Crime Prevention Theory

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Critical Analysis of Situational Crime Prevention and Classical Criminological Theory Although not one crime prevention type is better than the other, situational crime prevention (SCP) will be used to apply the Classical School of Criminological Theory, specifically using Rational Choice and Routine Activity theories. The basic assumption of Rational Choice Theory is that human behavior, including criminal behavior, is the result of conscious decision making (O’Grady, 2011, p. 127). This perspective stems from the expected utility principle of economic theory (Akers & Sellers, 2013, p. 23); which, according to O’Grady (2011), this perspective of crime is understood to be influenced by variations in opportunity, environment, target and risk …show more content…
Some of the theories and SCP limitations are that they do not focus on the social and economic aspects of crime. Also, SCP has been criticized for focusing too much on opportunistic crime and surveillance because it can cause crime displacement; also for encouraging unequal access to security, such as gated communities (Handbook on the Crime Prevention Guidelines, 2010, p. 15). Thus, not one crime prevention strategy or criminological theory stands alone. There needs to be several crime prevention strategies used, as well as theories to complement each …show more content…
Throughout the early years, there were shifts in crime prevention from developmental, community and situational crime prevention. Now, all three types are used individually or together, depending on the goals of the crime prevention strategy. Also, crime prevention has proven to be successful in preventing crimes, reducing crime rates and making communities and/or places safer. Although not every strategy is successful, the majority of them make a difference if employed properly. Finally, crime prevention can be linked to criminological theories; specifically, SCP and the Classical School of Criminological Theory. There is a direct link between both Rational Choice Theory and Routine Activity Theory and SCP. However, not all criminological theory can be applied to SCP, such as Lombroso’s “born criminal” theory. There is no correlation between SCP goals and the physical traits of an individual and the prevention of
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