Those Who Discourage Crime

Even by their simple presence, people can discourage crime from happening at specijic times and places. Such direct-contact discouragement can occur when "guardians" keep an eye on potential crime targets (Cohen and Felson, 1979), or when "handlers" do the same for potential offenders (Felson, 1986). Eck (1994) adds a third type of discouragement role: "managers" who monitor places. Eck presents the routine activity approach as two triplets, with potential offenders, targets, and places monitored by guardians, handlers, and managers, respectively. Clarke (1992) notes the varying degrees of responsibility for discouraging crime. His ideas are adapted to current purposes, listing four steps of crime discouragement. Personal discouragement is exerted by family andfriends; assigned discouragement, by those so employed; diffuse discouragement, by those employed but not assigned to that specific task; and general discouragement, by unpaid persons lacking a personal tie or occupational responsibility. The multiplication of these four steps by Eck's triplets gives us 12 types of discouragement against crime. These types help us also to think about other aspects of crime prevention. A case can be made that the offender is not the most important actor for explaining crime. From the perspective of the routine activity approach (Cohen and Felson, 1979; Felson, 1994; see also work on lifestyles by Hindelang et al., 1978), those who interfere with offenders, however inadvertently, play an even more central role in crime and its prevention. The "capable guardian" against crime serves by simple presence to prevent crime, and by absence to make crime more likely. For example, a retired person at home might well discourage daytime burglary of his or her own home or even the home next door. Conversely, someone working away from home during the day contributes by that absence to a greater risk of burglary. Two persons walking down the street might serve as effective Address correspondence to: Marcus Felson. School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University, 15 Washington Street, Newark, NJ 07102.