Situational Crime Prevention Techniques Research Articles

Utilizing cyberplace managers to prevent and control cybercrimes: a vignette experimental study

Place management is central to Routine Activities Theory and proactive utilization of place managers is one of 25 Situational Crime Prevention techniques. Yet little is known about the effectiveness of using place managers to prevent cybercrimes. This paper uses a vignette experimental survey of 213 cybersecurity professionals to explore their perceptions of cybercrime prevention. We find that organizations that partner with and proactively utilize cybersecurity professionals as place managers are perceived as more effective in controlling cybercrimes than those organizations that do not specifically assign professionals to proactively prevent and control cybercrimes. We conclude that assigned cyberplace managers are more likely to use their cyber skills and knowledge than those who lack the time and space to utilize their cyber expertise.

Alone against the danger: a study of the routine precautions taken by voluntary sex workers to avoid victimisation

This article explores the routine precautions taken by sex workers (SW) in Switzerland, a country in which sex work is a legal activity. It is based on approximately 1100 h of non-systematic participant observation spread over 18 months and 14 semi-structured interviews with indoor and outdoor SW. The findings show that SW use a series of routine precautions that overlap with the situational prevention techniques for increasing perpetrators’ efforts or their perception of the risk of offending, reducing the rewards of the crime, and decreasing the provocations and perpetrators’ excuses. Future tests of the efficacy of these routine precautions could help developing specific situational crime prevention techniques for deterring offences against SW.

Situational Crime Prevention (SCP) techniques to prevent and control cybercrimes: A focused systematic review

Situational Crime Prevention (SCP) is a criminological approach that is shown to reduce crime opportunities drawing from five different strategies comprising 25 techniques. With the global increase in cybercrime, practitioners and researchers are increasingly investigating opportunities for applying SCP strategies and techniques to prevent cyber-focused and cyber-enabled crimes. Recent research proposes ways that SCP can be applied to cybercrime. Yet most of this research utilizes only a few of the SCP techniques and the linkages between the SCP techniques and opportunities for reducing cybercrimes are rarely made explicit. In this paper we evaluate the relevance of the full spectrum of SCP techniques to cybercrime and explicate how computer scientists, cybercrime and cybersecurity researchers and practitioners apply SCP principles to prevent and control cyber-enabled crime. Through a focused systematic review of 352 articles across computer science, criminal justice and criminology literature using the PRISMA method, this paper clarifies terminologies, explores the rise of cybercrimes, and explains the value of SCP for responding to cybercrimes. We provide a review of the current research undertaken to apply SCP to cybercrimes and conclude with a discussion on research gaps and potential future areas of research.

Preventing illegal logging

This paper presents ideas and strategies to prevent illegal logging of timber. Globally, illegal logging is a substantial problem. While the exact amount of timber harvested illegally is unknown, the problem is estimated to cost USD$30–100 billion annually. Criminological theories suggest intervention mechanisms that could either prevent or severely limit illegal logging in the forests. Utilizing situational crime prevention techniques, certain strategies for prevention on the ground include signage indicating boundaries, gates lining access roads, and checkpoint locations. Transparency strategies include remote sensing, wood tracking operation standards and procedures, and independent certification. Additionally, forestry law enforcement, forestry management, and local communities must be encouraged to actively combat the problem of illegal logging.

Cyber-Situational Crime Prevention and the Breadth of Cybercrimes among Higher Education Institutions

Academic institutions house enormous amounts of critical information from social security numbers of students to proprietary research data. Thus, maintaining up to date cybersecurity practices to protect academic institutions’ information and facilities against cyber-perpetrators has become a top priority. The purpose of this study is to assess common cybersecurity measures through a situational crime prevention (SCP) theoretical framework. Using a national data set of academic institutions in the United States, this study investigates the link between common cybersecurity measures, crime prevention activities, and cybercrimes. By focusing on the conceptualization of cybersecurity measures as SCP techniques, this study also offers the SCP approach as a framework by which universities can seek to reduce incidents of cybercrime through the design, maintenance, and use of the built environment in the digital realm. Implications for theory, research and practice are discussed.

