Reducing Crime

Book excerpt: 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.