Whatever Your Campus Can Do Mine Can Do Better: A Comparative Analysis of Situational Crime on Wilfrid Laurier Campuses

By Nicolette Reyhani

From the Introduction:” Over recent years situational crime has gained considerable amount of support and recognition when determining what in society causes crime. Prior to the 1970s, the explanations for causes of crime revolved around the socio-economic effects society endured. The modern focus of criminological policy and theories began to change as attention turned to the potential environmental factors and effects they have on criminal activity (McGloin & O’Neil, 2007). The situational crime results from an offender, who under certain circumstances, commits a crime and is unlikely to repeat the offence or usually is not inclined to commit crimes, hence the emphasis on situational (Clarke, 1995). These crimes and offenders are best explained through theories that do not focus on the social causes of crime, rather the emerging prosperity of contemporary life and the rational human being.”