Locke will discuss how, in terms of parenting, the traditional roles of the bread-winning dad and nurturing mum are being renegotiated and redefined. Booking for the event is now open.