Cyber-Situational Crime Prevention and the Breadth of Cybercrimes among Higher Education Institutions

Academic institutions house enormous amounts of critical information from social security numbers of students to proprietary research data. Thus, maintaining up to date cybersecurity practices to protect academic institutions’ information and facilities against cyber-perpetrators has become a top priority. The purpose of this study is to assess common cybersecurity measures through a situational crime prevention (SCP) theoretical framework. Using a national data set of academic institutions in the United States, this study investigates the link between common cybersecurity measures, crime prevention activities, and cybercrimes. By focusing on the conceptualization of cybersecurity measures as SCP techniques, this study also offers the SCP approach as a framework by which universities can seek to reduce incidents of cybercrime through the design, maintenance, and use of the built environment in the digital realm. Implications for theory, research and practice are discussed.

Situational Crime Prevention in Sexual Offenses Against Women: Offenders Tell Us What Works and What Doesn't.

This study examined the perceived effectiveness of situational crime prevention (SCP) in sexual assault as rated by 140 offenders convicted for sex offenses against women in Australia. Participants were presented with three scenarios and asked to rate the perceived effectiveness of SCP techniques relating to guardianship, victim self-protective behavior, and crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED). Results indicate that the effectiveness of SCP methods was perceived to vary across different contexts. For offenses occurring in the private setting of an offender's home, victim self-protective behavior was seen as most effective, followed by guardianship and CPTED. In public settings, although the perceived effectiveness of victim self-protective behavior remained the same, guardianship and CPTED were rated as significantly more effective. Further variations were identified regarding specific strategies. Findings highlight the nuances of offender decision making in different situations and environments, and provide the first empirical comparisons of SCP perceptions among sex offenders.

Porch pirates: examining unattended package theft through crime script analysis

ABSTRACTPackage theft is an emerging crime type due to the tremendous growth in online shopping and the delivery of goods directly to a home. Unattended delivery creates an opportunity for thieves to steal packages after delivery and before the resident collects them. It is believed that these types of incidents are increasing dramatically, and media attention has amplified awareness and concern of ‘porch pirates.’ Currently, little is known about unattended package theft and the present study represents the first known scholarly examination of this crime. Using Video Data Analysis to examine 67 YouTube videos of porch pirates engaged in criminal activity, the authors develop a Crime Script Analysis and identify Situational Crime Prevention (SCP) practices that can interrupt porch piracy. Findings indicate porch piracy occurs during daylight hours, at homes closer to a roadway, and most often with packages that can be easily seen from the roadway which are of medium size and usually have brand names on the box. Further, traditional SCP techniques such as fences, cameras, and guardians appear to have little impact on the thieves. Prevention techniques are discussed with the most promising including: increasing the risks, concealing packages, and removing packages. Additional findings, prevention techniques, and limitations are discussed.

Understanding and preventing hit-and-run driving: a crime script analysis

Although a small body of research has explored drivers’ decisions to leave the scene of a road traffic collision (hit-and-run), little research has explored how understanding the processes of hit-and-run collisions could inform prevention strategies. Drawing upon findings from a literature review and in-depth interviews with 52 convicted hit-and-run drivers, a crime script approach is utilised as a heuristic device to explore the precursors, immediate aftermath and longer-term aftermath of hit-and-run events. This method allows for motivational factors to be identified. Then, utilising Clarke’s techniques of situational crime prevention as a guiding framework, possibilities for the prevention of hit-and-run are presented.

Piracy for ransom: the implications for situational crime prevention

Maritime piracy has been a worldwide problem for decades before starting gradual declines around 2011. Situational crime prevention (SCP) techniques have been shown to reduce successful pirate attacks (Shane and Magnuson 2014; Shane et al. 2015), suggesting that they may also be capable of reducing violent ransom hijackings. This study uses data from the International Maritime Bureau to examine (1) which vessels are most at risk of a pirate attack and ransom demand; (2) the relationship between attacks for ransom and violence; (3) which countries experience the most attacks for ransom; (4) the effect of SCP on injuries during attack; and (5) the effect of SCP on ransom demands. The findings show that SCP is a useful strategy for reducing episodes of ransom and injuries, highlighting how SCP techniques can be adapted in unique environments when other traditional crime control resources are unavailable.

