What does situational crime prevention seek to achieve?

Situational crime prevention aims to reduce crime by making it more difficult to commit and less rewarding for potential offenders. This approach focuses on altering the physical environment or situational factors that allow crime to occur. By implementing strategies such as increasing surveillance, improving lighting, securing properties, or designing communities in a way that reduces opportunities for criminal behavior, situational crime prevention seeks to deter individuals from engaging in criminal acts.

This approach is distinct from retrospective punishment, which looks at consequences for actions after they have been committed, or social rehabilitation, which focuses on reforming offenders after their actions. Improving community infrastructure, while beneficial, does not specifically target the situational aspects of crime in the same way, making it less aligned with the primary goals of situational crime prevention.