Situational Crime Prevention Evaluation Database

This is a collection of articles reporting evaluations of situational crime prevention initiatives. The collection is intended to facilitate research and assist practitioners in finding studies relevant to their current needs. It includes a complete bibliographical listing of studies with links to full text versions (where available).

To download a more expansive summary of each initiative, click here.

Title Citation Results
Community Based Crime Prevention Project Hulin, J. (1979). “Community Based Crime Prevention Project.” Crime Prevention Review 6(3):26-34 Residential burglary dropped 26%, a rate 18% below what would have been expected and lower than rates observed in comparison cities.
Neighbourhood Watch and Crime: An Assessment of Impact Husain, S. (1990). Neighbourhood Watch and Crime: An Assessment of Impact. London: Police Foundation In three of six treatment areas clear reductions in crime were observed and in two others reductions were achieved relative to crime observed in respective comparison areas.
Pepys Estate – Co-ordinated Estate Improvement Scheme Kendrick, T. (1994b). “Pepys Estate – Co-ordinated Estate Improvement Scheme.” In S. Osborn (ed.), Housing Safe Communities: An Evaluation of Recent Initiatives. London: Safe Neighbourhoods Unit Between 1983/84 and 1989/90 overall recorded crime reduced by 52%, at the same time as the size of the estate increased by about a third. This reduction is mirrored in sustained reductions in the rates of burglary and au tocrime.
Chalkhill Estate – Multi-Storey Block Management and Security Initiative Kendrick, T. (1994a). “Chalkhill Estate – Multi-Storey Block Management and Security Initiative.” In S. Osborn (ed.), Housing Safe Communities: An Evaluation of Recent Initiatives. London: Safe Neighbourhoods Unit Burglaries and robberies on the estate declined in relation to overall Divisional figures. Whereas burglaries increased by 16% across the Division, burglaries on Chalkhill Estate declined by 49%. Robberies and thefts from the person declined by 10% across the Division and by 27% on Chalkhill Estate.
Crime on the Subways: Measuring the Effectiveness of the Guardian Angels Kenney, D. (1986). “Crime on the Subways: Measuring the Effectiveness of the Guardian Angels.” Justice Quarterly 3(4):481-496 Monthly rate of subway crime incidents in study stations was too low for determinations of effectiveness. Assessments of fear of crime revealed favorable perceptions by respondants of the Guardian Angels (e.g. felt safer with them patroling).
Possil Park Estate – Security Scheme Knight, B. (1994). “Possil Park Estate – Security Scheme.” In S. Osborn (ed.), Housing Safe Communities: An Evaluation of Recent Initiatives. London: Safe Neighbourhoods Unit Between 1983/84 and 1989/90 overall recorded crime reduced by 52%, at the same time as the size of the estate increased by about a third. This reduction is mirrored in sustained reductions in the rates of burglary and au tocrime.
Restoring Public Order in a City Park Knutsson, J. (1997). “Restoring Public Order in a City Park.” In R. Homel (ed.), Policing for Prevention: Reducing Crime, Public Intoxication and Injury. Crime Prevention Studies, Vol. 7. Monsey, N.Y.: Criminal Justice Press Via interviews and systematic observations conditions improved at the park, substantially reducing disorder stemming from overt drug dealing. Some offenders were displaced to other parks but conditions were less favorable for the offenders and were less problematic for citizens, thus considered "benign" displacement.
Operation Identification? A Way to Prevent Burglaries? Knutsson, J. (1984). Operation Identification? A Way to Prevent Burglaries? Stockholm, Sweden: National Council for Crime Prevention The results show that no crime prevention effect of Operation Identification can be found. The risk of burglary does not differ in relation to that for households without protection. Alarm systems, on the other hand, reduce the risk of burglary.
Macro-Measures Against Crime: The Example of Check Forgeries Knutsson, J., and E. Kuhlhorn (1997). “Macro-Measures Against Crime: The Example of Check Forgeries.” In R.V. Clarke (ed.), Situational Crime Prevention: Successful Case Studies. 2nd ed. Guilderland, N.Y.: Harrow and Heston Check frauds decreased 80 to 90 percent of the the pre intervention peak. Displacement of former check forgers to other crimes was not found.
Evaluation of the Lion's Eye in the Sky: Video Monitoring Project KPMG (2000). Evaluation of the Lion's Eye in the Sky: Video Monitoring Project. Ontario: KPMG Crime rates in treatment area dropped dramatically since the installation of the first camera. At least 300, and as many as 500 robberies, assaults, thefts and other criminal offenses have been deterred by the Lion's Eye in the Sky project, saving as much as $800,000 in direct monetary losses.
