The Fourth Tribe : A Metatheory of Environmental Criminology

At the 2007 ECCA conference in London, Sir Anthony Bottoms presented three tribes of environmental criminology (what he called socio-spatial criminology). He proposed that a stronger theory could be created if there was greater collaboration between these tribes (particularly the rational choice/routine activities approach and the post-social disorganization approach). This article extends that argument and proposes a meta-theory or overarching paradigm for environmental criminology based on complex systems theory (commonly called chaos theory). The proposed new paradigm is called Ecodynamics Theory based on its underlying precepts. The article concludes with a discussion of how this paradigm could be used to further the cause of environmental criminology.