International Journal on Criminology Volume 3, Number 2, Fall 2015 | Page 14

International Journal on Criminology
excessive security responses, disregarding freedoms and human rights. By contrast, low
crime rates encourage laxity, tolerance, and negligence.
C. One phase in a cycle is the cause of the next phase, so a phase may be explained
by processes that began in the preceding phase. A period of rising crime is followed by
a fall because, under pressure from too many crimes, security actors seek and find
solutions.
The model proposed is close to the theory of responsive securitization (Van
Dijk 2008, 2012). Van Dijk suggests that levels of victimization are determined by the
interactions between the choices of the criminals and those of their victims. When the
benefits of crime outweigh the costs, the number of offenders and offenses goes up. In
response to growing costs to victims, the latter protect themselves, installing situational
protection that will reduce the number of crime opportunities and, consequently, the
number of crimes. Van Dijk conclusion: “Crime markets are equilibrium seeking.”
The Four Phases of Crime and Security Cycle
I
distinguish four successive phases in crime rates: 1) Growth; 2) Summit; 3) Decline;
4) Contraction. The phases follow on from one another, the reasons for one being
found in the one before. After the fourth phase, the system goes back to the first.
I. Growth.
Crime begins to go up in times of abundance, partying, euphoria, and extravagance.
Economic expansion pushes up purchasing power. With an abundance of goods and
cash come opportunities for theft. People afford to have a good time and make the
most of the opportunity. During a life as a party, alcohol, promiscuity, and excitements
increase provocations and the risks of violent crimes (Cusson 2005). Nightlifers get into
fights, indulge in excesses, and pay their debts from the fruits of stealing and trafficking.
Criminal networks expand, and their members take control of drinking and other
establishments. Gangs enter into competition with one another, resulting in bloody
score settlings.
Growth in crime is self-sustaining. Rising profits from crime fund the party
lifestyle of offenders and stimulate their criminal activity. Offenders devise new criminal
tactics and find new gaps in the protection of goods and persons. Hoodlums have more
and more opportunities to meet, spend time together, form networks, and organize.
These more intense interactions stimulate repeat crimes: copycat crimes, differential
associations, repeat victimizations, and revenge (Cusson 2008). One crime leads to
another (Felson and Boba 2010).
Morals become laxer; tolerance, relativism, and insouciance are the order of the day.
Goods are left unsupervised. The adults in authority are reluctant to take action. Young
hoodlums have free rein and break the law with impunity. Judges and criminologists
deny that there is a problem. Does crime really deserve to be punished? Is it not a social
construct? Police becomes lax, legalistic, and bureaucratic. Police officers are corrupted.
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