Wortley, R; (2003) Situational crime prevention and prison control. In: Smith, MJ and Cornish, DB, (eds.) Theory for practice in situational crime prevention. (pp. 97-118). Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc.

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Abstract

This article examines the application of situational crime prevention techniques to the prison environment to address problems such as prisoner violence, sexual assault, self harm, escapes, drug use and collective disorder. On the surface the prison would seem the epitome of a controlled environment and it might be assumed that there is little that prison administrators can learn from situational prevention. However, typically control in prison lacks the micro-level, problem-solving approach that characterizes situational prevention. But the lessons are not all in one direction. While situational crime prevention has been concerned largely with reducing opportunities for crime, prison control often deals with institutional pressures that precipitate misbehavior. As well as tightening-up to restrict opportunities for misbehavior, prison control can also involve loosening-off to reduce these pressures. These opposing approaches to control need to be carefully balanced to avoid counterproductive intervention. The concept of situational precipitators and control through loosening-up can be applied more broadly to community settings. Thus, while prison administrators can learn from situational crime prevention, situational crime prevention practitioners have something to learn from prison control.

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