The Centrality of Theory in Modern Day Crime Prevention: Developments, Challenges, and Opportunities

Brandon C. Welsh, Gregory M. Zimmerman & Steven N. Zane

Theory matters in crime prevention. Indeed, but this is hardly the full story. Crime prevention is oftentimes viewed as atheoretical not grounded in the etiology of crime and offending. Reasons abound for this view, and the recent interest in an evidence-based approach to policy-making has been at the forefront. This article reviews the role that theory plays in modern day crime prevention, with a special focus on the three main crime prevention strategies: developmental, community, and situational. The review identifies a number of key challenges and opportunities for making theory more central to crime prevention. It suggests that the classification system employed in situational crime prevention has allowed for a more

The Centrality of Theory in Modern Day Crime Prevention: Developments, Challenges, and Opportunities, Justice Quarterly, 35:1,