The Conjunction of Criminal Opportunity: a Framework for Crime Reduction Toolkits

In 2001 the Home Office commissioned ‘toolkits’ for crime prevention practitioners. This companion document, for the UK Crime Reduction Website, describes the Conjunction of Criminal Opportunity (CCO) conceptual framework and suite of definitions Paul Ekblom developed to rigorously integrate disparate theories of crime, to guide researchers, policymakers and practitioners.

CCO provides a map of fundamental crime prevention principles, bridging ‘cultural divides’ between a) offender-oriented approaches to crime and its prevention, versus situational ones (making crime harder/riskier); and b) enforcement-based versus ‘civil’ interventions.

Paul Ekblom's Research Interests:

Theory, development, implementation & evaluation of Design Against Crime.

Definitions & conceptual frameworks for knowledge transfer of good practice in crime prevention.

Horizon scanning, incl. crime risk/ impact assessment.

Evolution, arms races, complexity & simulation applied to crime.

Current Research

1.Principal Investigator, AHRC-funded project, with JDI/UCL, to design, implement and evaluate range of security products intended to reduce theft of customers' bags in bars. Based on this, developing concepts and language for describing/specifying security and security weaknesses in designed products, systems and environments.

2. Co-investigator, AHRC-funded project to develop more secure bike parking, including through guidance and standards. Based on my part of this work, recently completed, www.bikeoff.org/2009/01/05/final-report-wpa2-of-bike-off-2/ developing advanced frameworks for supporting crime risk analysis leading to design guidance. Currently discussing development of these frameworks in built environment and anti-terrorist contexts.

3. Currently writing book to elaborate key concepts, details and applications of 5Is framework, an advanced process model for crime prevention, and used in capture, synthesis and retrieval of good practice knowledge, supporting intelligenf replication and innovation. See www.designagainstcrime.com/web/crimeframeworks. Related to this, involved as partner in EU-funded project Beccaria on developing crime prevention training in EU and a range of informal national/international collaborations on knowledge management.

5. Developing new ways of thinking about Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design based on a tighter conceptual/theoretical framework than currently exists.

6. Investigating scope for using graphic/communications design to represent complexity in policy/practice systems such as, but not confined to, crime prevention.