Preventing occupational corruption: utilising situational crime prevention techniques and theory to enhance organisational resilience

Corruption of all types including occupational corruption causes immense damage to society. Though a number of guides have been published which offer prevention advice, there is very little original criminological research which connects theory to best practice. This paper demonstrates that Clarke’s situational crime prevention framework provides a mechanism for operatively analysing specific situations to design and implement prevention methods. The study analyses a variety of techniques, based upon a survey and interviews with counter-corruption professionals, to offer insights into their utilisation and effectiveness. To achieve meaningful implementation of the techniques, counter-corruption managers need the delegated power and support of the executive leadership.

Functional redundancy as a response to employee theft within small businesses

Employee theft is one of the most harmful crimes committed against small businesses. In response the owners of victimized businesses can be expected to make organizational changes intended to prevent future victimizations. This study uses grounded theory techniques to analyze data obtained from interviews with small business owners regarding their experiences with employee theft. Results indicate that the decision to address employee theft was based on the owner’s perception of the severity of the theft, their perception that something could be done about the theft, and an assessment of organizational weaknesses and opportunities of future employee thefts. When theft was perceived to be significant, small business owners responded by making changes to the organization that fit with traditionally established techniques of situational crime prevention. However, the choice of techniques(s) was not random, but rather reflected a desire to achieve functional redundancy.

Preventing money laundering: a test of situational crime prevention theory

PurposeThis paper aims to discuss the findings of a UK-based research study that sought to explore the applicability of situational crime prevention towards money laundering undertaken through the purchasing of high-value portable commodities.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents exploratory findings from research conducted between 2011 and 2013 in the UK. The research sought to identify the process, steps and vulnerabilities behind money laundering through the purchasing of high-value portable commodities and whether the introduction of situational crime prevention techniques could reduce vulnerabilities in the existing environment.FindingsDespite significant research into money laundering typologies, the use of high-value portable commodities has remained largely untouched, regardless of the increased implementation of anti-money laundering policies and procedures. This paper demonstrates how the purchasing of high-value portable commodities is extremely vulnerable to money laundering – while identifying how the successful application of situational crime prevention is possible – but inherently it depends on various characteristics directly and indirectly facilitating each stage of the money laundering process.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper is of value to government policymakers, regulators and financial institutions considering future preventative measures. It is also of value to financial investigators and law enforcement agencies intent on investigating money laundering. While the paper relies on data from the UK, the overall findings are such that wherever cash-intensive businesses exist, so too does the opportunity for money laundering through the financial arrangement retained by such businesses.Originality/valueThis paper presents new research on the direct link existing between high-value portable commodities and money laundering in the UK and the viability of techniques for situational crime prevention despite significant research having previously taken place to identify and develop money laundering typologies.

A paradigm shift in policing: Crime reduction through problem oriented policing

The opportunity theories of crime regards opportunity as a root cause and focus attention on the crime rather than the criminal. In the practical crime prevention efforts, this theoretical framework paved the way for innovative policing strategies like problem oriented policing and situational crime prevention. Policy makers and practitioners accept the motivated offender as given and gather the efforts to prevent offenders accessing sufficient means and opportunities for a crime to occur. This paper describes the link between opportunity theories of crime and successful crime reduction efforts stemmed from them. It entails problem oriented policing and situational crime prevention techniques. Crime is not evenly distributed. It concentrates differently on places, offenders and persons. This paper then describes the fundamental discussion of crime distribution on hot places, targets, products, offenders and victims. Major works and findings in the field of environmental criminology is presented by describing hot spots and crime distribution, and crime patterns. The paper finally presents an evaluation of these approaches.

