The Future of the Criminology of Place

This Element identifies promising new directions of the criminology of place, both in theory and in practice.

This Element brings together crime and place scholars to identify areas for future study. It examines hot spots policing, pracademics, place managers as prevention agents, influence of city government, role of rural communities, importance of health, crime and place, and the importance of expanding the methodological tools of crime and place.Microgeographic units of analysis have moved to the center of criminological inquiry. This Element brings together leading crime-and-place scholars to identify promising areas for future study. Section 1 introduces the Element and the importance of focusing on the future of studies of crime and place. Section 2 examines the development of hot-spots policing and the importance of focusing on its impact on communities. It also looks at how 'pracademics' can advance the science and practice of place-based policing. Section 3 focuses on place managers as prevention agents and examines how city government can influence crime at place. It further contends that rural communities need to become a key focus of crime-and-place scholarship. Section 4 emphasizes the importance of the connection of health, crime, and place. It also argues for the importance of expanding the methodological tools of crime and place to include careful ethnographic and qualitative research.