NCJ Number
198945
Journal
International Review of Victimology Volume: 9 Issue: 2 Dated: 2002 Pages: 137-148
Editor(s)
Susan Herman,
David Weisburd
Date Published
2002
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the three basic types of police service and the provision of help to those previously victimized by crime by means of integration of those services.
Abstract
The three types of police service identified in this article are reaction to relevant emergencies, identifying and processing crime perpetrators, and proactive police work to prevent crime and disorder or what is known as "community policing." Current practice which segments the police service by function is described. The process of providing police services to people previously victimized provides opportunity to make the police service more sequence sensitive, and aids in the integration of the first two services with the third. The Biting Back Project, implemented in Huddersfield, England, is described as an example of how such an approach can be implemented. The advantages of a sequence-sensitive approach are further discussed with descriptions of different methods, including cocoon watch, in which the support of immediate neighbors of the victims is enlisted; police watch, in which patrolling is focused in areas and at times of greatest risk; and silent alarms, when inaudible alarms are heard only at the police control room activating an immediate police response. In conclusion, the implications of risk-based targeting, of which repeat victimization provides the easiest example to implement, are spelled out. A table provides information on risks of domestic burglary by household type, and a figure shows crime distribution in England and Wales in 1992. A source list of references is included.