Brantingham, Patricia L., and Paul J. Brantingham: Environmental Criminology

Aili E. Malm

For years, traditional criminology focused almost exclusively on the offender. Other elements of the crime—such as the victim, the law, and the crime itself—were virtually ignored. In environmental criminology, Patricia L. and Paul J. Brantingham focus on what they classified the fourth dimension of crime—the crime setting. Specifically, they study where and when crime occurs. Environmental criminology uses “the geographic imagination in concert with the sociological imagination to describe, understand, and control criminal events” (Brantingham & Brantingham, 1981, p. 21). This perspective helps to provide the foundation for choice and opportunity theories, and it guides research in the spatial aspects of crime. This entry begins with a brief review of the theoretical roots of environmental criminology. It then describes the two epistemal works written by the Brantinghams: Environmental Criminology and Patterns in Crime . This section details the eight rules that guide pattern theory, and briefly defines key concepts included ...

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