title: Life on the atoll: Singapore ecology as a neglected dimension of social order.
abstract: Based on field interviews in Singapore in 1985, 1997, and 2003, this article addresses the issue of how island ecology helps explain the remarkable low rates of crime that are often attributed mainly to cultural and government policies. Understanding crime and control on this most densely populated Southeast Asian atoll must begin with how people are dispersed over the limited spatial area. Ecology also influences how styles of some crimes are defined and controlled. Several of Donald Black's propositions are given further consideration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Criminology, G-1 McElhaney Hall, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 441 North Walk, Indiana, Pennsylvania 15705-1075, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Austin
mesh_terms: D003256:Community Participation; D003415:Crime / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D004463:Ecology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D011156:Population Density; D011329:Prisoners / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000523:psychology; D011640:Public Policy; D011678:Punishment; D012449:Safety; D012637:Security Measures; D012846:Singapore; D012926:Social Control, Formal; D012941:Social Responsibility