Situational Crime Prevention: A Study in Indian Context

Abstract

Situational Crime Prevention [also known as SCP]is a new crime prevention technique used in the field of Criminology and Criminal justice System in this paper author tried to explain the various applications of SCP. Situational crime prevention is a crime prevention strategy that addresses specific crimes by managing, designing and manipulating the environment in a manner that seeks to increase the risk to the offender, while reducing the offender’s potential reward for committing the crime. 'Situational Crime Prevention' (SCP) is the name given by criminologists to crime prevention strategies that are aimed at reducing the criminal opportunities which arise from the routines of everyday life. Such strategies include 'hardening' of potential targets, improving surveillance of areas that might attract crime (e.g. closed circuit television surveillance), and deflecting potential offenders from settings in which crimes might occur (e.g., by limiting access of such persons to shopping malls and other locales). While there has been much research and criminological discussion of SCP, it has focused on issues of effectiveness and other technical aspects e.g., does closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance 'work', in the sense of deterring offenders or aiding in the detection of offences? The larger issues especially the ethical ones were little addressed. Situational crime prevention is a primary prevention measure. This means that it is directed at stopping crime problems before they occur. Like other primary crime prevention measures, situational prevention tends to focus on reducing crime opportunities rather than on the characteristics of criminals or potential criminals.