NCJ Number
215274
Date Published
2006
Length
36 pages
Annotation
This chapter examines what needs to be included by way of good practice and good practice guidance in crime prevention when directed towards policymakers and practitioners at local and national levels.
Abstract
Two broad approaches to good practice guidance in crime prevention are identified. “What works” (WW) and “What’s to be done” (WTBD) are two approaches that aspire to bring the standards and methods of science to the identification of good practice. WW guidance catalogues for policymakers and practitioners what has or has not been found to work. WTBD guidance aims to help policymakers and practitioners decide what to do in particular practice or policy circumstances and how to do it. These two approaches lie behind most of the evidence-based guidance issued and produce distinctive patterns of answers to these questions. There are a number of generally accepted attributes of good practice: it must be ethical, effective, without significant negative side-effects, and economical. This chapter describes these attributes for each of these models of evidence-based good practice in more detail, along with examples. Also discussed is the relationship between WW and WTBD, their respective distinctive strengths and weaknesses, the circumstances in which each might be most appropriate, and their common failings. Tables and references