Developing Crime Reduction Plans: Some Examples from the Reducing Burglary Initiative

• NCJ Number: 191600
• Author(s): Liz Curtin; Nick Tilley; Mark Owen; Ken Pease
• Date Published: 2001
• Length: 57 pages
• Sale Source: Great Britain Home Office, Policing and Reducing Crime Unit
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Guideline
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom
• Note: Crime Reduction Research Series Paper 7

Annotation

This document describes the stages involved in preparing a crime reduction project plan for burglary.

Abstract

The Crime Reduction Program (CRP) increases the opportunity for local crime and disorder partnerships to win central government funding to tackle crime. The CRP focuses on burglary, targeted policing, closed circuit television (CCTV), national initiatives, early interventions in the lives of those at risk of offending and domestic violence. Populations at high risk of crime can be defined in terms of geographic or virtual communities. The disadvantage of basing crime reduction plans on geographic communities is that individual households at high risk within geographic areas of lower risk are disregarded. Virtual communities enable groups defined in non-geographic terms to be targeted. Police records are relied upon for information on crime even though they may be used in conjunction with other data systems. Police crime data needs to be examined carefully, for the quality of data varies by force. A crime will only occur when there is a capable and motivated offender who finds a suitable target, without anyone or anything there to keep the two apart. Using these three ingredients, a useful starting point for analysis is to think about what is actually allowing the crime to occur within the high-risk group. A strategy is more likely to emerge as a cohesive, workable document if the analysts, policy-makers, and practitioners work together. Interventions are defined before clarifying aims and objectives. Aims, objectives, and targets set out what the project is planning to achieve in terms of outcome. Monitoring is more likely to be effective if projects are kept simple, with clearly stated aims, objectives, and outputs. Projects funded for a finite period are often felt to limit the potential for sustainability. A clear action plan that explains how the project will be delivered should be prepared once targets have been set and provision for monitoring has been made. Estimates should be made regarding the overall costs of the project along with the costs per month/quarter. 16 references, annex