Reducing Crime

How do I reduce crime in my police command? How do I tackle chronic crime problems? How do I address the long-term issues that have plagued my community? How do I analyze crime and criminal behaviour? How do I show evidence of success in crime reduction? What works, what doesn’t, and how do we know? Providing answers to these questions and more, this engaging and accessible book offers a foundation for leadership in modern policing. Blending concepts from crime science, environmental criminology, and the latest research in evidence-based policing, the book draws on examples from around the world to cover a range of issues such as: how to analyze crime problems and what questions to ask, why the PANDA model is your key to crime reduction, key features of criminal behavior relevant to police commanders, the current research on what works in police crime prevention, why to set up systems to avoid surprises and monitor crime patterns, how to develop evidence of your effectiveness, forming a crime reduction plan, tracking progress, and finally, how to make a wider contribution to the policing field. Crammed with useful tips, checklists and advice including first-person perspectives from police practitioners, case studies and chapter summaries, this book is essential reading both for police professionals taking leadership courses and promotion exams, and for students engaged with police administration and community safety.

Cites successful examples of community-based policing.

Based on extensive research initiated by the UK Home Office, Reducing Crime offers an objective look at the effectiveness of criminal justice interventions in the reduction of crime. Bringing together information about where, for whom and at what cost these interventions are effective, the book examines alcohol prevention and drug treatment studies; courts, sentencing and police interventions; probation and prison interventions; and situational burglary and housing interventions. In addition to a cost/benefits analysis of each intervention, the book also discusses future research and policy directions.

The Home Office aims to reduce crime by supporting Police Basic Command Disorder Units, as well as 354 Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in England and 22 Community Safety Partnerships in Wales. On the basis of evidence from the Home Office, this report examines the effectiveness and administration of these schemes. It finds that the initiatives have contributed to reductions in crime but, because they have not been systematically evaluated, it is not clear how much of a difference they have made. It also concludes that the Partnerships have too great an administrative burden and that the number of Partnerships should be reduced and their funding stream should be simplified.

Today, we know that crime is often not just a matter of making bad decisions. Rather, there are a variety of factors that are implicated in much criminal offending, some fairly obvious like poverty, mental illness, and drug abuse and others less so, such as neurocognitive problems. Today, we have the tools for effective criminal behavioral change, but this cannot be an excuse for criminal offending. In The Future of Crime and Punishment, William R. Kelly identifies the need to educate the public on how these tools can be used to most effectively and cost efficiently reduce crime, recidivism, victimization and cost. The justice system of the future needs to be much more collaborative, utilizing the expertise of a variety of disciplines such as psychology, psychiatry, addiction, and neuroscience. Judges and prosecutors are lawyers, not clinicians, and as we transition the justice system to a focus on behavioral change, the decision making will need to reflect the input of clinical experts. The path forward is one characterized largely by change from traditional criminal prosecution and punishment to venues that balance accountability, compliance, and risk management with behavioral change interventions that address the primary underlying causes for recidivism. There are many moving parts to this effort and it is a complex proposition. It requires substantial changes to law, procedure, decision making, roles and responsibilities, expertise, and funding. Moreover, it requires a radical shift in how we think about crime and punishment. Our thinking needs to reflect a perspective that crime is harmful, but that much criminal behavior is changeable.

A new collection of compelling and challenging essays from one of the nation's leading voices on criminal justice reform, Reducing Crime, Reducing Incarceration makes the argument that sometimes small changes on the ground can add up to big improvements in the criminal justice system. How do you launch a new criminal justice reform? How do you measure impact? Is it possible to spread new practices to resistant audiences? And what’s the point of small-bore experimentation anyway? Greg Berman answers these questions by telling the story of successful experiments like the Red Hook Community Justice Center in Brooklyn and by detailing the challenges of implementing new ideas within the criminal justice system. As Laurie Robinson, a professor at George Mason University, writes in her introduction: “Berman offers vivid testimony that—even in the face of opposition—it is, in fact, possible to push our criminal justice system closer to realizing its highest ideals. And that, indeed, is good news.” Other experts share their opinions: “The central insight of Reducing Crime, Reducing Incarceration is that small tweaks in practice within the criminal justice system can sometimes lead to big change on the streets. By telling the story of the Red Hook Community Justice Center and similar innovations, Greg Berman offers a hopeful message: criminal justice reform at the local level can make a difference.” — James B. Jacobs Warren E. Burger Professor of Law, New York University School of Law “Innovation is hard work.... Berman offers a look at how change happens at the local level—and how, sometimes, it doesn't. These well-written essays offer a compelling vision of both the challenges and opportunities of criminal justice reform.” — Nicholas Turner President, Vera Institute of Justice “The topic of criminal justice reform has challenged and bedeviled social thinkers for centuries. In this book, Berman offers a clear-eyed and inventive approach to the problem. Recognizing that change is best achieved at the local level with small, incremental steps using demonstration projects, Berman provides concrete examples of both successes and failures stemming from the work of the Center for Court Innovation over the last two decades. For anyone interested in the future of criminal justice, this book should be on the top of the 'must read' list.” — John H. Laub Distinguished University Professor, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Maryland, College Park “Here you will find Berman's compelling case for community justice, along with classic readings on problem-solving courts. Berman writes like all the rest of us wish we did....” — Candace McCoy The Graduate Center and John Jay College< City University of New York Presented in print and digital formats in the Contemporary Society Series by Quid Pro Books, the ebook edition uses proper formatting, linked notes, active URLS in notes, and active Contents.

The problems associated with groups that commit crime are well known and notoriously complex. However, there are many questions that we still cannot answer with certainty. This book seeks to deepen understanding of the group processes involved in crime and the treatment of offenders’ thoughts and behaviour. Together, the chapters in this volume address the following questions: Are people more likely to commit crime because of the influence of their group? Does group membership cause people to become criminals, or does the group merely foster people’s pre-existing criminal inclinations? How does group membership exert such a strong hold on people so that some risk imprisonment or even death, rather than relinquish their membership? The contributors to Crime and Crime Reduction consider the social psychological influences of groups and specific forms of group crime such as street and prison gangs, terrorism, organized criminal networks, and group sexual offending. The book also addresses important questions about the role of groups in treating offenders, and why existing group membership should be considered when treating offenders. Group criminal activity is a key area of study for researchers and for students of Forensic Psychology and Criminology courses. This book will therefore be of interest to students, scholars, and law enforcement practitioners who want to understand the group processes involved in crime and its reduction.

This innovative and pioneering new book establishes links between crime reduction and the law, uniquely offering a detailed examination of how specific legislation and performance targets aid or undermine attempts at crime reduction. Providing a sustained analysis, this ground-breaking book considers the social policy, politics and legislation that surround and drive the crime reduction agenda. It analyzes: the creation of 'safe environments' through Town and Country Planning legislation the role of local authorities in crime reduction initiatives the nature of drug policy, paedophilia legislation and programs to control mental disorder crime. Bringing together the work of internationally renowned experts in this field, this book will prove very useful to students of criminology and sociology, as well as crime prevention and reduction practitioners, police officers and community safety partnership professionals.