Situational Approaches to Making Communities and Correction Institutions Safer - Panel at the 2010 NIJ Conference

Nancy La Vigne - director of the Justice Policy Institute of the Urban Institute - defines "situational crime prevention" and describes the evaluations of three NIJ-funded programs that have applied concepts of situational crime prevention and are in the process of being evaluated. She notes that situational crime prevention is based on the theory that most crimes are not pre-planned, but rather arise when offenders perceive an opportunity to gain some benefit for themselves through an illegal action that can be easily committed with a low risk of being caught and punished. Situational crime prevention aims to construct barriers that increase the difficulty and effort required to commit a particular type of crime without being caught and punished. The evaluation methodologies and findings to date are reported for three types of effort to prevent crime through situational management. The second presenter, Gary Wedge - a captain in the Administrative Services Division of the Chula Vista Police Department (California) discusses some of benefits and challenges involved in the implementation of the Target Safe City Initiative in San Diego, which is designed to encourage law enforcement to partner with retailers in mall environments in designing safer and less crime-prone environments. The third presenter, Tara Wildes - chief of the Jails Division of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (Florida) - discusses some of the benefits and challenges of implementing a situational crime prevention initiative that targets sexual assault and inmate misconduct in a jail setting.