Script Analysis and the SCRIPT Acronym

Abstract

Until recently, crime script analysis was virtually unknown to criminologists working outside the circle of environmental criminologists and situational prevention theorists. Over the years, crime scripts became more popular as researchers in crime prevention more broadly have started to look for more effective ways of addressing crime problems and informing prevention practices. The main objective of this chapter is to promote the practice of script analysis for understanding and preventing crime events. For this purpose, I focus on the strengths of script analysis using the SCRIPT acronym. The SCRIPT acronym stands for systematic, compatible, resilient, insightful, practical, and theoretically grounded. Each of these qualities inherent to script analysis is discussed to highlight the potential of crime scripts in criminological research.