Examination of Situational Crime Prevention Strategies Across Convenience Stores and Fast-Food Restaurants

• NCJ Number: 231704
• Journal: Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 21 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2010 Pages: 269-295
• Author(s): M. Lyn Exum; Joseph B. Kuhns; Brad Koch; Chuck Johnson
• Date Published: September 2010
• Length: 27 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Special issue on Situational Crime Prevention: Policy & Research. For additional articles see NCJ-231705-708.

Annotation

This study examined whether crime prevention strategies commonly recommended to the convenience store industry were effective at reducing robbery in the fast-food industry.

Abstract

Although the efficacy of situational crime prevention (SCP) strategies on convenience store safety has received considerable attention, the security of fast-food restaurants has been virtually ignored. This study was based on a population of convenience stores (n = 295) and fast-food restaurants (n = 321) in Charlotte, NC. The study examined whether the crime control strategies commonly recommended to the convenience store industry were effective at reducing robbery in the fast-food industry. Relatedly, the study examined whether target-hardening strategies have similar effects on robbery prevalence rates across the two types of businesses. In general, the article found that many target-hardening strategies derived from the literature failed to impact robbery rates for either type of establishment. For those factors that did emerge as statistically significant predictors of robbery, the preventative effects generally appeared in one type of establishment or the other, but not in both. These findings suggest that effective SCP strategies are truly situation specific and not "one size fits all." Tables, notes, and references (Published Abstract)