Environmental criminology is the study of crime and criminality in connection with, firstly, specific places and, secondly, with how individuals and organizations form their activities in space. Crime prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) is another practical application based on the idea that situational factors, such as the environment (poor lighting), can increase the likelihood of committing a crime in a particular place.
A specific time and place. CPTED’s measures to reduce the possibility may include additional lighting, which makes this place less favorable for the commission of crimes (Brandon & Sema, 2018). Concentrated areas with high crime rates, known as crime hotspots, may have situational factors that help explain why that particular location is a problem. A place may be poorly monitored, with poor “place management,” poor lighting or other characteristics. Changing some of these situational factors can help reduce the crime rate in this place.
The broken windows theory is the idea of the importance of disorder when it comes to promoting crime and creating it. The widespread disease causes fear in the community, allowing more crimes to be committed due to decreased public control. In other words, an unfixed broken window will eventually lead to more broken windows. More minor problems, such as drugs or gangs in the community that the police don’t actively care about, cause people to leave these areas out of fear. As the area becomes less populated, crime is becoming more serious. Surveillance cameras are also effective when they are concentrated in areas with high crime rates. They are actively monitored and often used by law enforcement agencies. These systems can also be more effective if potential offenders are aware of the presence of cameras.
Reference
Brandon C.W. & Sema A.T. (2018). What Have We Learned from Environmental Criminology for the Prevention of Crime? The Oxford Handbook of Environmental Criminology, 1(9), 1-22.