Per-Olof H. Wikström

Per-Olof H. Wikström is a Swedish criminologist and one of the most influential representatives of contemporary action-oriented criminology. He studied sociology and criminology at Stockholm University and later became Professor of Ecological and Developmental Criminology at the University of Cambridge as well as Fellow of Fitzwilliam College. Wikström gained international recognition through his work on Situational Action Theory and through his long-term empirical research within the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study (PADS+), a large-scale longitudinal study on the development of juvenile delinquency. In recognition of his contributions to the explanation of criminal behavior, Wikström received the Stockholm Prize in Criminology in 2016.

Wikström is best known for developing Situational Action Theory (SAT). The theory explains crime as the result of a perception and decision-making process within concrete social situations. According to SAT, criminal acts emerge through the interaction between individual crime propensities — especially moral beliefs and self-control — and the situational environment in which a person is located. Central to the theory is the assumption that individuals commit crimes when rule-breaking appears to be a morally acceptable course of action in a specific situation. Situational Action Theory thus combines elements of situational criminology, developmental criminology, and general action theories, and is widely regarded as one of the most ambitious integrative approaches to explaining crime.