NCJ Number
68610
Date Published
1980
Length
24 pages
Annotation
THIS BRITISH PAPER DESCRIBES HOW RESEARCH FOCUSING ON SPECIFIC CRIMES AND ON THE COMPETENCE OF CITIZENS TO CONTROL SPECIFIC CRIME OCCURRENCES IS LIKELY TO GENERATE IMPROVEMENTS IN POLICE EFFECTIVENESS.
Abstract
A REVIEW OF STUDIES OF POLICE EFFECTIVENESS STRONGLY SUGGESTS THAT CRIME CONTROL STRATEGIES, INCORPORATING BOTH LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE PREVENTION OF SPECIFIC OFFENSES, SHOULD BEGIN WITH THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE NATURE, EXTENT, AND SALIENCE OF CRIME PROBLEMS IN A PARTICULAR COMMUNITY AND A DETAILED EXAMINATION OF HOW SPECIFIC CRIMINAL ACTS ARE CARRIED OUT. THIS VIEW IS COMMONLY ESPOUSED AND THE POLICE HAVE DEVELOPED BOTH ENFORCEMENT AND CRIME PREVENTION STRATEGIES APPROPRIATE TO PARTICULAR OFFENSES OR CLASSES OF OFFENSES. HOWEVER, THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THIS APPROACH HAS SELDOM BEEN REALIZED IN PRACTICE. CRIME PROBLEMS HAVE TYPICALLY BEEN ANALYZED AND CRIME ATTACK STRATEGIES FORMULATED WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE OF WHO IN THE COMMUNITY WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE EXISTENCE OR CONTROL OF SPECIFIC CRIMES, THUS RESTRICTING THE SEARCH FOR ALTERNATIVE RESPONSES TO CRIME PROBLEMS. THE CONCEPT OF RESPONSIBILITY PROVIDES A BASIS FOR EXAMINING KEY ASPECTS OF THE ROLE AND FUNCTION OF THE POLICE, AS WELL AS FOR ANSWERING PRACTICAL QUESTIONS RELATING TO POLICE AND COMMUNITY EFFECTIVENESS IN CRIME CONTROL. IN ORDER TO DEVELOP OPTIMALLY EFFECTIVE CRIME CONTROL STRATEGIES, IT IS NECESSARY TO IDENTIFY AND ANALYZE COMMUNITY CRIME PROBLEMS, TO EXAMINE HOW PARTICULAR CRIMES ARE CARRIED OUT, AND TO CONDUCT A THOROUGH EXAMINATION OF WHO HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THE EXISTENCE OF THE CRIME PROBLEM IN QUESTION. THE FULL RANGE OF COMMUNITY RESOURCES MUST BE MOBILIZED TO CONTROL THE SPECIFIC CRIME. APPROXIMATELY 80 REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED.