Understanding Crime Prevention: The Case Study Approach

Edited by Tim Prenzler

The University of the Sunshine Coast



Crime prevention benefits everyone, including would-be criminals saved from the negative consequences of offending. Yet much of today's policy on preventing crime is driven by political ideology and anecdotal evidence, with insufficient planning and evaluation. Improving the practice of crime prevention is vital to ensure communities are safe and productive for all who live in them. However, crime is complex, the causes of crime are complex and, consequently, diverse methods are required to make the very large reductions in offending urgently needed around the world.

This book contributes to improved practice in crime prevention, primarily through the lessons from successful projects. It provides an overview of current research in the field, and an exposition of some of the best case-studies from the past - including in the areas of property crime, fraud, violence and disorder - which demonstrate large-scale successes in prevention.
The book is a must-read for security practitioners, crime prevention and community safety officers, police, research and policy officers, politicians, and students and academics in the field.

Featuring an impressive list of contributors, Understanding Crime Prevention covers a wide spectrum of topics and approaches, designed to address crime problems from multiple angles.

These include:

• standards in crime prevention

• policing, deterrence and incapacitation

• offender management and rehabilitation

• developmental interventions

• community-based prevention

• situational crime prevention

• crime prevention through environmental design

• security management

• physical security and people management, and

• the security industry.






for web, tablet, phone, or ereader
available for Android, iPhone/iPad

Install the Google Play Books app
for Android and Apple devices.


About the Author

 Mary Baker is a Lecturer in Criminology and Justice at the University of the

Sunshine Coast, Australia.

 Lyndel Bates is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Criminology and Criminal

Justice at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.

 David Belsham is a Research Officer with the School of Criminology and

Criminal Justice at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.

 Philip Birch is a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Law & Justice at Charles

Sturt University, formerly of Western Sydney University.

 Rick Draper is the Chief Executive Officer of Amtac Professional Services, as

security consulting firm based in Brisbane, Australia.

 Jacqueline Drew is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Criminology and

Criminal Justice at Griffith University.

 Matt Manning is an Associate Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences,

Australian National University, Canberra.

 Nadine McKillop is a Lecturer in Criminology and Justice at the University

of the Sunshine Coast.

 Mateja Mihinjac is a Tutor and PhD student in the School of Criminology

and Criminal Justice at Griffith University.

 Toby Miles-Johnson is a Lecturer in Criminology in the School of Sociology

and Social Policy at the University of Southampton.

 Tim Prenzler is a Professor of Criminology and Justice at the University of

the Sunshine Coast.

 Danielle Reynald is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Criminology and

Criminal Justice at Griffith University.

 Jessica Ritchie is a PhD student in the School of Law, University of

Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.

 Rick Sarre is a Professor in the School of Law, University of South Australia,

Adelaide.

 Eric Wilson is a Tutor in Criminology and Justice at the University of the

Sunshine Coast.

 Gabriel T. W. Wong is a Research Associate in the Centre for Social Research

and Methods at the Australian National University.

Table of Contents

  • About the Authors
  • Preface
  • 1. Crime Prevention: Setting Standards
Lyndel Bates, David Belsham, and Toby Miles-Johnson
  • 2. Policing, Deterrence and Incapacitation
Jacqueline M. Drew
  • 3. Offender Management and Rehabilitation
Mary Baker and Nadine McKillop
  • 4. Developmental Interventions
Gabriel T.W. Wong and Matthew Manning
  • 5. Community-based Prevention
Philip Birch and Tim Prenzler
  • 6. The Evolution of Situational Crime Prevention
Tim Prenzler and Eric Wilson
  • 7. Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design: Evolution, Theory and Practic
Mateja Mihinjac and Danielle Reynald
  • 8. Reducing Property Crime and Fraud: Twelve Case Studies
Tim Prenzler
  • 9. Reducing Violence and Disorder: Seven Case Studies
Tim Prenzler and Mateja Mihinjac
  • 10. Principles of Security Management
Rick Draper, Jessica Ritchie, and Tim Prenzler
  • 11. Best Practice in Physical Security and People Management
Rick Draper, Jessica Ritchie, Eric Wilson, and Tim Prenzler
  • 12. The Security Industry and Crime Prevention
Tim Prenzler and Rick Sarre