NCJ Number
94878
Date Published
1982
Length
22 pages
Annotation
Two British researchers use sociological and psychological theories, subcultural theory, and a situational analysis to explain vandalistic behavior. They explore some methods of preventing vandalism.
Abstract
Researchers have explained vandalism by focusing on predisposing personal and social factors. These accounts are being replaced by a more situationally informed view. Vandalism is a group activity emanating from group norms emphasizing strength, toughness, and willingness to take risks. The Home Office Research Unit conducted a series of studies on vandalism, concluding that vandalism is often a petty crime and not the seriously destructive acts which traditional perspectives base in psychologically or socially determined aggression. Vandalism seems to be committed predominantly against public rather than personal and private property, possibly because public targets are easier prey. Most vandalism is committed either by younger children as play or by older adolescents in groups for whom vandalism is an outgrowth of restlessness and exuberance. Social learning theory suggests that vandalism is committed by gangs seeking to prove masculine toughness in a competitive situation, by youths with little prospects for the future, by youths not inhibited by moral constraints against damaging public targets, and because the crime requires little knowledge or organization. Moreover, there is little risk of being caught for vandalism, a fact not missed by youth. To reduce vandalism, options include treating the individual through any number of therapies, none yet proven effective. Publicity campaigns against vandalism often have little effect, and attacking the supposed roots of vandalism -- the social ills -- may also not work. A practical approach would be to increase the risks of being caught and reduce the opportunities for vandalism. Tables and about 45 references are cited.