Situational Crime Prevention at Specific Locations in Community Context: Place and Neighborhood Effects

• NCJ Number: 229364
• Author(s): John E. Eck; Tamara Madensen; Troy Payne; Pamela Wilcox; Bonnie S. Fisher; Heidi Scherer
• Date Published: November 2009
• Length: 191 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2005-IJ-CX-0030
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)

Annotation

This report describes the methods, data, findings, and implications of a study of the situational and contextual influences on violence in bars and apartment complexes in Cincinnati, OH.

Abstract

There are four general study findings. First, violence is highly concentrated in a few bars and a few apartment complexes. This suggests that intervention should focus on the relatively rare high-violence places rather than on all places. Second, place-specific violence is partially determined by neighborhood context. Place-specific violence is both the result of place characteristics and the neighborhood context of the place. This suggests that the effectiveness of place-specific interventions may be different in different neighborhood contexts. Third, place features were associated with place violence. There was evidence consistent with the hypothesis that place management influences violence at both apartments and bars. Fourth, place management may be a dynamic process that involves constant adjustments over time in order to capitalize on useful features of the context and insulate the place from negative features. Seven implications for policy that stem from this study are offered. First, place-based crime policies should focus on extreme places, not average places. Second, neighborhood based crime prevention efforts must include specific place-based strategies. Third, place-based prevention efforts may need to be adjusted to account for the place context. Fourth, managers are important for controlling crime at places. Fifth, holding managers accountable for reducing crime may be easier if the neighborhood context is supportive. Sixth, place-based efforts will be most effective when they take into account the economic and political context of places. Finally, regulations that specify specific situational crime prevention practices may be less effective than regulations that mandate a maximum level of crime. 40 tables, 13 figures, 126 references, and appended study surveys