Abstract
The aim of this article was to explore the utility of ‘Nudge’ in a crime reduction context through the design of two letter variants focussing predominantly upon levels of personalization. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design (176 individuals versus 183 comparisons matched on key crime and demographic variables). The study outcomes focussed upon levels of offending, speed of offending, and location of offending—in the 6 months subsequent to receipt of letter. The results were mixed with no clear narrative: some individuals to receive a letter were slightly less likely to offend, others offended quicker, in some there appeared to be a potential delay in their offending and others offended further away from their home area. The results are discussed—in particular—on the wider appropriateness of the Nudge theory within such a complex context as reoffending alongside wider reflections around implementation and evidence-based learning.
The opportunity theories of crime regards opportunity as a root cause and focus attention on the crime rather than the criminal. In the practical crime prevention efforts, this theoretical framework paved the way for innovative policing strategies like problem oriented policing and situational crime prevention. Policy makers and practitioners accept the motivated offender as given and gather the efforts to prevent offenders accessing sufficient means and opportunities for a crime to occur. This paper describes the link between opportunity theories of crime and successful crime reduction efforts stemmed from them. It entails problem oriented policing and situational crime prevention techniques. Crime is not evenly distributed. It concentrates differently on places, offenders and persons. This paper then describes the fundamental discussion of crime distribution on hot places, targets, products, offenders and victims. Major works and findings in the field of environmental criminology is presented by describing hot spots and crime distribution, and crime patterns. The paper finally presents an evaluation of these approaches.
Abstract
Gilead et al. offer a thoughtful and much-needed treatment of abstraction. However, it fails to build on an extensive literature on abstraction, representational diversity, neurocognition, and psychopathology that provides important constraints and alternative evidence-based conceptions. We draw on conceptions in software engineering, socio-technical systems engineering, and a neurocognitive theory with abstract representations of gist at its core, fuzzy-trace theory.
Evidence-Based Policing and Crime Reduction