An overview of seized illegal wildlife entering the United States

The current study analyses seizures made at US ports of entry between 2003 and 2013, with the aim to identify concentrations of illegal wildlife imports into the United States. Findings show that 94% of species seized belong to six groups – mammals, molluscs, birds, reptiles, fish and coral – with mammals and reptiles making up more than half of all seizure incidents. Additionally, most seized wildlife is imported as leather products, medicinal products and as meat. The majority of seizures emanate from six countries, and illegal wildlife is primarily brought to the US via airline baggage. Temporal trends of wildlife seizures point to increases in the seizures of all groups of species, with the exception of birds. Based on these findings, we recommend using situational crime prevention techniques at US ports of entry to reduce opportunities that enable this trade.

Student Academic Dishonesty: The Potential for Situational Prevention

Approximately one-half to three-quarters of university students commit some form of cheating, plagiarism, or collusion. Typical university responses are policy statements containing definitions plus punishment procedures. This paper collates a portfolio of strategies and tactics that seek to design-out, deter, and discourage academic misconduct. It finds many routine tactics exist, from silence and the use of large halls for major exams, to restrictions on electronic devices. Others are less consistently adopted, such as splitting lengthy exams in two to discourage washroom-visits where cheating takes place. The portfolio of tactics is framed in the context of crime opportunity theory and the 25 techniques of situational crime prevention. It is proposed that more consistent application of tactics focusing on environmental design, curricular design, and class management offer significant potential for reducing misconduct. Future research should seek to evaluate and enhance such interventions.

Developing an alternative formulation of SCP principles – the Ds (11 and counting)

BackgroundThe 25 Techniques of Situational Crime Prevention remain one of the bedrocks of research in Crime Science and play a key role in managing knowledge of research and practice. But they are not the only way of organising, transferring and applying this knowledge.DiscussionTaking the 25 Techniques and their theoretical underpinnings as our starting point, this paper presents the (currently) 11 Ds, a set of intervention principles which focus specifically on how the interventions are intended to influence the offender in the proximal crime situation. The context of this work was a project to help security managers detect and control attempts to undertake 'hostile reconnaissance' of public places by those planning to commit crimes or acts of terrorism. We discuss why we judged 25 Techniques as a model for emulation in general terms but unsuitable in detail for the present purpose. We also describe the process of developing the principles, which involved both reflection, and capture of new knowledge from theory and practice, including the security domain. The distinctive contribution of professional design to this process is noted. We then present the Ds themselves and show how, as generic principles, they relate to practical methods of prevention; how they can be further organised to aid their learning and their use; how they relate to other formulations such as the Conjunction of Criminal Opportunity; and how they might apply, with expansion perhaps, to the wider field of SCP.SummaryWe discuss the process and the wider benefits of developing alternative – but rigorously linked – perspectives on the same theories and phenomena both for transferring existing research knowledge to practice and for sparking leading-edge theory and research.

O KONTROLI CHULIGAŃSTWA FUTBOLOWEGO W POLSCE ZE SZCZEGÓLNYM UWZGLĘDNIENIEM SYTUACYJNEJ PREWENCJI UWAG KILKA

The development of international measures of football hooliganism control has been proceeding along several paths and included a number of different aspects of broadly understood control over the phenomenon. One can define 4 periods differing in the football hooliganism control paradigms applied: the first period - stretching from 1960s to 1985, second - between 1985 and 1997, third - 1997 to 2000 and fourth - from 2000 up to the present day. Consider-ing the issue of situational prevention of football hooliganism, control measures could be divided into two groups, or levels. The first level was mostly concerned with 'hard' means, i.e. such based on activities that rendered breaking the law or upsetting the public order more challenging. This was done with simple techniques of isolating opposing groups of supporters from each other by police cordons, fencing out sections of stadiums, putting up barriers, or 'cages' for visiting fans. Other popular 'hard' means aimed at increasing the perpetrator's risk of being subject to negative consequences, which mostly meant intensified police presence at a stadium. The progression to level 2 control was triggered by results brought by research on crowd management techniques conducted after the 2000 European Championship. The new trend involved gradual balancing out the 'hard' and 'soft' means, the latter having the purpose of limiting provocation and excuses (promoting the atmosphere of a joyful festival at football events, avoiding 'arming' and confrontation by security personnel, employment of surveillance and emergency services, etc.). A comparison of the ways in which football hooliganism situational prevention developed with the integrated model of situational crime prevention brings an interesting insight into the effectiveness of the new situational trend, which is a method broadly employed in Western Europe to counter football hooliganism. According to R. Wortley, while the notion of opportunity reduction assumes that there already is an offender who is motivated or at least ambivalent and ready to commit a crime, the fact is that motivation to commit a crime may occur as a result of particular situational factors. Wortley defined 4 types of factors motivating a perpetrator to commit a crime, or the so-called precipitators: prompts, pressures, permissibility, and provocations. The integrated concept of situational prevention discussed in the article is a merger of the traditional methods of limiting crime opportunities, or the so-called 'hard' means, with a complementary set of techniques minimizing other situational factors proposed by R. Wortley, i.e. 'soft' means. D.B. Cornish and R.V. Clarke proposed a combination of the two approaches, which resulted in vastly broadened array of situational crime prevention techniques.

