ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the most frequent criticisms and argues that they are overstated and generally misconceived. It deals with theoretical criticisms of the approach and the second with related criticisms of its effectiveness and more briefly with ethical criticisms and supposed social harms. The chapter outlines the criticism without attributing it to particular individuals because in every case it is common and widely expressed. Situational crime prevention has its origins in research undertaken by the Home Office Research Unit in the 1970s. The primary evidence that situational/opportunity variables play a large part in its causation comes from a comparison of homicide rates between England and Wales and the United States. The most persistent of the criticisms concerns displacement. The developments in theory underlying situational prevention have further undermined claims about the inevitability of displacement and the risks of escalation. The concept of criminal adaptation further complicates any consideration of the outcomes of situational prevention.
