For the past decade, Irvine California has been among the nation's safest cities to live despite its rapid expansion. Despite being one of the safest cities in the country, Irvine invests a good amount of time and money to design and,nonchalantly, implement security mechanisms that seem a bit excessive. Without prior knowledge about the city, one can easily find themselves going around in circles (literally), or going in the complete opposite direction. The architects of the city planned out the layout to match the one of the University. We don’t normally see just one location with these security measures in place, rather an array of buildings and “public” spaces that are barricaded or concealed away from people who aren’t residents of the area. Steven Flusty argues that cities like Irvine are built by either people who are paranoid of others breaking in or they become paranoid by the buildings that surround them. The physical boundaries that are put in place prevent any …show more content…
“outsiders” to come within the vicinity of the “public” spaces that are meant to include everyone but tend to segregate those who aren’t residents. Those who are, are considered to be affluent enough to ensure that they are being “protected” from anything that can possibly harm them in their “safe” bubble. The city of Irvine is a relatively new city that houses businesses and multiple families. The entrances to most facilities are located on the outskirts of where the actual location is located. UCI’s primary entrance is right off Bison ave on the 73 freeway in which the university is nowhere in sight. One has to traverse about half a mile to begin seeing buildings that pertain to the school. This could’ve been done for the reason that the school board didn’t want anyone to get to the university unless they knew where it was. The street that one is on to get there is symmetric on both sides of the road as to seem as a never ending road to nowhere. Although symmetry is pleasing to the eye, it makes it easy to implement closed circuit monitoring on the streets. The major city that is Minneapolis is 80% under continuous surveillance cameras placed around the city (Parenti 5). Irvine itself is not anywhere near its population density nor its land area but just on surveillance alone, there are cameras at every other light post monitoring what goes on. In a large metropolitan city they make sense, but on a city like Irvine that is considered safe makes it seem as overkill with constant supervision and security measure being placed around town. Aside from the modern surveillance to watch over the city, there are also some architectural nuances that act as a barrier to prevent people from accessing “public” space. This stealthy space, so to speak, isn’t meant to keep the people of the community out, but anyone else that doesn’t know what’s behind the bushes and shrubs (Flusty 48). When looking at the big picture, the amount of surveillance and preventative measures taken in terms of population density is much higher than that of a major city like Los Angeles. The constant monitoring of Irvine entails it as a city with constant problems and a need for privacy that cannot be found outside of buildings or people’s homes.
Constant surveillance brings out the good side of people; they behave well in public because they are being monitored (Parenti 9). This behavior is artificial and since people know they are being watched, they don’t do anything that seems suspicious so they might move on to a place that is less watched. This could be the reason that irvine is one of the safest reasons in America. People develop this paranoia that they’ll get caught so they don’t commit any crimes. Sure, there are still crimes that occur within the city, but the residents adjust to this by installing hundreds of dollars worth of security upgrades. Since the crime rates are low, they are essentially watching themselves with high end equipment. More than anything, people want to feel secure about their homes and where they are so the security doesn’t seem
excessive.
Our current society is very much like Big Brother and 1984. The Federal government are not watching us through a telescreen but they are watching and going through our things. I know this because there is a Ted Talk that I watched about privacy and how the FBI goes through our emails, messages… etc, without our permission. To sum that up, in the article “Long Beach Police to Use 400 Cameras Citywide to Fight Crime,” in paragraphs 2 and 3 says that “Chief McDonnell is turning more than 400 cameras citywide as a solution to stop crime,... McDonnell has set up to tap into hundreds of privately owned cameras” to watch over the city and what goes around. Big Brother used telescreens to watch and hear everything, Chief McDonnell uses cameras to see everything that’s going on. My 4th teacher would most likely disagree with me, he is a LB police officer, so he knows having cameras to watch over the city is only making the city a better/ safer place.
In the neighborhood I live is in the Koreatown / Wilshire Center and haven’t experience a lot of crime which is also part of the low crime rate in the neighborhood. Also the police presence here in my neighborhood is very light and the relations with the police is normal. The only time the police will be serious if the crime is too dangerous and concern for the neighborhood is first. It is also different from his description from the gang violence and presence in the area I live in is very light not like other neighborhoods in Los Angeles. The difference is also the race in the area is different and comprised of mostly Asian and White which we are at a friendly relation with little to no disturbance of crime and gang violence. This also included poverty in the neighborhood I live in is very light and there is not a lot of poor people in the area. It also different the community which is very friendly and everyone is not that all cautious or worry. If there were a crime we will be notified ahead to be prepared of the concern of safety. From the description how Victor Rios described the neighborhood is almost similar to a few neighborhood of Los Angeles such as the East Los Angeles and the Compton area of Los Angeles. I had visited these area when I was riding the public transportation through these area to reach to the destination. I noticed that the area
According to Kelling, Pate, Dieckman, & Brown (1974), patrol is the “backbone” of police work. This belief is based around the premise that the mere presence of police officers on patrol prohibits criminal activity. Despite increasing budgets and the availability of more officers on the streets, crime rates still rose with the expanding metropolitan populations (Kelling et al., 1974). A one year experiment to determine the effectiveness of routine preventive patrol would be conducted, beginning on the first day of October 1972, and ending on the last day of September 1973.
Without safety, many crimes will occur like murder, theft, drug use, and sexual assault. The second aspect is trust, which can prevent negative views of police through ways such as responsibility and equal application of law. The police sometimes arrest people without reason, and that is an illegal application of law. Dirty Harry exemplifies the need for safety and trust to build a great community.
