A Case for Situational Homicide Prevention

• In Event: Situational and Offender Characteristics as Precursors to Violent Outcomes

Abstract

In Scotland, previously known as one of the most violent countries in the Western world, homicide has more than halved over the past twenty years. However, although homicide is decreasing overall, it is still not known whether certain types of homicides are driving this decrease. Knife-related violence in public places has historically been an issue in Scotland, extensively targeted by policy interventions and achieving dramatic reductions in its incidence. However, sharp instruments continue to be the most common weapon used in Scottish homicides, despite the steep decrease in homicide overall. It is possible that this contradicting finding might be related to certain types of homicides involving sharp weapons not targeted by such interventions, namely knife-related homicides occurring in private settings.

Situational crime prevention, based on a strong rational actor model of criminal behaviour, and aimed in certain common iterations at reducing or limiting opportunities to commit crime, has been a popular crime reduction strategy for a wide range of crimes over time; homicide, however, has rarely been the target of such interventions. This paper presents the initial steps towards a case for situational homicide prevention, looking specifically at measures aimed at the prevention of knife-related homicides committed in private settings.

Authors

• Sara Skott, University of Edinburgh

• Fiona Jamieson, University of Edinburgh

• John Crichton, University of Edinburgh