Crime Prevention

Crime prevention studies how to reduce crime before it occurs — through situational, social, and developmental interventions.

Scope

It covers situational crime prevention, environmental design, developmental and community prevention, and the evaluation of prevention programs.

Core questions

• How can crime be prevented rather than punished?
• How does opportunity shape crime?
• How can environments be designed to reduce crime?
• What prevention programs work?

Key concepts

• Situational crime prevention
• Defensible space (CPTED)
• Opportunity reduction
• Routine activity
• Developmental prevention
• Evaluation

Key theories

Defensible space

Newman showed how urban design can reduce crime by enhancing natural surveillance and territoriality.

Situational crime prevention

Clarke developed opportunity-reducing measures grounded in routine-activity and rational-choice ideas.

History

Crime prevention developed from defensible-space design (Newman) and situational prevention (Clarke), grounded in routine-activity theory (Cohen & Felson), alongside developmental and community approaches.

Debates

Does prevention just displace crime?

Whether situational prevention reduces crime overall or merely displaces it elsewhere.

Key figures

• Oscar Newman
• Ronald Clarke
• Lawrence Cohen
• Marcus Felson

Seminal works

• newman-1972
• cohen-felson-1979
• clarke-1980

Frequently asked questions

What is situational crime prevention?

Reducing crime by changing the immediate environment to make offending harder, riskier, or less rewarding (Clarke).