NCJ Number
177313
Date Published
1998
Length
67 pages
Annotation
This report details an Australian national project that investigated the training needs of crime-and-violence-prevention practitioners and developed an overview of the field through industry, labor, occupational, and training needs analysis.
Abstract
The project, which was conducted between June and November 1997, involved a literature search and review; responses to a national press advertisement; face-to-face interviews with key stakeholders; focus group sessions and functional analysis workshops with people employed in crime prevention; analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics census data; and a questionnaire sent to crime-and-violence-prevention, community-safety, and allied practitioners in all jurisdictions. The needs assessment found no currently emerging violence-and-crime-prevention "industry," but the core group of crime prevention officers recognized a body of knowledge that they practice, develop, and undertake as a professional activity. Also, the study found jurisdictional differences in crime prevention strategies and institutional arrangements, as well as a lack of consistent perspectives about crime prevention between jurisdictions. This limits the development of codes of practice, standards and entry requirements, industry codes, national networks and/or professional associations, and a national crime prevention training framework. Further, the needs assessment found that the labor market for crime prevention derives from public funding and has the characteristics of program-based funding, such as short- term contracts, short-term labor planning, employment vulnerability, practitioner stress, movement in and out but very little internal movement, and no movement between unpaid and paid workforces. The functional analysis of occupations identified competencies in crime prevention and highlighted the need for induction packages, performance measurement, best-practice processes, the use of information technology, and career pathways. The most preferred provider for professional development was a university, reflecting a preference for formal training/professional development. 3 tables and 10 figures