Designing a Situational Crime Prevention Model for Financial Crimes in Municipalities with Emphasis on Urban Management Capacities

Abstract

Financial crimes in municipalities have become one of the most significant challenges facing urban management and local governance due to the substantial volume of financial resources, the complexity of administrative processes, weaknesses in oversight systems, and insufficient transparency. The development of digital technologies and smart urban management systems has created new opportunities to enhance transparency, accountability, and the prevention of administrative corruption. This study aims to design a comprehensive model for the situational prevention of financial crimes in municipalities, with emphasis on urban management capacities and modern supervisory technologies. The study was conducted using a descriptive-analytical method and a comparative examination of the legal systems of Iran, Spain, and the United States. Data were collected through library research, document analysis, and the examination of legal practices. The proposed model was designed on the basis of the institutional, legal, managerial, and technological capacities of municipalities. The findings indicate that inadequate access controls, a lack of transparency in financial processes, the concentration of authority without effective oversight, an inefficient performance evaluation system, and the limited use of smart supervisory systems are the most important situational factors facilitating financial crimes in municipalities. Accordingly, the proposed model was developed around three principal dimensions: “access control and segregation of duties,” “process transparency and public oversight,” and “the implementation of smart systems based on data analytics.” The results demonstrate that the simultaneous utilization of urban management capacities, online reporting systems, and artificial intelligence technologies can significantly enhance the effectiveness of situational strategies for preventing financial crimes.