Housing Allowances in a Welfare Society: Reducing the Temptation to Cheat Kuhlhorn, E. (1997). “Housing Allowances in a Welfare Society: Reducing the Temptation to Cheat.” In R.V. Clarke (ed.), Situational Crime Prevention: Successful Case Studies. 2nd ed. Guilderland, N.Y.: Harrow and Heston The frequency of fraud fell from 2.7 per cent in the first year to 1.2 per cent in the second.
A Re-Evaluation of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design in Portland, Oregon: Executive Summary Kushmuk, J., and S. Whittemore (1981). A Re-Evaluation of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design in Portland, Oregon: Executive Summary. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice There was a reduction in commercial burglaries which could be attributed to a combined security survey and street lighting program which was sustained for a two-year follow-up period. However, decreases in street crimes, commercial robbery, and residential burglary which could be attributed to CPTED activities were not found. Moreover, levels of fear of crime did not change.
An Economic Study of U.S. Aircraft Hijacking, 1961-1976 Landes, W. (1978). “An Economic Study of U.S. Aircraft Hijacking, 1961-1976.” Journal of Law and Economics 21(1):1-31 Passenger screening, increases in the probability of apprehension, the conditional probability of incarceration, and the sentence are associated with significant reductions in aircraft hijackings in the 196l-to-1976 time period. However, the cost involved in screening passengers was very costly with roughly 3.2 to 9.2 million spent to prevent one hijacking.
"Designing Out" Gang Homicides and Street Assaults Lasley, J. (1998). "Designing Out" Gang Homicides and Street Assaults. Research in Brief. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice Violent crime in target area was significanlty reduced while violence remained constant in comparison area. Property crime, however, was not affected by the road barriers. No spatial or tactical displacement was found.
Citizen Crime Prevention: Problems and Prospects in Reducing Crime Latessa, E., and L. Travis (1987). “Citizen Crime Prevention: Problems and Prospects in Reducing Crime.” Journal of Security Administration 10(1):38-51 At two years post implementation, the treatment area reported crime reductions in all but one category: aggravated assault. The treatment area reported a reduction in burglary, larceny, auto theft and the total. Over the two year period they also showed a drop in rape and robbery. The city also reported an overall reduction in reported crimes, however, there were significant differences in the amount of reduction, and once again the percentage of auto thefts rose for the city.
Safe Transport: Security by Design on the Washington Metro La Vigne, N. (1996). “Safe Transport: Security by Design on the Washington Metro.” In R.V. Clarke (ed.), Preventing Mass Transit Crime. Crime Prevention Studies, Vol. 6. Monsey, N.Y.: Criminal Justice Press Crime in Washington DC metro lower than would be expected; lower than in comparison with other subway systems; and lower when compared with corresponding places above ground of metro subway stations.
Rational Choice and Inmate Disputes Over Phone Use on Rikers Island La Vigne, N. (1994). “Rational Choice and Inmate Disputes Over Phone Use on Rikers Island.” In R.V. Clarke (ed.), Crime Prevention Studies, Vol. 3. Monsey, N.Y.: Criminal Justice Press Pre implementation phone dispute violence accounted for 25% of all violent incidents; post it dropped to 14%. After controlling for population size found 47% reduction in phone violence and only a 2% increase in other forms of inmate violence suggesting no displacement to other forms of violence.
Evaluating Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design: The Portland Commercial Demonstration Project Lavrakas, P. and J. Kushmuk (1986). “Evaluating Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design: The Portland Commercial Demonstration Project.” In D. Rosenbaum (ed.), Community Crime Prevention Does It Work? Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Commercial burglaries were significantly reduced in treatment area while citywide no significant change was observed.
Transmitting Information About Crime and Crime Prevention to Citizens: The Evanston Newsletter Quasi-Experiment Lavrakas, P., D. Rosenbaum and F. Kaminski (1983). “Transmitting Information About Crime and Crime Prevention to Citizens: The Evanston Newsletter Quasi-Experiment.” Journal of Police Science and Administration 11(4):463-473 The study found that crime newsletters of recorded crime counts in the area and crime prevention ideas increased citizen awareness of crime but did not increase citizens' fear of crime differently than compared to those who received a newsletter without crime figures or to those who recieved not crime letter at all.
Reducing Burglary: A Study of Chemists' Shops Laycock, G. (1984). Reducing Burglary: A Study of Chemists' Shops. Crime Prevention Unit; Paper 1. London: Home Office Pharmacies with greater target hardening had a 2% rate of burglary compared to 14% and 19% among pharmacies without. There were at the same time increases in drug thefts from doctor's cars and from hospitals and surgeries.
