Harmonising Road Transport Legislation in the SADC Region for Crime Prevention

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-55
Author(s):  
Shaka Yesufu
Keyword(s):  
Crime Prevention ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
Situational Crime Prevention ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Road Transport ◽  
Routine Activity Theory ◽  
Routine Activity ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Member States ◽  
Prevention Theory

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an organisation that aims to facilitate cooperation between the governments of its Member States through a set of goals. SADC uses protocols as an instrument of coordination of its Member States on Transport, Communications and Meteorology endeavours to harmonise various aspects of traffic and transportation in the region. The researcher relies on carrying out an extensive literature review, consulting secondary data, official government publications and review of case studies. This article is informed by both the routine activity theory and situational crime prevention theory. It was found that the SADC regional body still has several barriers to overcome before a successful harmonisation stage to prevent crime will be achieved by Member States. Regional cooperation is needed amongst Member States to prevent organised borderless crime like human trafficking, drugs trafficking, fraud and money laundering, car-hijacking and terrorism.

The Theory and Practice of Situational Crime Prevention

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald V. Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Crime Prevention ◽  
Situational Crime Prevention ◽  
Routine Activity Theory ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Routine Activity ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Transit Systems ◽  
Pattern Theory ◽  
Social Settings ◽  
Sound Foundation

Situational crime prevention is radically different from other forms of crime prevention as it seeks only to reduce opportunities for crime, not bring about lasting change in criminal or delinquent dispositions. Proceeding from an analysis of the circumstances giving rise to very specific kinds of crime and disorder, it introduces discrete managerial and environmental modifications to change the opportunity structure for those crimes to occur—not just the immediate physical and social settings in which the crimes occur, but also the wider societal arrangements that make the crimes possible. It is therefore focused on the settings for crime, not on delinquents or criminals. Rather than punishing them or seeking to eliminate criminal dispositions through improvement of society or its institutions, it tries to make criminal action less attractive. It does this in five main ways: (1) by increasing the difficulties of crime, (2) by increasing the immediate risks of getting caught, (3) by reducing the rewards of offending, (4) by removing excuses for offending, and (5) by reducing temptations and provocations. It accomplishes these ends by employing an action research methodology to identify design and management changes that can be introduced with minimum social and economic costs. Central to this enterprise is not the criminal justice system but a host of public and private organizations and agencies—schools, hospitals, transit systems, shops and malls, manufacturing businesses and phone companies, local parks and entertainment facilities, pubs and parking lots—whose products, services, and operations spawn opportunities for a vast range of different crimes. Some criminologists believe that the efforts that these organizations and agencies have made in the past 20 or 30 years to protect themselves from crime are responsible for the recorded crime drops in many countries. Situational crime prevention rests on a sound foundation of criminological theories—routine activity theory, crime pattern theory, and the rational choice perspective—all of which hold that opportunity plays a part in every form of crime or disorder. There is therefore no form of crime that cannot be addressed by situational crime prevention. To date, more than 250 evaluated successes of situational crime prevention have been reported, covering an increasingly wide array of crimes including terrorism and organized crimes. Many of the studies have found little evidence that situational interventions have resulted in the “displacement” of crime to other places, times, targets, methods, or forms of crime. Indeed, it is commonly found that the benefits of situational crime prevention diffuse beyond the immediately targeted crimes. Despite these successes, situational crime prevention continues to attract much criticism for its supposed social and ethical costs.

scholarly journals Organized crime, situational crime prevention and routine activity theory

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 87-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward R. Kleemans ◽  
Melvin R. J. Soudijn ◽  
Anton W. Weenink
Keyword(s):  
Activity Theory ◽  
Crime Prevention ◽  
Organized Crime ◽  
Situational Crime Prevention ◽  
Routine Activity Theory ◽  
Routine Activity

scholarly journals Why internet users’ perceptions of viewing child exploitation material matter for prevention policies

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Hunn ◽  
Caroline Spiranovic ◽  
Jeremy Prichard ◽  
Karen Gelb
Keyword(s):  
Crime Prevention ◽  
Situational Crime Prevention ◽  
Social Attitudes ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Material Matter ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
Child Exploitation ◽  
First Time ◽  
Sizeable Minority ◽  
Prevention Theory

There are claims that the societal appetite for ‘child exploitation material’ is increasing. Yet, Australia’s policy response does not include initiatives to dissuade potential offenders from deliberately viewing child exploitation material for the first time (onset). To critically examine this issue, this paper draws on Situational Crime Prevention theory. It argues that (a) many first-time child exploitation material viewers fit the Situational Crime Prevention construct of the Opportunistic Offender and (b) suggests that current policy overlooks the kinds of non-instrumental factors that increase the risk of onset for this group, including doubts about the criminality and harmfulness of viewing child exploitation material. The paper then empirically examines social attitudes to child exploitation material viewing by presenting the findings of a survey of 504 Australian internet users. Results indicate that a sizeable minority of the participants were: unaware that it is a crime to view certain types of child exploitation material in Australia; and held doubts about the harmfulness of viewing child exploitation material. These findings are used to reflect on how the presence of these non-instrumental factors among ordinary internet users may affect the offending readiness of the Opportunistic Offender. Policy implications are then briefly discussed.

