A Critical Review on Crime Resilience Theories

Common views of resilience on dealing with crime rely on individual factors and ignore socio-economic factors related to crime. Therefore, understanding and examining theories of resilience against crime helps to understand the causes of resilience and reducing crime and is of great importance in criminal policy making and maintaining social cohesion and order. Based on this, this research was conducted with the aim of analyzing the theories of resilience against crime, and a critical review of the views presented in these theories.

The current research is an applied research that was done by documentary method. Documentary method is a type of qualitative method in which documentary data are systematically used to discover, extract, analyze and evaluate the contents related to the research topic.

This study shows the difference between difference-oriented and critical theories about resilience and suggests a combination of them (anti-oppression theory) for studies of resilience against crime. Anti-oppression theories are difference-oriented and critical. While acknowledging agency and multiple voices, they criticize societal structures and inequalities as factors that hinder resilience.

The results of this study show that both personal and structural factors determine mass resilience. However, structural factors are more important than personal factors. In other words, people have choices and can practice their agency within their socio-economic conditions.