NCJ Number
81273
Date Published
1980
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Overemphasis on reactive crime control measures by the police in Britain has resulted in neglect of preventive programming. The Preventive Police Force in Leeds and Cornwall is viewed as a model to reverse this trend.
Abstract
The British answer to the growing crime rate has been increased law enforcement efficiency through technological and administrative measures geared to combatting professional crime types. Less spectacular, every-day criminality, which is the cause of public fear of crime and requires neighborhood patrol work and personal contact of officers and citizens, is inadequately pursued. The law enforcement function is being emphasized at the cost of police community service responsibilities and giving rise to citizen dissatisfaction. Also, the debate between proactive and reactive police approaches is causing intradepartmental discord among officers, and prevention programs at the local level are not being advanced. A solution should be sought from the example of Leeds and Cornwall, where a preventive police force has been developed. Patrol officers have returned to neighborhood beats and police efforts are being coordinated with other agencies and community organizations. In addition, cooperation between researchers and the police is being carried out by the Cranfield Institute, with particular emphasis on preventive strategies emerging locally, elsewhere in the country, or internationally. Footnotes are provided.