NCJ Number
212478
Journal
European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research Volume: 11 Issue: 2 Dated: 2005 Pages: 175-191
Date Published
2005
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study evaluated the impact of Finland’s National Crime Prevention Program (NCPP) on crime levels in the country.
Abstract
The Finnish Government launched the NCPP in 1999 with the goal of stimulating and supporting cooperation among law enforcement and community-based agencies in their crime control efforts. The NCPP thus consists of two main facets: the promotion of local community safety planning and the provision of matching grants for local crime prevention initiatives. While some communities have responded with enthusiasm to the NCPP, designing and implementing crime prevention initiatives, other communities have not participated at all. The current study drew on victim surveys and police data to compare the impact of the NCPP between communities in terms of level of participation in the NCPP. Victim survey data were drawn from the 1997 and 2003 Finnish national crime victim surveys. Data obtained from police files included information on local-level differences in property and violent crime rates. Results of multivariate analyses indicated that active participation in the NCPP did not result in decreased crime for participating communities. The author suggests that the Finnish Government should develop a national agency to innovate and systematically evaluate promising practices for crime prevention. Footnotes, figures, tables, appendixes, references