Whose 'Eyes on the Street' Control Crime?

Abstract

Jane Jacobs coined the phrase 'eyes on the street' to depict those who maintain order in cities. Most criminologists assume these eyes belong to residents. In this Element we show that most of the eyes she described belonged to shopkeepers and property owners. They, along with governments, wield immense power through property ownership and regulation. From her work, we propose a Neo-Jacobian perspective to reframe how crime is connected to neighborhood function through deliberate decision-making at places. It advances three major turning points for criminology. This includes turns from: 1. residents to place managers as the primary source of informal social control; 2. ecological processes to outsiders' deliberate actions that create crime opportunities; and 3. a top-down macro- to bottom-up micro-spatial explanation of crime patterns. This perspective demonstrates the need for criminology to integrate further into economics, political science, urban planning, and history to improve crime control policies.

Neighborhoods of last resort: How landlord strategies concentrate violent crime

“…These findings connect place management theory with the sociological literature on disadvantaged rental markets, which has long noted that in areas of concentrated disadvantage, landlords exploit their tenants’ lack of other options by providing them with low‐quality housing (Riis, 1890; Taylor, 2019). In these areas, investments in good place management would likely increase costs without increasing revenues (Eck, 2017; Linning & Eck, 2021).…”

“…Neighborhoods are not just organic social groupings reflecting the characteristics of their residents but are also owned commodities whose social processes reflect the economic goals of their owners. We second Linning and Eck's (2021) call for a turn away from residents toward property owners and away from ecological processes toward political economic ones. This political-economic perspective complements social disorganization theory.…”

“It’s All About Just Creating the Safe Space”: Barbershops and Beauty Salons as Community Anchors in Black Neighborhoods: Crime Prevention, Cohesion, and Support During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The participants discussed how often and how many hours they spend at their businesses allowing for consistent oversight of co-workers, clients, frequenters, and the ability to interfere in any potential questionable behavior. Linning and Eck (2021) suggested that more qualitative place management research is needed to better understand practices enacted for effective management at businesses/land uses and within the neighborhood. Future studies should measure the impact owners/place managers' physical presence duration, patron rapport, and neighborhood buy-in impact the crime in their immediate vicinity.…”

Changing environments to promote safety in libraries

“…Poor management does affect crime (Eck, 2019). Managers, guardians, and handlers can exercise social control and have been shown to be key in preventing crime (Felson, 2006;Linning and Eck, 2021). Few rules, lax enforcement, and poorly trained personnel encourage individuals to commit crimes and get away without being noticed (Clarke and Eck, 2007;Linning and Eck, 2021).…”