- 最后登录
- 2014-3-7
- 在线时间
- 5 小时
- 寄托币
- 55070
- 声望
- 6
- 注册时间
- 2001-9-3
- 阅读权限
- 255
- 帖子
- 415
- 精华
- 211
- 积分
- 9703
- UID
- 64183
   
- 声望
- 6
- 寄托币
- 55070
- 注册时间
- 2001-9-3
- 精华
- 211
- 帖子
- 415
|
Research Proposal (3): Qualitative orientation
Candy Leong Veng Mei, M.Phil Proposal in Criminology, Dept. of Sociology, HKU.
PROPOSED TITLE
INTRODUCTION
BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF MACAU AND STDM
THE RECENT TREND OF CRIME IN MACAU
LITERATURE REVIEW
SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF GAMBLING
PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL (MICRO) ASPECTS OF GAMBLING
METHODOLOGY AND TIMETABLE
SECONDARY ANALYSIS
INTERVIEWS
TIMETABLE
DISCUSSION
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
Proposed Title
The Casino State and Crime - Macau: A Case Study
INTRODUCTION
In this research, I would like to investigate the relationship between gambling
and crime. Let me first define my research topic, a casino state means a state o
r city where gambling, such as blackjack and fantan, has been legalized by the g
overnment; by the word crime I mean violent crimes which include murder, aggrava
ted assault and robbery. I have chosen Macau as a case study because Macau is pr
operly known as a casino state in Asia and has been called the "Monte Carlo of t
he Orient". A vast amount of government revenue in Macau is collected from the c
asinos in the form of taxes. Since 1988 more than 30% of government's public rev
enue and expenditure has been derived from gambling taxes (Table 1). In addition
, I also think that there is some specific link to Hong Kong. Firstly, many Hong
Kong residents come to Macau to gamble since gambling is prohibited in Hong Kon
g; secondly, some triads in Hong Kong do fight for profits gained from the casin
os in Macau. Moreover, the concerns about crime associated with the Macau casino
s is a sensitive topic during the handover of Macau because of the need to demon
strate stability and order. In this study, I will focus on the link between gamb
ling and crime in Macau. I will also investigate other issues such as the proble
ms of the regulation of gambling and policing. The followings are some hypothese
s (H) that I would like to investigate in this research:
H1 Casinos enhance violent crime.
H2 Less casino revenue and profits produce more violent crime.
H3 More violent crime in a casino state, like Macau, reflects weak law enforceme
nt.
H1, H2 and H3 investigate the socio-economic (macro) aspects of gambling. In ord
er to research H1, I will compare Macau with another casino state, such as Monte
Carlo or Las Vegas. H2 reveals the idea of competing for scarcity. As there is
less casino revenue, the intensity of crime will increase so that the social cos
ts will increase. H3 has something to do with the reporting theory and policing.
Macau has a special characteristic in which there is a strong community and peo
ple usually know each other very well, as a result, the people in Macau don't de
pend very much on the law enforcement system. The relationship between the polic
e force and triads in Macau is perhaps similar to Hong Kong during the 60s and 7
0s.
Another option is to investigate the psychological and sociological (micro) aspe
cts of gambling and I have set the following hypothesis.
H4 Gambling behavior (addiction) of adults produce more juvenile delinquency.
In doing H4, I may use the method of self-reported crime in investigating the ju
venile delinquency. I will also need to look at the cultural and sociological va
lues.
BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF MACAU AND STDM
The Portuguese came to Macau as early as 1535 and they traded in Macau, then fin
ally China ceded Macau to Portugal in 1887 under some treaty terms. It is locate
d on the western side of the Chu Chiang (Pearl River) Estuary, at the head of Kw
ang Chou (Canton) and stands opposite to Hong Kong. Together, they are called th
e Pearl River Delta. Macau has a total area of 23.5 square kilometers consisting
of the Macau Peninsula, Taipa Island and Coloane Island. The total population t
oday is about 650,000.
Since gambling is prohibited in Hong Kong and China, Macau attracts a large numb
er of tourists to its casinos, and is called the "Monte Carlo of the Orient". Al
l gambling is controlled by a government-licensed syndicate, Sociedade De Turism
o E Diversoes De Macau S.A.R.L. (STDM), which pays an annual tax of more than 4
billion dollars to the Macau government.
