Market reduction approach

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Market reduction approach (MRA) is an approach to reducing crime by reducing the opportunity for thieves to fence or resell what they have stolen.

History[edit]

Early[edit]

In 1796, the London magistrate Patrick Colquhoun[1] observed that "[i]t rarely happens that thieves go upon the highway, or commit burglaries, until the money they have previously acquired is exhausted," and that "...without a safe and ready market he [the thief] is undone."

Recognizing the key role played by dealers in stolen goods in facilitating profit from theft and motivation for offenders to steal and with an aim to influence harsher legislation and sentencing of professional fences, the American jurisprudentialist Jerome Hall[2] emphasised the role of the professional fence in the marketing of stolen goods and created a typology that distinguished between professional fences, part-time dealers, and those who knowingly buy stolen goods for their own consumption. A number of ethnography studies (e.g. Klockars 1974;[3] Henry 1977[4] and Steffensmeir 1986[5]) hinted at the influence of the market for stolen goods upon levels of theft of certain goods.

A systematic study of the various ways that stolen goods are stored, sold and bought – going beyond the previous focus upon the guilty mind and level of involvement of dealers and consumers – was conducted by Mike Sutton, who created a fivefold market typology based on his interviews with expert prolific thieves, inexperienced thieves, fences, drug dealers and stolen goods consumers. In 1998, the UK Home Office published Sutton's report[6] proposing a systematic framework for researching and tackling local stolen goods markets.

Modern[edit]

Current development of the market reduction approach (MRA) has its origins in a 1995 British Journal of Criminology paper: Supply by Theft[7] that was followed by a 1998 United Kingdom Government Home Office research study entitled Handling Stolen Goods and Theft: A Market Reduction Approach,[8] both written by Mike Sutton[9] Further work on implementing and process evaluation of the MRA was conducted by Schneider.[10]

Described by Marcus Felson as "...a simple idea in an important article"[11] and as classic research,[12] Sutton's concept of MRA has had an influence upon theory and practice regarding stolen goods markets and markets for other illicit commodities. Some criminologists have incorporated Sutton's work on stolen goods markets to explain the issue of offenders’ capacity to commit crimes.[13] The general MRA principles have influenced work beyond research into markets for theft of high volume consumer goods, since the MRA is described as underpinning recent research into illicit markets for cultural artefacts[14][15] and as a useful method for tackling the trade in endangered species.[16][17]

Sutton's 1998 stolen goods Handling Report includes findings from the nationally representative British Crime Survey (1994). This revealed that 11 percent of those questioned had bought stolen goods in the preceding five years, and that 70 percent believed that some of their neighbours had stolen goods in their homes. The Handling Report was followed by a more comprehensive MRA policing guide to stolen goods markets.[18]

Application[edit]

Kent constabulary were the first to experiment with the MRA in Operation Radium.[19] This experiment at systematically tackling stolen goods markets, along with another MRA initiative by the Greater Manchester Police,[20] as routine policing (rather than merely cracking down from time to time) was independently evaluated by criminologists from The University of Kent.[21] The evaluation found that while the MRA theory remains sound that the police forces experienced organisational difficulties implementing it correctly.

Based on Situational Crime Prevention (SCP) "rational choice, opportunity reduction" principles, and employing philosophy from routine activity theory (RAT) the MRA is designed to reduce theft through reducing the demand for stolen goods that motivated thieves to steal. In addition it seeks to make handling stolen goods at least as difficult as it is to steal them and to increase the risks of detection for all those selling and buying stolen goods. In this way the MRA answered a long-standing academic criticism that SCP and RAT did not take account of offender motivation. MRA principles are now firmly established within both SCP[22] RAT[23] and Problem Oriented Policing (POP) key texts.[24]

The MRA has been implemented in the United Kingdom by Kent Constabulary,[25] West Mercia Constabulary,[26]: 132  Derby City Constabulary,[27] Nottinghamshire Constabulary,[28] and Greater Manchester Police.[29] It is recommended crime reduction practice by the UK[30] United States,[31] and Australian governments.[32] The New Zealand Ministry of Justice conducted a review of research focused on the MRA and identified eight areas of good practice in using it to tackle property crime.[33]

In 2008, the MRA has been applied to research focused upon tackling markets for endangered species.[34]

The MRA and problem oriented policing[edit]

