NCJ Number
228974
Journal
Revue de l' IPC Review Volume: 3 Dated: March 2009 Pages: 41-65
Date Published
March 2009
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This article examines crime reduction, tackling anti-social behavior, and increasing the number of offenses dealt with by the criminal justice system in England and Wales.
Abstract
Findings reveal that delivering a more effective model in crime control and prevention has proved extremely challenging. Overall, the official crime rate as measured by the British Crime Survey has declined; however, crime and victimization levels, particularly amongst young people remain high while the proportion of crime dealt with remains low. At the same time, there has been notable success in dealing with the volume of burglary and vehicle crimes. A number of important lessons identified for practitioners and policymakers in Canada were identified: the dangers of over centralized control, the perils of targets, the creation of silos within silos, the need to balance prevention and enforcement, and guarding against expansionism, recognizing the limits of criminal justice activity, and embedding a genuine evidence-based approach. The primary lesson from the English and Welsh experience is that effective situational crime control and prevention strategies can make a difference, but addressing the levels of youth victimization requires a greater understanding of the causes of crime and disorder, and is best addressed by implementing social rather than criminal justice interventions. Figures and references