Abstract
Signal Crimes provides a new framework for understanding how crime, disorder, and the reaction of the criminal justice system affect the public’s perception of safety. Relying on the previous work of Goffman and Eco, Innes proposes the use of a signal crimes perspective to understand how and why some events lead to a greater fear of crime, while others do not.
The first three chapters are an introduction to the signal crimes perspective, defining major concepts and elaborating on disorder and fear of crime. Chapters 4–6 explore reactions to crime and disorder. Chapter 4 focuses on minor (e.g., rumors of crime) signal crimes; major events (e.g., the events of September 11) are discussed in Chapter 5. The final chapter suggests that there are not only signals of, but also signals to, control crime and disorder. Multiple studies are used throughout the text to better inform the discussion.
Chapter 1 is an introduction to the signal perspective. According to Innes, a signal as a sign that has an effect; crime and disorder, along with the criminal justice system’s reaction to them, serve as signals to a community regarding their level of safety. Each new signal is framed by those which have come before and alters the perception of those to come. Chapter 2 expands upon disorder, which is defined as any disturbing or troubling breach of prevalent norms and conventions. Wilson’s concepts of physical and social disorder are evoked, the repetition of these creating a greater sense of harm than individual instances. Using interviews conducted in multiple neighborhoods, Innes explores how disorder can affect groups with differing levels of intensity and a range of responses.
Though difficult to read, Chapter 3 was arguably one of the most important chapters. Within this chapter, Innes explains methods by which fear of crime travels and creates a harm footprint. Private harm footprints exist when crime only affects those closest to the involved parties (i.e., family and friends). Parochial footprints are wider spread, impacting those in a limited geographic area (localized) or individuals belonging to a specific social group (distributed). When an entire community is affected by an incident, a public harm footprint is said to exist. Innes uses homicide cases to elaborate on harm footprints, including interviews with individuals from the community in which the crimes occurred.
Gossip, rumors, and the effect these have on crime signals are the subject of Chapter 4. Innes defines rumors as soft facts used to fill the gaps in information known about an incident. Police inadvertently instigate rumors by providing the public partial information, thereby permitting a community to fill in the blanks with their perception of the situation. A police presence in an area may also lead to rumors of crimes that have never happened. Gossip is similar to rumors but are more accurate; those who spread gossip have firsthand details of the incident. These information sources are immediate, easily spread via the Internet and other media sources, quickly affecting a community’s sense of security. Innes suggests that these sources of soft facts can be useful, serving as cautionary tales. Gossip and rumors can enhance social control—once community members believe crime is occurring, their willingness to report crime increases. The negative side of this information is that rumors and gossip can stigmatize an area.
Public response to major signal crimes, as well as the reaction of the criminal justice system following such incidents, are the subjects of Chapter 5. When a major incident is discovered, communities may react in alarm with a realization that major institutions were unable to protect them. This creates a need for intuitional reform to prevent such events from happening again. The reform must be visible to the public to create what Innes refers to as an arc of social control and an increased feeling of security for the public. Counterterrorism efforts, post 9/11, were used to explain the reform, with a focus on the creation and response to the U.K. program CONTEST.
Control signals, both signals of and signals to control, were discussed in the final chapter. Signals of control rely on the concept of general deterrence; by punishing one offender, it is thought the actions of the community can be influenced. Signals to control are meant to communicate a presence of a control mechanism; that deviant behaviors should not be engaged in. Police are explored as the most obvious of control signals. Interviews with individuals from multiple research sites suggest that, at least temporarily, the public is satisfied with police presence. Offenders are arrested and the fear of crime may somewhat dissipate. However, a continued police presence can also lead to an increased fear of crime by communicating a sense of emergency when none exists. In addition to formal, manufactured control in the form of the criminal justice system, more organic, information control signals were explored in the chapter as well. These included social control between community members and subtle environmental cues that communicate the existence of order.
Signal Crimes was a thoughtful presentation of a new perspective to understanding crime and reactions to it. The book would not do well to serve as a semester’s text on its own but would be a great addition to any course which uses multiple sources for instruction. Not only is the book informative, but also thought provoking and would serve well to challenge the minds of undergraduate and graduate students alike.