Systems Thinking Case Study #1:
Rise of Handphone Thefts
HOW COME CASES OF HANDPHONE THEFTS CONTINUE TO
RISE DESPITE CRIME CONTROL AND PREVENTION EFFORTS?
DIALOGUE NOTES:  WHAT DO YOU SEE HAPPENING?

  • We are noticing that crime is going up, despite several efforts to manage it better.
  • Those that go up in particular include theft of handphones, theft from vehicle, shoplifting
    and drug consumption.
  • Most of the persons caught for these offences, tend to be youngsters and are studying in
    school
  • When asked why they do it, the reply is often “because I was seeking thrills”

INHERENT SYSTEMIC STRUCTURE:  FIXES THAT BACKFIRE
INTERVENTION BY DIALOGUE:

“What is causing the offenders to seek thrill?  When persons need to seek thrill out, often it is
because they are feeling low themselves.  What is happening that is leading them to feel low?”

“What are the things we (parents, teachers, as police officers) are doing today that might be
contributing to it?

“What might we do differently?  What needs to happen / change first, before we are able to do
anything differently?  How would we know if it is working?”
SYSTEMIC INTERVENTION:

Notice the 'level of crimes is a function of the fix' (remember DIL-MIL intervention?).  
That's your leverage!  

  • Breaking this cycle usually requires acknowledging that the fix is merely alleviating a
    symptom and making a commitment to solve the real problem now.

  • A two-pronged attack of applying the fix and planning out the fundamental solution will
    help ensure that you don’t get caught in a perpetual cycle of solving yesterday’s solutions:
  • Prong #1:  Identify problem symptom.  Map current interventions and how they
    were expected to rectify the problem.  Map unintended consequences of the
    interventions
  • Prong #2:  Identify fundamental causes of the problem.  Find connections between
    fixes and the fundamental causes.  Are they linked?  Proceed to identify high-
    leverage interventions.  Map potential side-effects for each intervention in order to
    be prepared for them (or to avoid them altogether)

  • “We consider possible alternative and their side-effects before acting.”
  • We identify possible side effects of short-term fixes.
WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE IF WE LEARN TO APPLY THESE STRATEGIES?

WHAT MIGHT MAKE IT DIFFICULT OR GET IN THE WAY OF MAKING THESE HAPPEN?

WHAT KEEPS OUR CONVERSATIONS LIKE THESE AND IS MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO SEE THESE STRUCTURES?

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Page published in LOPN In-Touch Jan 2006,
Vol 1 Number 1/6