Crime Theory and Crime Prevention

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Recommended: Compare classical and positivist criminology

Crime theories appear to descend of two big schools of criminology. The classical school of criminology which is based on the offender as a rational being, aware for his criminal deeds, and the positivist school of criminology regarding sociological prospects influencing individuals’ lives’ and affect them in a positive or negative manner.

The point of reference for this essay will be that when it comes for theories of crime, such as rational choice and routine activities theories, will be examined which are prevention strategies derived from such theories, their connection with their theoretical principles and what are able to offer as crime prevention initiatives. Practical implications for rational choice perspectives and routine activity theory, in the majority of cases provide obvious results in a short period of time and functioning in conjuction with offenders as adopting specific crime patterns to offend in a temporal and spatial perspective.

Concerning sociological theories and specifically social disorganization crime theory and its relation with theory of anomie to indicate the level, it will be indicated that through developmental programs focused on family and juveniles at high risk or already at a delinquent state, it is possible to achieve a level of community cohesion and through cohesive neighborhoods to protect and effectively assist parents nurture their children with moral norms to adopt a law abiding behavior.When it comes to public or private safety matters and contemporary crime prevention measures, situational measures and social crime prevention initiatives seem to dominate the crime prevention scene with most strategies of crime prevention initiatives stemming from them.

Rational choice theory of c...

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...R., J. and Groves, W., B. (1989) ‘Community Structure and Crime: Testing Social Disorganization Theory’ American Journal of Sociology 94(4): 774-802

Tillyer, M. S. and Kennedy, D. M. (2008) ‘Locating Focused Deterrence Approaches within a situational crime prevention framework’ Crime Prevention and Community Safety

Welsh, B. C., Peel, M., Farrington, P., Elfers, H., and Braga, A. (2010) ‘Research design influence on study outcomes in crime and justice: a partial replication with public area surveillance’ Journal of Experimental Criminology 7(2): 183-198.

Wilson, S. J., Lipsey, M., W. (2007) ‘School based interventions for Aggressive and Disruptive behaviour: Update of a Meta-Analysis’ American Journal of preventive medicine 33(2): 130-143.

Wortley, R. (2001) ‘A classification of Techniques for Controlling Precipitators of Crime’ Security Journal 14: 63-82

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