Sociology & Criminology for a Changing World
Defensible Space Theory is an influential approach within environmental criminology that argues architectural design and urban planning can significantly influence crime and social control. Developed by architect and urban planner Oscar Newman in the early 1970s, the theory proposes that residential environments can be designed in ways that encourage territoriality, natural surveillance, and collective responsibility,
The Crime Pattern Theory is a central theory within environmental criminology and explains why crime tends to concentrate in specific spatial patterns. Developed by Paul J. Brantingham and Patricia L. Brantingham, the theory argues that criminal events are not randomly distributed across space but are closely connected to the spatial organization of everyday life. People
The Situational Action Theory (SAT) developed by the Swedish criminologist Per-Olof H. Wikström explains criminal behavior as the result of a decision-making process within specific social situations. According to the theory, crime occurs when individuals with a certain crime propensity encounter situations in which rule-breaking is perceived as a possible course of action. At the
Narrative Criminology is a comparatively recent criminological approach that focuses on the stories about crime people tell themselves and others in order to explain, justify, or even make possible their (deviant) behavior. Rather than centering on the objective act itself, Narrative Criminology emphasizes its subjective interpretation and meaning. Crime is understood as a narrative construction
Criminology is the scientific study of crime—but what counts as “crime” is neither fixed nor self-evident. The term criminology derives from the Latin crimen (accusation, offence) and the Greek logos (study or knowledge). At its most basic level, criminology is therefore the study of crime. Yet this seemingly simple definition raises a more fundamental question:
Serial murder fascinates, terrifies—and has dominated pop culture for years: Netflix documentaries like Monster: The Ed Gein Story or Dahmer break viewership records, while podcasts and true-crime formats attract millions. But beyond media sensationalism, what lies behind the phenomenon of serial killing? This article offers a criminological-sociological approach to one of the most extreme forms