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Situational Crime Prevention (SCP)
1. Background
Situational Crime Prevention departs from mainstream criminology in that it focuses on:
the importance of the opportunity for crime to occur
the settings for crime, rather than upon those committing the crimes
preventing the occurrence of crime, rather than on detecting and punishing offenders.
2. Features
Situational Crime Prevention comprises opportunity-reducing measures that:
are directed at highly specific forms of crime - Intervention measures must be tailored to highly specific crime types within broader crime categories, for example the distinction between burglary committed for cash from coin-operated meters and burglary committed for electrical goods. This is because different offences are the result of different opportunity constellations and as such may each require specific interventions.
involve the management, design or manipulation of the immediate environment in as systematic and permanent way as possible - Intervention measures reflect changes in the environment that are designed to affect assessments made by potential offenders about the risks and rewards associated with committing particular crimes. These judgements are dependent on the specific features of the situation and imply some rationality and a degree of adaptability, on the part of the offender.
make crime more difficult, risky, less rewarding and excusable for a wide range of offenders - the judgements made by potential offenders include some evaluation of the moral costs of offending. This means that making it harder for offenders to excuse their actions may sometimes be an effective crime prevention technique.
make no mention of any particular crime category - SCP is assumed to be applicable to every kind of crime not just 'opportunistic' or acquisitive property offences.
'The lesson is that the limits of situational prevention should be established by closely analysing the circumstances of highly specific kinds of offence, rather than by theoretical arguments about the presumed nature of motives for broad categories of crime such as sexual or violent offences'. (Clarke 1997, p5).
3. The 4 components of SCP
A theoretical foundation drawing principally upon routine activity theory and rational choice approaches.
A standard methodology based on the action research paradigm (research to change practice)
A set of opportunity-reducing techniques.
A body of evaluated practice including studies of displacement.
4. Further Reading
Clarke, R.V. ed. (1997) Situational Crime Prevention: successful case studies (2nd edition). NY: Harrow and Heston.
Clarke, R.V and Eck, J. (2003) Become a Problem-Solving Crime Analyst: In 55 Small Steps. London: Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science, University College London www.jdi.ucl.ac.uk/publications/manual/crime_manual_content.php
Last update: 20 July 2004