Abstract

This chapter traces the theoretical origins of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED), situational crime prevention (SCP) and other modalities of crime prevention linked broadly to rational choice theory (RAT). It considers the global spread of these ideas and their particular prominence in the Anglophone world. The rationalities and technologies of environmental criminology and related models have a problematic relationship with rural communities given the hardened nature of the urban context where they were fashioned. The chapter develops a case study from rural Ireland to discuss the way in which usage of recent technologies such as SMS alerts, WhatsApp and social media are being adopted to widen ‘guardianship’ in rural areas. It develop a critique of the dominant rational choice model with reference to two concepts – Garland’s (2001) observations on ‘responsibilisation’ and Bourdieu’s concept of doxa or accepted common sense – to explore how a situationist doxa takes hold. The chapter critically examines the way in which SCP, CPTED and RAT are practically accommodated rather than fully embraced in local contexts, especially by the way in which rural communities and households have adopted informational approaches.

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