NCJ Number
138999
Journal
Dutch Penal Law and Policy 07 Issue: 8 Dated: (1992) complete issue
Date Published
1992
Length
7 pages
Annotation
A meta-evaluation of the pilot crime prevention projects established in the Netherlands as part of the government's 5-year prevention program initiated in 1985 concluded that crime prevention can be very effective under certain conditions.
Abstract
The program arose from concern over increasing crimes, particularly petty crime committed by youthful offenders, and involved more than 200 projects. The meta-evaluation focused on 104 projects that had been completed and evaluated by the end of 1990. The projects appeared to contain 280 crime prevention measures, which were oriented to situations, persons, offenses, or combinations of factors. There were 205 situation-oriented measures; 174 were oriented to specific offenses; and 101 were person- oriented. Results revealed that the success of prevention measures appears to depend on three conditions. Thus, the measure must be sufficiently intense, particularly if it involves surveillance. In addition, crime prevention is less effective if the crime problem is very serious. Finally, increasing the perception of certainty of punishment and a perception that effort is needed to commit crime appear to be effective crime prevention strategies. Figures, tables, and 7 references