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Cybercrime Prevention pp 17–33Cite as

Situational Crime Prevention

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Part of the book series: Crime Prevention and Security Management ((CPSM))

Abstract

This chapter examines a broad range of techniques known as situational crime prevention (SCP). This form of intervention takes cues from a host of theoretical perspectives and involves the design and manipulation of the environment to make offenders’ decisions to become involved in crime less attractive. The use of SCP is widespread in traditional contexts and is by far the most commonly deployed form of intervention in the prevention of cybercrime. Though extensive criminological research has found that SCP techniques can be successfully applied in traditional settings, it is still unclear whether SCP interventions can effectively prevent cybercrime. This chapter scrutinises available empirical evidence regarding the potential effect of SCP approaches (e.g. target hardening, surveillance, posting instructions) in deterring offenders from engaging in and escalating cybercrimes. It concludes by revealing the limitations of SCP in preventing cybercrime, as well as by elucidating the most promising configurations of SCP interventions in digital contexts moving forward.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    It is important to note that evidence reviewed did not include findings which reported results of scans performed under lab conditions (of either collected or synthesised samples of attacks). Although valuable for providing insights regarding specific features of these tools and policies, these examinations are not representative of real-life situations since they do not account for human, organisational, environmental, and other external factors that may influence the performance and execution of these tools in the field.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Russell Brewer

  2. Centre for Crime Policy and Research, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Melissa de Vel-Palumbo

  3. Department of Computer Science and Technology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Alice Hutchings

  4. School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Thomas Holt

  5. Centre for Crime Policy and Research, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Andrew Goldsmith

  6. Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    David Maimon

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  2. Melissa de Vel-Palumbo
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  4. Thomas Holt
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  6. David Maimon
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Brewer, R., de Vel-Palumbo, M., Hutchings, A., Holt, T., Goldsmith, A., Maimon, D. (2019). Situational Crime Prevention. In: Cybercrime Prevention. Crime Prevention and Security Management. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31069-1_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31069-1_2

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