Introducing a sixth market type, e-fencing, the MRA is used by the US Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, to combat crime with the problem-oriented approach to policing.[35]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Colquhoun, P. (a Magistrate) (1796) A Treatise on The Police of the Metropolis. Third edition. London. C. Dilly
  2. ^ Hall, J. (1952) Theft, Law and Society. Second Edition. Indianapolis. Bobbs-Merrill Co
  3. ^ Klockars, C. (1974) The Professional Fence. New York. Free Press
  4. ^ Henry, S. (1976) Fencing With Accounts: The Language of Moral Bridging. British Journal of Law and Society. 3: 91–100
  5. ^ Steffensmeier, D. J. (1986) The Fence: In the Shadow of Two Worlds. New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield
  6. ^ Sutton, M. (1998) Handling Stolen Goods and Theft: A Market Reduction Approach. Home Office Research Study 178. Home Office. London. (Peer reviewed national government research report). UK National Archives: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110220105210/rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hors178.pdf
  7. ^ "SUPPLY BY THEFT: Does the Market for Second-hand Goods Play a Role in Keeping Crime Figures High? – SUTTON 35 (3): 400 – British Journal of Criminology". Bjc.oxfordjournals.org. Archived from the original on 2016-01-31. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  8. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). rds.homeoffice.gov.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ "Center for Problem-Oriented Policing | Biographies". Popcenter.org. Archived from the original on 2010-06-21. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  10. ^ Schneider, J. L. (2005) Stolen Goods Markets: Methods of Disposal. British Journal of Criminology. 45 (2) 129–140
  11. ^ Felson, M. (1998)Crime and Everyday Life. Second Edition. Thousand Oakes. Pine Forge Press.(see page 38).
  12. ^ Felson, M. Crime and Everyday Life. Vol 4. Thousand Oakes. Sage (see Page 88)
  13. ^ Maguire, M. Morgan, R, Reiner, R. (2007) Oxford Handbook of Criminology. Oxford. Oxford University Press. (See: page 357)
  14. ^ Mackenzie, S. (2007) Dealing in cultural objects: a new criminal law for the UK. Amicus Curiae. Issue 71.
  15. ^ Mackenzie, S. and Green, P. (2003) Criminalising the Market in Illicit Antiquities: An Evaluation of the Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act. https://ssrn.com/abstract=1004267
  16. ^ Schneider JL. (2008) ‘Reducing the Illicit Trade in Wildlife: The Market Reduction Approach’. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice 24:274–95
  17. ^ Lemieux, A. M. and Clarke, R. V. (2009)The International Ban on Ivory Sales and its Effects on Elephant Poaching in Africa British Journal of Criminology July 1, 2009 49: 451–471
  18. ^ Sutton, M., Schneider, J.L. and Hetherington, (2001) Tackling theft with the market reduction approach. Home Office Crime Reduction Research Series Paper 8. (Peer reviewed national government research report) http://www.popcenter.org/problems/bicycle_theft/PDFs/Sutton_etal_2001.pdf
  19. ^ Kent County Council Trading Standards; Medway Council Trading Standards; Kent Police (20 October 2004). "The Kent Acts: A case for National Legislation" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-11-16. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
  20. ^ Stockport Council. "Local public service agreement, April 2003 to March 2006" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 6, 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
  21. ^ Implementing a Market Reduction Approach to Property Crime – Kent Academic Repository. Kar.kent.ac.uk. 2003. ISBN 9781843920502. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  22. ^ Clarke, R.V. ( 1999 ) Hot Products. London. Police Research paper 112. Home Office "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-13. Retrieved 2011-08-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  23. ^ Felson, Marcus (April 2008). Mathematical Modeling of Criminality (PDF) (slide presentation). Pisa: Rutgers University. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  24. ^ Joel B. Plant; Michael S. Sco (August 2009). "Effective Policing and Crime Prevention: A Problem-Oriented Guide for Mayors, City Managers, and County Executives" (PDF). Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. U.S. Department of Justice. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-21. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
  25. ^ Joint Report from: Kent County Council Trading Standards; Medway Council Trading Standards and Kent Police. The Kent Acts: A Case For National Legislation. (2001) Report to the Secretary of State. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-11-16. Retrieved 2010-05-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  26. ^ Schneider, Jacqueline L. (2005). "Stolen-Goods Markets: Methods of Disposal". British Journal of Criminology. 45 (2). Oxford University Press: 129–140. doi:10.1093/bjc/azh100. JSTOR 23639191.
  27. ^ Sutton, M. (2004) How Burglars and Shoplifters Sell Stolen Goods in Derby: DESCRIBING AND UNDERSTANDING THE LOCAL ILLICIT MARKETS. A Dynamics of Offending Report for Derby Community Safety Partnership. Internet Journal of Criminology. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2010-05-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  28. ^ Nottinghamshire Constabulary South Nottinghamshire Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnership, Partnership Strategic Plan (2008 - 2011). "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-31. Retrieved 2010-05-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  29. ^ "£2.4M boost for war on street crime | Salford Advertiser". menmedia.co.uk. 2002-08-02. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  30. ^ Burglary Toolkit: Developing Local Solutions for Local Problems. Home Office UK Publications. Acquisitive Crime Resources Library online. Burglary Toolkit: "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-08-29. Retrieved 2011-08-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  31. ^ "Crime Analysis for Problem Solvers in 60 Small Steps". Popcenter.org. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  32. ^ Australian Institute of Criminology (2009-06-26). "Australian Institute of Criminology – The market reduction approach to reducing property crime". Aic.gov.au. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  33. ^ New Zealand Ministry of Justice (2005). 6 Property Focused Initiatives. http://www.justice.govt.nz/publications/global-publications/r/research-on-the-effectiveness-of-police-practice-in-reducing-residential-burglary-november-2005-report-10.-overview-research-on-the-effectiveness-of-police-practice-in-reducing-residential-burglary/6-property-focused-interventions
  34. ^ Jacqueline L. Schneider (2008-05-22). "Reducing the Illicit Trade in Endangered Wildlife". Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice. 24 (3). Ccj.sagepub.com: 274–295. doi:10.1177/1043986208318226. S2CID 154311139. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  35. ^ "Stolen Goods Markets". ASU Center for Problem-Oriented Policing. 2010-01-01. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
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