It is worth mentioned that the author pointed out a positive note by addressing that very often, cops are being called to mediate disputes or helping someone mentally and far less often that they come to a home for felony cases. On the other hand, he mentioned that police is invading someone’s privacy when he shows up at a house with a camera. However, that is completely expected as the individual that placed the phone call is already aware that their privacy is about to be invaded by a stranger. Hence, they are already mentally and physically prepared
An academic study done on violent crime in San Antonio for the SciVerse Science Direct journal analyzes how built in environmental characteristics influence such a diverse and rapidly growing city. San Antonio’s population consists of 60% Hispanics, a poverty rate of over 18%, a teenage birth rate of 39/1000, and a homicide rate of 6.9 per 100,000 (302). The results of the study indicate that residential instability, poverty and low education rates are the biggest factors contributing to San Antonio’s crime increase (not forgetting the obvious population increase contribution). Almost 7% of San Antonio homes are “vacant” while 40% are rented, not owned (Sparks 304). The author explains that rented homes are usually what are inhabited by single mothers, military members, minorities, and lower income families that have increased chances of poverty and susceptibility to criminal involvement (Sparks 305). O’Sullivan shows how the relationship between crime and wage is very elastic, so a 10% increase in wages would lead to a 10% decrease in crime. In San Antonio’s case, the unstable nature of land use creates a lower opportunity cost for committing property crimes on vacant areas. A detailed map in the study showed how the north and northwestern areas of San Antonio with more housing turnover and housing construction consequently
On December 12, 2012, Sandy Hook Elementary School was invaded by an unstable, armed man. Earlier that year the principal of the school, Dawn Hochsprung, implemented a new security system that required all visitors to buzzed into the school by visual identification. Many schools have also put in similar security systems to have school doors locked at all times during the school day, helping insure students’ safety. For Sandy Hook this minor security system would not be enough. When the gunman arrived to the school, he shot his way through the front do...
Fine, Michelle, et al. "“Anything Can Happen With Police Around”: Urban Youth Evaluate Strategies Of Surveillance In Public Places." Journal Of Social Issues 59.1 (2003): 141-158. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Jan. 2016.
The privatization and fragmentation of space in post-industrial urban America is a widespread social problem. As society becomes even more globalized as a result of technological advances, the rampant spread of a privatized public realm is ever-increasing. Public space is needed as a center in which to bring people together to share a common place. It is within public spaces that public life unfolds and without public spaces such as parks, streets, and buildings, the mixing of classes will become increasingly uncommon. Society is made up of two sectors: the private and public, and it is essential that both remain separate entities. However, through the use of fear tactics especially the threat of violent crimes, privatized settings are spreading throughout the public sphere. In this analysis, it is my intent to explore the various tactics being used to impede upon the public sphere. In doing so, I will explore the causal factors that contribute to the increased privatization of urban public life.
Why does the government make it harder for average citizens to protect themselves? Police cannot always protect everyone in the community. There are only about 500,000 police officers throughout the country, which means there is around 125,000 police officers on duty at any given time. Other than a bodyguard or a law enforcement officer at everyone’s side twenty-four hours a day, the most effective deterrent to a criminal attack is the criminal’s fear that the potential victim is armed and prepared to defend themselves.
Given restricted access to public space as a manifestation of socially produced fear that is constituted by the way space is perceived and imagined. Tanusree
Geography of fear and fear of crime in society today has been widely researched. In this essay fear of crime is used in the context of an individual’s perceived risk of becoming a victim of crime. This essay will explain Cater and Jones statement and discuss how media portrayal, environmental incivility in urban leading to loss of authority of space by local people and urban encroachment of rural areas shape the ‘geography of fear’. These factors at individual, neighbourhood and community level will be evaluated in ways so fear of crime can be reduced in urban and rural areas.
Nieto, Marcus. "Public Video Surveillance: Is It An Effective Crime Prevention Tool?" California State Library. N.p., June 1997. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
There are many benefits to having law enforcement security cameras, which people take for granted, and are quick to point out the negative. Having a network of cameras on every street in the city increases the chances of preventing a crime, along with the ability to capture a criminal on video. Some people argue that the cameras generate an overwhelming amount...
However security cameras has its limitations, mainly if an offense was recorded on camera in terrible weather conditions or at nighttime it would be hard to see, also if the camera did not seize all of a crime as if it was not being monitored. After monitoring, officers can direct the camera, if not; it pans across an area (Chianis August 2014). Besides, security cameras shield against home robbery, and destruction. It’s very hard to get away with taking something that doesn’t belong to you if there are security cameras recording you. Security cameras safeguards people individual belongings. Also security cameras stop criminal behavior. Criminals will not want to commit a crime. The security cameras catch nearly everything on record. So, the criminal a lot of the time will get caught. Security cameras will record the criminal beforehand, or throughout the course of action (October 2009). If people are not aware of the crime until after the crime has been committed, the security camera that is recording will provide a portion of information throughout the officer’s analysis. Security cameras have been known to prevent many crimes. Most people believe that we ought to not have security cameras in shared places. The on again and off again argument that security cameras don’t provide people with the privacy necessary. You have to question, why go out in the community if you desire so much privacy? You might as well stay home behind closed doors. Security cameras are intended to keep people and their belongings secure, cameras are not put in places to hound you. In some places there isn't a logical belief of confidentiality, the profit of security cameras usually overshadow the detriments (August 2004). The most apparent advantage is that criminals that commit harsh crimes can be recognized and placed behind bars. Some other