Talking to Offenders: Practical Lessons for Local Crime Prevention (From Urban Crime: Statistical Approaches and Analyses, Papers and Conclusions, P 29-43, 1991)

• NCJ Number: 139091
• Author(s): P Ekblom
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 15 pages
• Sale Source: Institut d'Estidis Metropolitans de Barcelona
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: Spanish; English
• Country: Spain
• Note: Paper presented at international seminar "Urban Crime: Statistical Approaches and Analyses" in Barcelona, Spain, October 15-16, 1990. Also in French

Annotation

The usefulness of interviewing local offenders as a basis for crime prevention planning is supported, based on interviews with juvenile delinquents who carried out their activity in the subway system of London, England.

Abstract

Offender interviews increase our understanding of the logistics of crime. Therefore, they provide information regarding the criteria used to select victims, locations, and methods. Using offender interviews also entails difficulties, particularly with respect to the small number of people interviewed, the difficulty of establishing a uniform method of interviewing, the reliability of the answers received, and the ethical questions concerning the right to privacy. Nevertheless, these interviews represent one useful method to aid the understanding of the nature of local crime. 42 references