A routine activity perspective on online victimisation

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 396-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradford W. Reyns
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Data ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
Routine Activity Theory ◽  
Routine Activity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Victimization ◽  
23Rd Cycle ◽  
Victimization Risk ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Online Forms

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to test a comprehensive routine activity framework on three types of online victimization. Prior research has utilized routine activity theory to explain varied online forms of victimization, but most have focused on its person-based forms. The present study, therefore, expands upon this research to examine the effects of online exposure, online target suitability and online guardianship upon phishing, hacking and malware infection victimization. Design/methodology/approach – Secondary data from the 23rd Cycle of the Canadian GSS were used to address the study’s research questions using binary logistic regression analyses. Findings – Particular online behaviors were consistently and positively related to all three types of online victimization, including booking/making reservations, social networking and having one’s information posted online. Other online routines exhibited unique effects on online victimization risk. Originality/value – In support of the theory, the results suggest that online exposure and target suitability increase risks for phishing, hacking and malware victimization. Online guardianship was also positively related to victimization, a finding that runs counter to theoretical expectations.

Crime Hot Spots

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Weisburd ◽  
Sean Wire
Keyword(s):  
Crime Prevention ◽  
Hot Spots ◽  
Routine Activity Theory ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Routine Activity ◽  
Crime Concentration ◽  
Hot Spots Policing ◽  
Crime Hot Spots ◽  
Criminology Of Place ◽  
Traditional Paradigm

Hot spots of crime, and the criminology of place more generally, deviate from the traditional paradigm of criminology, in which the primary assumption and goal is to explain who is likely to commit crime and their motivations, and to explore interventions aimed at reducing individual criminality. Alternatively, crime hot spots account for the “where” of crime, specifically referring to the concentration of crime in small geographic areas. The criminology of place demands a rethinking in regard to how we understand the crime problem and offers alternate ways to predict, explain, and prevent crime. While place, as large geographic units, has been important since the inception of criminology as a discipline, research examining crime concentrations at a micro-geographic level has only recently begun to be developed. This approach has been facilitated by improvements to data availability, technology, and the understanding of crime as a function of the environment. The new crime and place paradigm is rooted in the past three decades of criminological research centered on routine activity theory, crime concentrations, and hot spots policing. The focus on crime hot spots has led to several core empirical findings. First, crime is meaningfully concentrated, such that a large proportion of crime events occur at relatively few places within larger geographies like cities. This may be termed the law of crime concentration at places (see Weisburd, 2015). Additionally, most hot spots of crime are stable over time, and thus present promising opportunities for crime prevention. Crime hot spots vary within higher geographic units, suggesting both that there is a loss of information at higher levels of aggregation and that there are clear “micro communities” within the larger conceptualization of a neighborhood. Finally, crime at place is predictable, which is important for being able to understand why crime is concentrated in one place and not another, as well as to develop crime prevention strategies. These empirical characteristics of crime hot spots have led to the development of successful police interventions to reduce crime. These interventions are generally termed hot spots policing.

scholarly journals TRENDS OF KIDNAPPING AND HOSTAGE TAKING IN 21ST CENTURY NIGERIA: A REFLECTIVE DISCOURSE

2021 ◽  
Vol 06 (01) ◽  
pp. 144-163
Author(s):  
Abolaji Adewale Obileye ◽  
◽  
Kayode George ◽  
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Situational Crime Prevention ◽  
Routine Activity Theory ◽  
Routine Activity ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Geographical Boundary ◽  
Nigerian Government ◽  
Reflective Discourse

Kidnapping and hostage taking activities have geometrically increased across the world, taking different forms. These activities for money and other reasons have contributed immensely to the state of insecurity of average Nigerian from within and outside the territory. It is on this note that this paper addresses the trends of kidnapping and hostage taking in Nigeria, its causes, implications and how best to arrest the worrisome situation. Relevant existing body of knowledge were reviewed according to the objectives of the paper. The research design for the paper was explanatory in nature where rational choice theory, routine activity theory and situational crime prevention were adopted to buttress the understanding of the subject matter. Based on the reviewed literature, it was found that the trend of kidnapping and hostage taking in the 21st century Nigeria is on the “high” side thereby needing urgent attention from all stakeholders; Nigerian government, non-governmental organisations, private bodies and all citizens. It is, therefore, recommended that increased effort to fight kidnapping and hostage taking should be made possible by the Nigerian government. This would make the risk of involving in kidnapping related activities higher than the expected benefit; to deter offenders and potential ones from committing such act. Also, capturing the geographical boundary of Nigeria with sophisticated gadget will help reduce the chances of being a victim of kidnapping. These strategies would make kidnapping unattractive to the motivated offender since the opportunity to commit such crime no longer exists.

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