NCJ Number
205540
Date Published
July 2003
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This videocassette contains a United States Department of Justice presentation by Paul Wiles on the recent British Crime Reduction Program.
Abstract
Dr. Wiles begins by examining the elements of a crime reduction strategy, which should: (1) reduce numbers of new offenders; (2) reform or block existing offenders; (3) reduce criminal opportunities; (4) guard against existing threats; (5) predict and prevent new threats; and (6) maintain public order. The British system of Treasury control is described, which involves a tri-annual spending review; funds are appropriated for research that has clearly stated outcomes with targets and is based on evidence. A cost-benefit analysis is a central feature of the British Government funding process. The recent Crime Reduction Program is very large and was built on evidence; it contains the following elements: reducing burglary initiative; targeted policing initiative; violence against women; closed circuit television; sentencing and treatment of offenders; early interventions; and drug arrest referrals. Evaluation results of these projects should be available on the Home Office Web site within 18 months. Two examples are presented to further illustrate the British strategy: the reducing burglary initiative and the targeted policing initiative. The reducing burglary initiative was launched in 1999 and included 247 separate projects; the aim was to reduce burglary nationally by targeting area with high burglary rates, evaluate the cost effectiveness of various approaches, and determine what works best in what areas. Among the specific approaches evaluated were offender-based schemes and community-based schemes. Results indicated a 7 percent net decline in burglary rates, with situation crime prevention, stakeholding, and coherent and complementary strategies producing the most crime prevention gains. The main key to success was project management. In the second example, the results of the targeted policing initiative were mixed. Identified problems included weak problem identification, too narrow of a focus, and weak data analysis. Other problems identified with the crime reduction strategies in general were that innovation tends to be prized above application; police collect a lot of data but fail to analyze and use it; there is weak accountability to victims and the public; and rapid job moves weaken implementation efforts. A question and answer session follows the main presentation.