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 |
|---|---|---|
| Policing Crime and Disordering Hot Spots: A Randomized Controlled Trial | Braga, A., and B.J. Bond (2008). Policing Crime and Disordering Hot Spots: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Criminology | The impact evaluation revealed significant reductions in crime and disorder calls for service, and systematic observations of social and physical disorder at the treatment places relative to control places uncovered no evidence of significant crime-displacement. |
| Measuring the Effects of Video Surveillance on Crime in Los Angeles | Cameron, A., E. Kolodinski, H. May, N. Williams (2008). Measuring the Effects of Video Surveillance on Crime in Los Angeles. Prepared for the California Research Bureau | In Hollywood, the evidence on the displacement of crime was inconclusive. There was some indication that certain types of crimes may have been displaced; the buffer areas experienced a smaller decrease in the robbery rate (6.3 percent) than either the target area (50.7 percent) or the control area (20.7 percent). |
| Target Hardening of Banks in Australia and Displacement of Robberies | Clarke, R.V., and F. Simon (1981). Target Hardening of Banks in Australia and Displacement of Robberies | Little evidence was found that bank robberies had been displaced to other states in Australia or that the fall in bank robberies had led to increases in robberies of other targets in Victoria. |
| Effectiveness of Ignition Interlock Devices in Reducing Drunk Driving Recidivism | Coben, J.H., and G.Larkin (1999). Effectiveness of Ignition Interlock Devices in Reducing Drunk Driving Recidivism | Interlocks were effective in reducing DWI recidivism, in the five studies demonstrating a significant effect,participants in the interlock programs were 15%–69% less likely than controls to be re-arrested for DWI. |
| Public Safety Through Private Action: An Economic Assessment of Bids, Locks, and Citizens Cooperation | Cook, P.J. and J. MacDonald (2010). Public Safety Through Private Action: An Economic Assessment of Bids, Locks, and Citizens Cooperation. (#213a) | Creation and operation of effective BIDs requires a legal infrastructure that helps neighborhoods solve the collective action problem. |
| Public Safety through Private Action An Economic Assessment of BIDs | Cook, P.J. and J. MacDonald (2010). Public Safety through Private Acion An Economic Assessment of BIDs. (#213b) | Creation and operation of effective BIDs requires a legal infrastructure that helps neighborhoods solve the collective action problem. |
| Evaluation of CCTV in the London Borough of Lewisham | Gill, M. and M. Hemming (2004). Evaluation of CCTV in the London Borough of Lewisham | The difference before and after CCTV is significant, it still does not mean that it is definitely caused by the CCTV- just that it is different. |
| The Effectiveness of an Electronic Security Management System in a Privately Owned Apartment Complex | Greenberg, D.F. and J. Roush (2009). The Effectiveness of an Electronic Security Management System in a Privately Owned Apartment Complex | By estimating Poisson and negative binomial regressions for a number of different offenses, we found no persuasive evidence that the introduction of CCTV and ancillary electronic monitoring equipment to PCV in Manhattan reduced the incidence of crime in PCV. |
| The Final Evaluation of the High Intensity Street Lighting Program | Harrisburg Police Department (1976). The Final Evaluation of the "High Intensity Street Lighting Program." (#216) | Crime levels did not change in treatment area any different that control. For some crime types an increase was observed. Fear of crime did decrease and police viewed lighting as helpful to operations at night. |
| The Effects of 'Alley-Gating' in an English Town | Haywood, J., P. Kautt, and A. Whitaker (2009). The Effects of 'Alley-Gating' in an English Town | Of the 120 crimes, 74 percent (89) occurred before gating and 26 percent (31) occurred after gating. A chi-squared test (χ2 = 28.03,df 1) indicates that alley-gates significantly (p < .01) reduced the risk of burglary to the residences they protect. |
