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Crime Control as Energy Policy (From Criminology Review Yearbook, Volume 2, P 549-552, 1980, by Egon Bittner and Sheldon L Messinger - See NCJ-70397)

NCJ Number
70411
Author(s)
S Balkin
Date Published
1980
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Connections between crime control and a successful energy conservation policy are exemplified by the excessive amounts of energy used by people who are afraid of crime and inadequate enforcement of energy conservation laws.
Abstract
Little-investigated correlations between fear of crime and energy waste range from lights left burning all night inside and outside private dwellings; use of private automobiles by people who consider mass transportation unsafe and crime-ridden; opposition to nuclear power plants because they are perceived as unsafe (as they often are), and refusal to pick up hitchhikers, or to hitchhike occasionally instead of driving one's car. Mass transit lines could be made safer by greater (and well-advertised) penalties for offenses committed in public conveyances); emergency facilities for summoning police help; and increased police presence, including television surveillance. Increasing mass transit ridership would in itself reduce crime and reduced crime would encourage increased ridership. Better provisions for bicycle riding, controlled hitchhiking through identification of hikers and license plate of host automobiles, making subcompact car use more attractive by additional safety features, and strict enforcement of the 55-mile-per-hour speed limit would promote energy conservation through crime control measures and better law enforcement. In the housing area, people should be encouraged to switch from one-family homes to high-rise manned door- and elevator service and increased tenant interaction. Safety at nuclear power plants could also be improved sufficiently to lessen adverse public reaction. Additionally, stricter application of antitrust laws would prevent deliberate withholding of energy supplies and price manipulation by the oil companies.

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