Crime Prevention in Parking Facilities Laycock, G., and C. Austin (1992). “Crime Prevention in Parking Facilities.” Security Journal 3(3):154-160 Implementation of two parking lot attendants resulted in 66% decrease in car crime while comparison areas increased. Nearby catchment areas showed slight increase of 14% & 7% but not great enough to offset benefit of reduction.
The Limits of Lighting: The New Orleans Experiment in Crime Reduction Lentz, P., R. Sternhall and C. Lyle (1977). The Limits of Lighting: The New Orleans Experiment in Crime Reduction. New Orleans, La.: Mayor's Criminal Justice Coordinating Council Decreases in crime rates in treatment area were also observed both city-wide and in the adjacent areas. No conclusive statements as to lighting effects can be made.
Evaluation of the Leeds Distraction Burglary Initiative Lister, S., D. Wall and J. Bryan (2004). Evaluation of the Leeds Distraction Burglary Initiative. Home Office Online Report 44/04. London: Home Office Distraction burglary declined in target area during the first six months of the project before rising again in line with the wider force area and peaking in summer 2002, 15 months after the project began. Much of this increase is believed to be due to greater reporting by the public following the widespread publicity and more efficient police recording practices. Given outcome, not found to be cost effective.
Effectiveness of Safety Measures Recommended for Prevention of Workplace Homicide Loomis, D., S. Marshall, S. Wolf, C. Runyan and J. Butts (2002). “Effectiveness of Safety Measures Recommended for Prevention of Workplace Homicide.” JAMA: Journal of American Medical Association 287(8):1011-1017 Found significant homicide reduction effects of the presence of two night time workers; bright exterior lighting; and an accumulative effect of 5 or more administrative prevention proceedures (e.g. package of security measures).
More Effective Place Management: An Evaluation of Cook County's Narcotics Nuisance Abatement Unit Lurigio, A., R. David, T. Regilus, V. Gwiasda, S. Popkin, M. Dantzker, B. Smith and L. Quellet (1998). “More Effective Place Management: An Evaluation of Cook County's Narcotics Nuisance Abatement Unit.” In L. Green Mazerolle and J. Roehl (eds.), Civil Remedies and Crime Prevention. Crime Prevention Studies, Vol. 9. Monsey, N.Y.: Criminal Justice Press A survey of residents living on blocks with and without abatement actions produced no evidence that evictions had any impact on citizens' perceptions of drug activity, other signs of disorder or feelings of safety on the block. Follow-up observations found no signs of drug dealing at eight of the ten abated buildings studied or on the blocks on which they were located.
Evaluation of Traffic Barricade Impact on Crime in Pendleton: Cincinnati, Ohio Madensen, T., and D. Morgan (2005). Evaluation of Traffic Barricade Impact on Crime in Pendleton: Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati: University of Cincinnati, Division of Criminal Justice In treatment area, serious crimes have decreased while less serious crimes have increased. Street-by-street analyses reveal that this weak finding is likely due to a general displacement of crime patterns. Aggregate crime statistics reveal that there has been a significant decrease in crime on 13th Street, while crime has increased significantly on 12th Street.
University Student Crime Prevention Awareness Project Evaluation Madensen, T., and M. Skubak (2005). University Student Crime Prevention Awareness Project Evaluation. Cincinnati: University of Cincinnati, Division of Criminal Justice The treatment area experienced a significant reduction in Part I crime, largely attributable to a reduction in thefts, which lasted for approximately nine weeks and thereafter returned to expected levels. There was little evidence of crime displacement to surrounding areas. Conversely, there was evidence that the project produced a diffusion of benefits, reducing thefts at nearby locations that did not receive the treatment.
Displacement vs. Diffusion of Benefits and the Reduction of Inventory Losses in a Retail Environment Masuda, B., (1992). “Displacement vs. Diffusion of Benefits and the Reduction of Inventory Losses in a Retail Environment.” Security Journal 3(3):131-136 High-risk merchandise was targeted for intensive cycle counting. Shrinkage was reduced substantially for targeted as well as nontargeted merchandise, suggesting diffusion of benefit.
Credit Card Fraud Prevention: A Successful Retail Strategy Masuda, B. (1993). “Credit Card Fraud Prevention: A Successful Retail Strategy.” In R.V. Clarke (ed.), Crime Prevention Studies, Vol. 1. Monsey, N.Y.: Criminal Justice Press Credit card fraud detection successfully increased the number of detections from 47 to 118, and decreased fraud losses 82 percent.
The Eyres Monsell Crime Reduction Project Matthews, R., and J. Trickey (1994a). The Eyres Monsell Crime Reduction Project. Leicester, U.K.: Centre for the Study of Public Order, University of Leicester The rate of burglaries on the Eyres Monsell estate slowed in the post period increasing 10% while comparison estates experienced up to a 45% increase. Citizen perceptions improved.

Pages