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A System’s Approach to Crime Prevention: The Case of Macao

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Abstract

Macao has the world’s largest casino industry and represents a unique political, social, and cultural system that differs significantly from Western societies. The overall crime rate in Macao is relatively low. Scholarly knowledge about crime and crime prevention in Macao, however, is very limited. This paper first reviews crime prevention theories, typologies, and various strategies in Western societies, followed by an introduction and discussion of crime prevention practices in Macao. Crime prevention strategies in Macao may be characterized as a tripod structure with three major supporting legs: traditional criminal justice practices, social prevention beyond the criminal justice system, and situational crime prevention measures. The paper then discusses the factors that may contribute to the low level of crime in Macao and points out the direction for future research in Macao.

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Notes

  1. The official claim that Macao was a colony of Portugal was documented in the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Amity and Commerce in 1887, but the colonial influence of the Portuguese commenced as early as 1553 when the officials of the local government of Canton Province granted the Portuguese the right of temporary stay in Macao for trading businesses during the trading season (Huang 1999; Deng et al 2000). According to the agreement, the Portuguese had to leave Macao as soon as the trading season was over. In 1557, however, the Portuguese built permanent houses and settled down in Macao (Huang 1999; Deng et al 2000). Later, more Portuguese settled down in Macao bringing with them Portuguese culture and legal traditions. In December 2009, Macao was returned to China (Macao SAR Government Portal 2010).

  2. Macao’s official crime statistics do not report violent crime as a whole. Violent crime is included in crime against persons. Crime against persons as reported in (Macao) Yearbook of Statistics include homicide, assault, crimes against personal freedom, sexual offenses, libel, and crimes against privacy.

  3. The public confidence indices include confidence in the government, public safety, social stability, the courts, the legislature, the Chief Executive, other residents, the economy, personal economic conditions, governmental departments and social institutions, and satisfaction in public transportation.

  4. Rosenbaum (1988) identifies three fields of potential victims in relation to: personal protection, household protection, and neighborhood protection.

  5. van Dijk and de Waard (1991) make a distinction between situational, offender-oriented and victim-oriented measures.

  6. According to Sutton et al. (2008), criminal justice responses, such as arrest, imprisonment and other forms of punishment, have some deterrent and incapacitative effects and could be regarded as social prevention applied at the tertiary phase (i.e. after an offence has occurred).

  7. In Hong Kong, the GDP per capita was 247,332 Hong Kong dollars (equivalent to 30,917 US dollars); average local residents’ monthly income was approximately 11,500 HK dollars (equivalent to 1,438 US dollars/month); and the overall unemployment rate was 3.7% (Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, 2010).

  8. This scheme started in 2005.

  9. The department of Social Rehabilitation and the Juvenile Detention Center are under the leadership of the Legal Affairs Office of Macao.

  10. Compared with those who are either in school or employed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Macau, Av. Padre Tomás Pereira, Taipa, Macao, China

    Ruohui Zhao & Jianhong Liu

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  1. Ruohui Zhao
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  2. Jianhong Liu
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Correspondence to Ruohui Zhao.

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This study is supported by University of Macau’s research grant, UL018/09-Y3/CRI/ZRH01/FSH.

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Zhao, R., Liu, J. A System’s Approach to Crime Prevention: The Case of Macao. Asian Criminology 6, 207–227 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11417-011-9117-8

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