Organized crime, situational crime prevention and routine activity theory

Mainstreamcriminologytraditionallyfocusesonoffendersinsteadofcriminaleventsandcriminalactivities.Furthermore,crimeisexplainedbymotivationsandspecialcharacter-istics of offenders. The prevailing line of reasoning is roughly that there is somethingwrongabout offenderswhocontinuealongthepathofcrime,eitherinabiological sense(for example, a lack of self-control) or in a social sense (for example, a lack ofconventional ties or stakes in conformity). However, organized crime research shows,first, thatsome offenders are quite normal in manyrespects, though they are involvedinseriousformsofcrime;and,second,that notallcrimesarethesame orjustsymptomsoflatent characteristics such as low self-control (Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990).One of the major contributions of Ronald Clarke and Marcus Felson to criminol-ogy is shifting the focus of some criminologists from a preoccupation with offendersto a detailed analysis of criminal events and criminal activities. Furthermore, studiesby Clarke, Felson and others have demonstrated how situational crime analysis mayhelp us to identify circumstances which facilitate crime as well as viable opportunity-reducing measures, regardless of the motivation of offenders (e.g. Felson and Clarke1998). If crime needs the convergence in time and space of a motivated offender, asuitable target, and absence of a capable guardian (the ‘crime triangle’), this meansthat crime can be prevented by keeping motivated offenders away from suitabletargets at specific points in time and space or by increasing the presence of capableguardians. In various publications, Clarke has explained—mainly based on a rationalchoice perspective on offending—the techniques of situational crime prevention: e.g.increasingthe effort,increasingthe risks,reducingthe rewards, reducingprovocation,

Preventing smoking in open public places in university campus settings

PurposeThe purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions using situational crime prevention approaches to reduce the smoking rate in outdoor areas of a university campus.Design/methodology/approachA prospective intervention design was designed for the study. Surveys and observations were used to measure the impacts of both the campaign generally and specific strategies on levels of smoking in public places and use of designated smoking areas. Pre‐ and post‐implementation measures were taken. The intervention strategies entailed encouraging voluntary compliance with a “Smoke‐less Campaign”, which asked staff, students and visitors to smoke only in nominated areas. The campaign was supported by “situational” strategies to facilitate compliance, such as making smoking areas available, setting rules and posting instructions, and using campaign ambassadors.FindingsAt the end of the three‐month trial the campaign was considered to have had a positive impact. After the campaign at the intervention campus there was a significant increase of 14.4 percent in the proportion of people who reported that they were not affected by second‐hand smoke – from 52.7 percent to 67.1 percent. In addition, 6 percent of survey respondents who smoked reported quitting, while 17 percent of smokers indicated the campaign had helped them to quit or cut down. Observational data showed that 98 percent of smokers complied with directions to smoke in nominated smoking areas.Originality/valueThis study is original in explicitly applying the techniques of situational crime prevention to the problem of smoking in public places. The results provide evidence for the effectiveness of the situational techniques, including “facilitating compliance”, through the availability of smoking areas, “setting rules” and “posting instructions”, and “extending guardianship”, through the use of campaign ambassadors.