| The Effects of Increasing the Certainty of Punishment: A Field Experiment on Public Transportation | Killias, M., D. Scheidegger, P. Nordenson (2009). The Effects of Increasing the Certainty of Punishment: A Field Experiment on Public Transportation | The programme led to a dramatic reduction in fare-dodging on trains operating during the evening and, as an unexpected outcome, during day-time hours.The results suggest that certainty of punishment works as a deterrent in a non-linear way, and that benefits from increased certainty can be maximized if checks are concentrated on critical hours and areas. |
| The San Francisco Community Safety Camera Program. An Evauation of the Effectiveness of San Francisco's Community Safety Cameras | King, J., D. Mulligan, and S. Raphael (2008). The San Francisco Community Safety Camera Program. An Evauation of the Effectiveness of San Francisco's Community Safety Cameras | Community Participation. There is evidence that the public notice and hearing process have effectively engaged the community in a dialogue about the CSC system. Accountability and Oversight. The Ordinance constrains the CSC program to the criminal context, limits police use of CSC program footage to investigations of specific crimes, and builds in processes to facilitate auditing. |
| Hot Spots of Bus Stop Crimes. The Importance of Environmental Attributes | Loukaitou-Sideris, Anastasia (1999). Hot Spots of Bus Stop Crimes. The Importance of Environmental Attributes | An abundance of "negative" environment attributes and a general lack of "defensible space" elements. Study found differenet types of crime tend to occur under different environmental conditions. |
| The Impact of CCTV System in Penarth Town Centre | Maguire, M., and F. Wood (1998). The Impact of CCTV System in Penarth Town Centre | The overall level of crime in the area was very low, both before and after, so the results have to be interpreted with caution. A decrease in break-ins (and possibly vandalism) to commercial premises, but little or no change in the incidence of most other offences. No change in levels of disorderly behaviour. |
| Reducing Alcohol-related Violence and disorder: An Evaluation of the 'TASC' Project | Maguire, M. and H. Nettleton (2003). Reducing Alcohol-related Violence and Disorder: An Evaluation of the 'TASC' Project | When the TASC project was in operation, there was a decrease in the numbers of violent incidents known to have occurred in the targeted area. The first year of full implementation saw a fall of four per cent and the next six months saw little change. |
| Behavioral Monitoring of DUI Offenders with the Alcohol Ignition Interlock Recorder | Marques, P., R. Voas, A.S. Tippetts, and D. Beirness (1999). Behavioral Monitoring of DUI offenders with the Alcohol Ignition Interlock Recorder (#223) | The interlock successfully blocks drinking and driving during high-risk periods. Preliminary recorder data suggest the services intervention may be affecting DUI behavior. |
| Policing Prostitution A Multi-agency Approach | Matthews, R. (1986). Policing Prostitution A Multi-agency Approach | The level of street prostitution and kerb-crawling in the area of the road closure scheme was reduced to a minimum. |
| Milwaukee High Intensity Street Lighting Project | Department of Intergovernmental Fiscal Liaison (1974). Milwaukee High Intensity Street Lighting Project | Lighting has a differential impact on various crimes. Both the test and control areas register a decrease in the amount of night crime in 1973 compared to 1972. The test area decrease about 6% and control are about 2%. |
| Effects of Ignition Interlock Devices on DUI Recidivism: Findings From a Longitudinal Study in Hamilton County, Ohio | Morse, B., and D. Elliot (1992). Effects of Ignition Interlock Devices on DUI Recidivism: Findings From a Longitudinal Study in Hamilton County, Ohio | Interlock devices significantlyreduced the likelihood of a repeated DUI arrest as compared to license suspension. |
| Lighting, Crime Prevention and Community Safety: The Tower Hamlets Project | Painter, K. (1989). Lighting, Crime Prevention and Community Safety: The Tower Hamlets Project | Improved street lighting positively affected publlic perception of crime in the area and had an immediate impact on public safety. |
| Do Surveillance Cameras Affect Unruly Behavior? A Close Look at Grandstands | Priks, M. (2007). Do Surveillance Cameras Affect Unruly Behavior? A Close Look at Grandstands | Surveillance cameras affected unruly behavior by spectators approximately 80 percent reduction in the arenas where cameras were installed compared to arenas where they were not. |