The history of gambling in Macau goes back as early as 1875. However, gambling h
as not been legalized until 1937 and it is not franchised at that time. Only in
1962, the government has granted STDM with the Gambling Franchise. Sociedade De
Turismo E Diversoes De Macau S.A.R.L (STDM), founded by Dr. Stanley Ho, plays a
key role in the development, prosperity and growth of Macau. STDM is the largest
commercial employer in Macau providing jobs for more than 10,000 people. The co
mpany was granted the exclusive Gambling Franchise in Macau since 1962, which wa
s extended in 1986 for another 15 years to 2001. The nine casinos operated by ST
DM have become the backbone of Macau tourism. The casinos offer games such as pa
i kau, fantan, blackjack and dice. There are also horse racing, dog racing and l
ottery. The annual income of STDM during 1978 and 1993 is given in Table 2.
THE RECENT TREND OF CRIME IN MACAU
Some crime statistics in Macau is given in Table 3. Over the last decade, the to
tal number of crime in Macau has increased from 4,717 in 1987 to 8,576 in 1996,
the increase is more than 80%. Crime rate per capita has increased from 14.11 pe
r 1,000 people in 1987 to 20.62 per 1,000 people in 1996. The major problem is p
ublic order offense as the percentage increase is almost 6 times in 1996. This c
reates a serious social problem, as these crimes will directly affect the reside
nts' daily life. They are worried about their life and property. The second high
est percentage increase is robbery in buildings as it has increased for almost 3
times in 1996, then followed by other crimes which has increased for more than
2 times in 1996. The smallest increase is street robbery with only 8.39%.
There is an upward trend in the number of crimes in Macau. The crime in Macau ha
s become more publicized, serious, vice and organized. There are more juvenile d
elinquents and female criminals. In addition, the triads who are fighting for th
e profit of the casinos commit most of the serious crime (especially murder) in
1997 and 1998.
However, the crime statistics may not be able to reflect the reality as some peo
ple may not report the crime because of the complicated procedures and time wast
ed; some victims may be tourists and they will just stay in Macau for a short pe
riod of time; some victims may be illegal immigrants so they don't report the cr
ime.
LITERATURE REVIEW
SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF GAMBLING
The literature review in this part is mainly about the socio-economic (macro) as
pects of gambling and is related to the first three hypotheses that I have set.
Some studies on "Casinos, crime, and real estate values: Do they relate?" were d
one in 1989 by Andrew J. Buck, Simon Hakim and Uriel Spiegel. The studies show t
hat gambling can serve as the engine for growth in the Atlantic City region, but
on the other hand, casinos will increase the level of crime significantly in th
at region. According to the studies, the sources of casino-related crime include
the temporary visitors, criminals who realize the new crime opportunities offer
ed by the casinos and the employees of the casinos. In addition, crime did not s
howed a particular spatial pattern in the pre-casino years 1972 to 1977 but this
emerged in the post-casino years 1978 to 1986. Andrew J. Buck has suggested in
his article that some follow-up studies may lead to important policy implication
s and public security measures.
Joseph Friedman, Simon Hakim and J. Weinblatt did another study in 1989 on "Casi
no gambling as a 'growth pole' strategy and its effect on crime." The studies sh
ow that crime in Atlantic City grew from 100.6 per 1000 people in 1977 to 353.7
in 1984. The highest percentage increase is in violent crimes, followed by burgl
aries and vehicle thefts. The lowest increase is in larcenies. In addition, the
increase in crime was not limited to Atlantic City itself; there was also a sign
ificant crime increase in the neighboring communities. Joseph Friedman has raise
d an interesting question: Does crime increase due to normal growth or does the
particular nature of the industry (casino gambling) cause additional crime? On t
he other hand, Friedman has suggested that casinos can serve as a "growth pole"
device from an economic point of view. Between 1978 and 1984, the casinos attrac
ted many visitors to Atlantic City. This had both direct and indirect income and
employment effects. Consumption by the tourists increases and the revenue of ho
tels also increased. The casino industry has invested more than $2.2 billion in
property and equipment, and $199 million for economic redevelopment and housing
investment in Atlantic City. Friedman has concluded that casinos can boost the e
conomy but also increase the level of crime. He suggested that a social cost-ben
efit analysis on casinos and crime should be done and might lead to a different
conclusion: that the social cost of crime may be high enough to outweigh the eco
nomic gain obtained from the casino. Besides, casinos may cause redistribution e
ffects. Residents of localities far away from the casinos may suffer from crime
spillover, while they may gain none or little development benefits generated by
the casinos.
