CRIME AND PLACE

Catalog description

Prerequisite: Baccalaureate degree from accredited institution.The way we design our world impacts all facets of our lives, including crime. Features of the environment emit subtle cues about how safe or dangerous the environment may be. We, law abiding citizens, look at these "spaces" and make subconscious calculations about the risks we may take when we park our cars, enter a building, choose a restaurant for dinner, enter a club, purchase a lamp, etc. These decisions are made as we go about our daily activities. Offenders also travel to these "routine" locations as they go about their daily activities, but they are using these locations to scout out their next victim or target. In this course students will learn crime prevention theories and applications by reading articles, case studies, and books about un/successful techniques for preventing or eliminating crime. Lessons will be drawn from case studies wherein environmental designs or crime prevention initiatives were flawed. Successful case studies will provide models for future change.