| The Effects of Surveillance Cameras on Crime: Evidence from the Stockholm Subway | Priks, M. (2009). The Effects of Surveillance Cameras on Crime: Evidence from the Stockholm Subway | Difference-in-difference analysis reveals that the introduction of the cameras reduced crime by approximately 20 percent in busy stations. Some of the crimes were displaced to the surrounding area. |
| CCTV Camera Evaluation: The Crime Reduction Effects of Public CCTV Cameras in the City of Philadelphia, PA Installed During 2006 | Ratcliffe, J. and T. Taniguchi (2008). CCTV Camera Evaluation: The Crime Reduction Effects of Public CCTV Cameras in the City of Philadelphia, PA Installed During 2006. (#231a) | A multilevel model that considers long‐term trends and seasonality finds that the introduction of cameras is associated with a 13 per cent reduction in crime. |
| The Crime Reduction Effects of Public CCTV Cameras: A Multi-Method Spatial Approach | Ratcliffe, J., T. Taniguchi, and R.Taylor (2009). The Crime Reduction Effects of Public CCTV Cameras: A Multi-Method Spatial Approach. (#231b) | An analysis that incorporates controls for long-term trends and seasonality finds that the introduction of cameras is associated with a 13% reduction in crime. |
| Illinois Secretary of State Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device (BAIID) Program Evaluation and Final Report Volume II: Pilot Implementation Evaluation | Raub, R., R. Lucke, and R. Wark (2001). Illinois Secretary of State Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device (BAIID) Program Evaluation and Final Report Volume II: Pilot Implementation Evaluation | Within the first 3 years after receiving their restricted driving permit, 20% of those who did not use the BAIID had been rearrested for an alcohol-related driving violation. In contrast, only 8% of those who had the BAIID installed had the same outcome. |
| Effects of Administrative Ignition Interlock License Restrictions on Drivers with Multiple Alcohol Offenses | Rauch, W., E. Ahlin, P. Zador, J.Howard, and G.D. Duncan (2010). Effects of Administrative Ignition Interlock License Restrictions on Drivers with Multiple Alcohol Offenses | Compared to the control group, participation in the interlock license restriction program reduced drivers' hazard (or risk) of a subsequent alcoholimpaired driving offense by a statistically significant 36% during the 2-year intervention, 26% during the 2-year postintervention period, and 32% during the entire 4-year study period. |
| The Roles of Bars and Restaurants in Preventing Alcohol-Impaired Driving: An Evaluation of Server Intervention | Saltz, R.F. (1987). The Roles of Bars and Restaurants in Preventing Alcohol-Impaired Driving: An Evaluation of Server Intervention | Multivariate linear and logistic regression analyses reveal that although absolute consumption and rate of comsumption were unaffected by the program, the likelihood of a customer's being intoxicated was cut in half. |
| Cal Anderson Park Surveillance Camera Pilot Program Evaluation | Runolfson, D. and M. Denzel (2009). Cal Anderson Park Surveillance Camera Pilot Program Evaluation | Unable to determine whether the surveillance cameras in Cal Anderson Park had a deterrent effect on crime due to data limitations and a time frame, restricted by ordinance requirements, which limited our scope to three months of data. Surveillance cameras had minimal effect on our survey respondents' perception of safety in the park, less than one-third of the 103 respondents to know about the cameras. |
| Using a Neighborhood Crime Prevention Program to Reduce Residential Break and Entering | Selden, P. (1978). Using a Neighborhood Crime Prevention Program to Reduce Residential Break and Entering | The neighborhood watch scheme achieved a 26 percent reduction in residential burglary in a 10 month period in the target area. Incapacitiation of chronic burglars by police resulted in even greater reductions. |
| Safer Towns and Cities Housebreaking Reduction Project Evaluation Report | Taplin, S., W. Fletcher, D. Mckenzie, and B. Flaherty (2001). Safer Towns and Cities Housebreaking Reduction Project Evaluation Report | All burglaries decreased in Ashfield and Mid North Coast LACs by 22.1 and 6.9 percent, respectively. Residential burglaries reduced by 28.8% and 8.9% in those same areas, respectively. Statewide burglary rates decreased 10 percent. |