These two studies support my first hypothesis: Casinos enhance violent crime.
PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL (MICRO) ASPECTS OF GAMBLING
A study on "Adolescent machine gambling and crime" is done by Tim Yeoman and Mar
k Griffiths in 1990. This survey was done in Plymouth with the aim to find out w
hether there was any relationship between criminal activity (theft) and gambling
machine use. The police officers collected information from 1851 juvenile offen
ders. The results show that there is little evidence showing that children and a
dolescents who gamble on fruit machines may engage themselves in stealing in ord
er to fund their habit. The study also showed that many juveniles with heavy gam
ing machine use came from families who are less fortunate and they usually have
poor relationships with their families.
METHODOLOGY AND TIMETABLE
I intend to use secondary analysis and interviews for the data collection of my
research. The reasons for that are direct observation will be dangerous and diff
icult because I may need to deal with the triad members who are in charge of the
gambling tables, surveys will be quite difficult as well since it may involve d
oing surveys on the triad members who have dominated most of the casinos in Maca
u.
SECONDARY ANALYSIS
Since direct observation is not very accessible in the casinos, secondary analys
is is more preferable. The sources that I would use include archives, newspaper,
magazine articles, and law enforcement agency files. I will try to choose the s
ources which are more objective. I will adopt the econometric methods to find th
e correlation between crime and gambling revenue and profits in accordance to my
second hypothesis.
INTERVIEWS
Interviews will enable me to do most of the qualitative part of my research, and
the information gained here is usually more realistic. I plan to interview some
police officers, some owners of gambling tables in the casinos, some administra
tive employees of STDM, some reporters and journalists, some officers in the Aut
oridade Monetaria E Cambial De Macau (Gambling Authority), some prisoners who ha
ve some connections with the casinos, some gambling addictors in Macau and Hong
Kong and if possible, the ex-triad members in Macau and Hong Kong.
I have chosen to interview the above people that I have mentioned because of the
following reasons:
* the police officers can provide further data that I cannot get from the Macau
Census and Statistics Department. They can also help me to examine the law enfor
cement system and give me some ideas on the organized crime of Macau.
* the owners of gambling tables in the casinos and the administrative employees
of STDM serve as the insight sources and enable me to understand how the casinos
operate.
* the reporters and journalists can give me some information from a different po
int of view since they represent the communication media.
* the officers in the AMCM (Gambling Authority) can give me some ideas on the re
gulation of gambling and how the government manage the Gambling Franchise.
* the prisoners and ex-triad members can give some information on the illegal ac
tivities associated with gambling and also enable me to understand more about or
ganized crime in Macau, and maybe some of the secret rules of those triads. (Sub
ject to permission to do so)
* the gambling addictors can help me to understand more about the idea of addict
ion and morality of gambling and also the effects on the gamblers' family and so
ciety.
TIMETABLE
I will spend about 200 hours per month on my studies. I plan to spend the first
nine months developing my proposal and methodology and completing the literature
review. During this time, I will also attend some relevant courses in the Maste
r of Social Sciences in Criminology suggested by my supervisor. Then I plan to s
pend about four to six months in Macau obtaining statistics and doing interviews
. I will spend four months in Macau so as to do some intensive fieldwork, then I
may go to Macau again in 2000 for a few months to do some follow-up jobs as wel
l.
Since I may be doing part of my research in Macau, I would like to apply for the
research grant so as to assist me in the transportation costs.
