Whose 'Eyes on the Street' Control Crime?: Expanding Place Management into Neighborhoods

Jane Jacobs' phrase "eyes on the street" refers to shopkeepers and property owners who wield immense power through property ownership and regulation. This perspective suggests that criminology should integrate with economics, political science, urban planning, and history to improve crime control policies.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 75 pages
Publication date: 02 December 2021
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Jane Jacobs introduced the term "eyes on the street" to refer to individuals who uphold order in urban areas. Criminologists generally believe that these eyes are associated with local residents. However, this Element reveals that the majority of the eyes Jacobs described actually belonged to shopkeepers and property owners. Together with governments, they wield substantial power through property ownership and regulation. Drawing from Jacobs's work, we propose a Neo-Jacobian perspective to reimagine the relationship between crime and neighborhood function through deliberate decision-making at specific places. This perspective introduces three significant turning points for criminology. Firstly, it shifts the focus from residents to place managers as the primary source of informal social control. Secondly, it recognizes the role of outsiders' deliberate actions in creating crime opportunities. Thirdly, it moves away from a top-down macro- to bottom-up micro-spatial explanation of crime patterns. This perspective underscores the importance of integrating criminology with economics, political science, urban planning, and history to enhance crime control policies.

Weight: 128g
ISBN-13: 9781108949330
Edition number: New ed