7.1 SCP and Crime Scripting

What is Situational Crime Prevention (SCP), and what is its main objective?

SCP prevents crime by changing the situations and opportunities that make offending possible or attractive, rather than primarily changing criminal motivation. It aims to increase effort and risk, reduce rewards, and address provocations and excuses. Example: stronger bicycle locks and secure parking to prevent theft.

Where did SCP originate, and what three theories support it?

It developed at the British Home Office in the 1970s after research showed that settings influence offending. Routine Activity Theory (macro): opportunities arise when motivated offenders, suitable targets and absent guardians converge. Crime Pattern Theory (meso): offenders encounter opportunities through daily movements. Rational Choice Perspective (micro): offenders make decisions based on perceived costs and benefits.

What are the four central assumptions of SCP?

1) Crime depends on both disposition and situation. 2) Offenders make choices, but with bounded rationality (limited information, sometimes impulsive decisions). 3) Opportunity is an important cause of crime. 4) Situations may actively stimulate or provoke crime. Example: an offender may abandon a theft when effective security raises the perceived risk.

What five features of society may unintentionally create crime opportunities?

1) Criminogenic products (easily stolen goods). 2) Poor management (inadequate supervision). 3) Badly designed places (poorly lit parking lots). 4) Leaky systems (weak financial controls). 5) Criminogenic laws (rules unintentionally creating illegal markets).

What are the five methodological principles of SCP?

1) Focus on specific crime types. 2) Target concentrations such as hot spots, repeat victims and risky facilities. 3) Understand how a crime is committed. 4) Use action research: analyse, intervene and evaluate. 5) Consider different preventive solutions. Example: city-centre and suburban burglaries may need different measures.

What are the five categories of SCP techniques? Give examples.

1) Increase effort—stronger locks. 2) Increase risks—CCTV or supervision. 3) Reduce rewards—property marking. 4) Reduce provocations—prevent crowding or conflicts. 5) Remove excuses—clear rules and signs. The techniques must fit the specific offence.

What are displacement, diffusion of benefits, anticipatory benefits and adaptation?

Displacement: crime shifts in place, time, target, method or type after prevention. Diffusion: benefits spread beyond directly protected targets. Anticipatory benefits: crime drops before measures start. Adaptation: over time, offenders develop or discover new opportunities or methods. Example: thieves move to another lot (displacement); nearby lots also become safer (diffusion).

Does SCP necessarily cause displacement?

No. Clarke argues displacement is possible but not inevitable: blocked opportunities are not always replaced by equally attractive alternatives. Prevention can also cause diffusion of benefits. Assess both immediate and long-term outcomes, including offender adaptation.

What is the integrated approach to SCP, and what is a logistical bottleneck?

The integrated approach coordinates police, prosecutors, municipalities, regulators and private businesses to disrupt criminal processes. A logistical bottleneck is an essential resource, service or stage offenders depend on. Example: cooperating with legitimate suppliers to restrict criminal access to specialised equipment used in ecstasy production.

What challenges arise when SCP is applied to organised or cross-border crime?

Crime is hidden and crosses jurisdictions; international cooperation is needed; controls may burden legitimate trade and travel; resources are limited; offenders may displace or adapt; and controls can create corruption or harm vulnerable groups. Example: stricter checks on one smuggling route may encourage alternative routes.

What is crime scripting, and how is it related to SCP?

Introduced by Derek Cornish, crime scripting analyses HOW an offence is committed as a sequence of actions and decisions from preparation to completion. It identifies resources, actors, settings and possible intervention points. Crime scripting is the analytical tool; SCP is the preventive approach that uses its findings.

What are general crime scripts, specific tracks and different actor perspectives?

A general script outlines typical stages of an offence. Specific tracks show alternative pathways or methods for the same offence (e.g., different drug transport routes). Offender scripts focus on offenders' actions; victim/guardian scripts focus on other actors' actions. Scripts can be tables, flowcharts or narratives.

What two kinds of knowledge can crime scripting studies reveal?

1) The basic structure of complex or unfamiliar crimes: stages, actors and required resources. 2) Variations in familiar crimes: alternative pathways and influences on decisions. Scripts can expose facilitators, legitimate-business involvement and logistical bottlenecks for possible intervention.

How can a cannabis-production crime script inform prevention?

Possible stages: financing and recruiting → obtaining premises → acquiring resources → cultivating → distributing → handling profits. Interventions can target different stages, such as financial investigation, landlord/supplier awareness, targeted inspections, transport investigations and anti-money-laundering controls.

What did the systematic review find about crime scripting, and what are its limitations?

The 1994–2018 review identified 416 publications but only 105 original scripts, across offences including cybercrime, fraud and drug crime. Problems: no standard construction method, weak validation, incomplete/oversimplified scripts and little evidence that scripting improves prevention. Identifying intervention points does NOT prove the interventions work.