Situational Crime Prevention and Co - Offending

The crime prevention literature often contrasts “social prevention” and “situational prevention.” Social prevention focuses on reforming individuals through social policies. Situational prevention seeks instead to reduce crime by altering the settings or conditions in which we carry out daily routines, and avoids trying to change offender dispositions. Yet offender dispositions are not their only “social” feature. Much crime, especially at young ages, is “cooffending” carried out in small groups. In addition, offenders at diverse ages socialize in settings that lead to illegal acts in nearby times and places. Such settings are amenable to situational measures. Interestingly, situational crime prevention can alter the size, composition, timing, location, and informal supervision of small group activities and routines. This widens the range of crime reduction possibilities, while undermining the assertion that situational prevention is “non-social.”