Crime Prevention and Hard Technology: The Case of CCTV and Improved Street Lighting (From The New Technology of Crime, Law and Social Control, P 81-102, 2007, James M. Byrne and Donald J. Rebovich, eds. -- See NCJ-218026)

• NCJ Number: 218030
• Author(s): Brandon C. Welsh; David P. Farrington
• Date Published: 2007
• Length: 22 pages
• Sale Source: Criminal Justice Press/Willow Tree Press
• Publication Format: Book Chapter
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter focuses on the measured effects of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and improvements in street lighting on crime prevention in targeted areas.

Abstract

An examination of the findings of two separate systematic reviews that assessed the effects of CCTV and improved street lighting on crime (Farrington and Welsh, 2002a, b; Welsh and Farrington, 2002, 2003, 2004a, b) found that both CCTV surveillance cameras and improved street lighting have been effective measures for reducing crime. Street lighting was the more effective of the two measures. CCTV and improved street lighting were effective in reducing total crime (with one exception) in each of the four settings where they were evaluated. The largest effect on total crime was for CCTV in car parking lots. CCTV and improved lighting were more effective in reducing property crimes than in reducing violent crimes. There was some support, albeit limited, for combining the two measures. Both forms of surveillance were significantly more effective in reducing crime in the United Kingdom than in the United States. Possible reasons for this finding are discussed. The two reviews reported in this chapter used rigorous methods for locating, appraising, and synthesizing evidence from prior evaluation studies. The chapter outlines the criteria for including evaluation studies in the two reviews, as well as the search strategies used for identifying evaluations that met the criteria. 8 notes and 72 references