For our third assignment we were asked to create a bibliography of sources which we feel would benefit our research into our chosen subject. I began my research by using Crosssearch and the online library catalogue, searching key words such as: car, theft, street, crime, etc until I felt I had a substantial number of possible sources. I then went to the main library and browsed the sections where the books I had found online were. I was hoping to find a few extra books that may have been useful although they were all pretty out dated. I still didn't feel my sources were specific enough so I searched again online and discovered a couple of papers in the Law Library matched my subject. I searched the surrounding shelves again to see if there were any other relevant books/ papers. Some of my sources I believe will be much more useful than others although each source gave me a better insight into car theft and the way in which the criminal mind works. These are the journal articles and books which I believe have broadened my understanding:
Cherbonneau, M, Copes, H, (2006), ‘DRIVE IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT’ Auto Theft and the Illusion of Normalcy, British Journal Of Criminology Vol 46, No.2, University of Missouri, Advance Access
I discovered this journal on the Library Journal archive and found it related well to my chosen subject of car theft. It explains how research has been carried out to explain how car thieves think and the manner in which they behave to avoid attention from the police when driving a stolen vehicle. I feel this article would be useful in my research as it gives an insight into how criminals think and the decisions they make, which is extremely important if designing a solution to the problem they cause. Criminals are not deterred by the consequences and punishment of their actions. They are although aware of them and so therefore they are much more cautious during each stage of vehicle theft. Understanding the car thief’s intelligence would be vital in my search for a design solution.
Cornish, DB, Clarke, RB, (1986), The Reasoning Criminal, Rational Choice Perspectives on Offending, New York, Springer-Verlag
After looking through research in a journal article on the way a criminal thinks, I found this book. It focuses on the decision making of the offender as they commit a crime, such as car theft. I feel this research by criminologists; psychologists and economic researchers would be relevant as it would give me an insight into how their minds work. Hopefully I could gain some understanding of the individual decisions they make. As this book was published in 1986 the information may not be completely up to date, although it acts as a good base line for my understanding of the thought processes of committing a crime. The book also explains how crucial the situations criminals find themselves in are in helping to prevent crime and looks into coming up with deterrents and prevention policies. It will help me understand how different situational factors (i.e. criminal event) can change a criminal’s strategic thinking. Another possible problem with this book is that although it researches “A Decision theory of Crime and Robbery” it does not specify direct car theft research.
Jeffery, CR, (1971), ‘Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design’, California, Sage Publications INC
This book is primarily looking into prevention of crime mainly in urban areas. It explains how crucial planning in built up areas is in lowering crime rate. To prevent car theft, the environment/ situation in which a vehicle is in is very important. This book may highlight the kinds of areas where cars should be left to prevent theft, such as on main streets with lots of passing traffic so thieves feel they are being watched or alternately locked away in garages. This book could possibly be out of touch with the culture of today as it was written in the 70’s so some of the issues may have already been addressed.
Lu, Y, (2003), Getting Away with the Stolen Vehicle: An Investigation of Journey-after-Crime, The Professional Geographer Vol 55, Issue 4, Oxford, Blackwell Publishing
In this article I found some more information on areas of car theft I had previously explored. These included, understanding the routes thieves take after the initial vehicle theft, the most likely places the stolen vehicles will be found and the ‘journey-after-crime’ (patterns of thieves routes) . Chop shops, where cars are dismantled and the parts are sold on separately are ‘hot spots’ for stolen vehicles as this is a common way for the criminals to make the vehicles difficult to recover. In order to come up with a solution I must be aware of the problems already facing the police trying to recover these vehicles. Therefore I would be able to work on creating a way to prevent the car thieves primarily reaching these chop shops.
Sallybanks, J,(January 2001), ‘Assessing the Police Use of Decoy Vehicles’, Police Research Series, Paper 137, London, Crown Publishing
I think this series of papers from the Law Library may be the best example of useful source information I have found so far. This section of research papers is focused specifically on combating car theft. It includes information on the use of police decoy vehicles which act as traps in areas with high vehicle theft. These decoy vehicles are usually the same car models that are most likely to be targeted. They can be fitted with devices which trap the criminals inside and prevent the thief from leaving the scene. They are only one method in a large scale crackdown on vehicle theft. I feel information on this type of solution to vehicle theft would be greatly beneficial in my research. Understanding successful methods and products which are already out there will give me an idea of what already works so I could built on them.
Sallybanks, J, Brown, R, (1999), ‘Vehicle Crime Reduction: Turning the Corner’, Police Research Series, Paper 119, London, Crown Publishing
My final source also focuses on car theft and contains information on which cars are likely to be stolen, where the best and worst places to leave your car are and the type of people most at risk of having their car stolen. This will be beneficial as the information is highly reliable due to the writers being members of the Home Office Policing and Reducing Crime Unit. This source contains an overview of vehicle crime and ways in which the problem is being assessed. I found reading even small sections of this extremely helpful as I feel I understand which methods of prevention have worked in the past. I feel reading the full paper would help my understanding even more.
To finish I have included 5 design related websites and 5 general websites which I find inspirational:
Inspirational Websites
1. http://www.wired.com/
2. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/
3. http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/
4. http://news.bbc.co.uk/
5. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/
Design Websites:
1. http://www.dripbook.com/
2. http://www.designformankind.com/
3. http://www.designspongeonline.com/
4. http://www.showstudio.com/
5. http://www.catherinehammerton.com/
About Me
- sara.
- textile design student at duncan of jordanstone college of art and design.