September 1998 - May 1999
* Develop proposal and methodology and complete the literature review
* Attend some relevant courses in the Master of Social Sciences in Criminology
* Obtain relevant published statistics
June 1999 - September 1999 * Intensive fieldwork in Macau
October 1999 - December 1999 * Analysis the statistics and data obtained
January 2000 - February 2000 * Follow-up interviews and fieldwork in Macau
March 2000 - August 2000 * Mainly work on the thesis
DISCUSSION
Since the past studies have suggested that casino gambling has a positive effect
on crime, especially on violent crimes so I would like to investigate this issu
e in Macau. In my opinion, although Macau is a casino state, it is not like othe
r countries since the government, the police, the triads and Dr. Stanley Ho have
some kind of hidden agreements so that Macau may appear to be more peaceful com
pared with Atlantic City.
I think those news and issues about murdering committed by the triads in the cas
inos, and the war between the triads and the police officers in Macau are import
ant for my study and the questions I raise. Another issue that interests me is t
he arresting of Wan Kuok Koi who has almost all the control of the gambling tabl
es in the casinos in Macau.
Macau begins to have published official statistics on crime only in 1987 and the
re has been very little research and analysis on crime in Macau. The crime stati
stics obtained from the Macau Census and Statistics Department are not detailed
and are very limited. Therefore, I will try to contact other government departme
nts such as the Police Department and the AMCM for their annual reports for addi
tional data. If possible, I will try to go further back and find data in the 195
0s, 60s and 70s.
But I believe that I would have an advantage of obtaining more insight informati
on about STDM and the casinos because my mother has been working in the casinos
for 27 years and my grandparents are also ex-employees of STDM.
CONCLUSION
To conclude, Macau is a casino state which is quite different from those in Aust
ralia and America because the government revenue in Macau depends very much on t
he gambling taxes and most of the infrastructure projects (international airport
, deep-water port, new Macau-Taipa bridge and reclamation and development in Pra
ia Grande Bay) are financed by STDM. As a result, the government may sometimes n
eed to compromise with the casinos and triads so as to maintain its revenue. Bes
ides, some police officers may also corrupt and profit from the casinos. Recentl
y, the relationship between the triads and the police officers seems to be upset
because of less revenue in the casinos and the handover of Macau in 1999. My re
search will mainly concentrate on the relationship of crime and gambling in Maca
u. I may also investigate other issues such as the problem of regulation of the
Gambling Franchise and the policing in Macau.
I have set three hypotheses on the macro aspects of gambling and also an option
hypothesis on the micro aspects of gambling. Past studies have showed a positive
relationship between casino gambling and crime and that casinos can stimulate e
conomic growth. The methods that I plan to use are mainly secondary analysis and
interviews. Some current events in Macau concerning the war between the police
officers and the triads and the arresting of Wan Kuok Koi are also important for
my studies because they may have hidden agreements in the past. The triads usua
lly have some connections with the casinos or other associated illegal activitie
s. Since not much research on crime is done in Macau, the major difficulty will
be data collection.
REFERENCES
Andrew J. Buck, Joseph Deutsch, Simon Hakim, Uriel Spiegel and J. Weinblatt, "A
Von Thunen Model of Crime, Casinos and Property Values in New Jersey", Urban Stu
dies, Vol. 28, No. 5, 1991, p.673-686.
Andrew J. Buck, Simon Hakim, Uriel Spiegel, "Casinos, Crime and Real Estate Valu
es: Do they relate?", Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Vol. 28, Aug
1991, p.288-303.
Joseph Friedman, Simon Hakim and J. Weinblatt, "Casinos Gambling as a 'Growth Po
le' Strategy and Its Effect on Crime", Journal of Regional Science, Vol. 29, No.
4, 1989, p.615-623.
Kwong Che Leung and Kwan Fong, "Gambling in Macau: A Macroeconomic Analysis", Po
pulation and Development in Macau (China Economic Research Centre, University of
Macau), 1994, p.245-252.
Penny Chan (1997) Notes for Presentation on "Sociological Analysis of the Curren
t Problems of Public Security in Macau" (Unpublished Paper)
Tim Yeoman and Mark Griffiths, "Adolescent Machine Gambling and Crime", Journal
of Adolescence, Vol. 19, 1996, p.183-188.
Encyclopedia Americana, Vol. 18, p.4
Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 11, p.220-222
Yearbook of Statistics, 1987-1996, Macau Census and Statistics Department
Autoridade Monetaria E Cambial De Macau (AMCM), Annual Report 1990
Autoridade Monetaria E Cambial De Macau (AMCM), Report and Accounts 1985 |
|