Assessing the effectiveness and economic benefits of an integrated developmental and situational crime prevention programme

Accumulated research over the last decade has shown that preventive strateg ies which address the 'root causes' or scientifically identified risk facto rs for delinquency or later offending (developmental prevention) or which r educe opportunities for crime (situational prevention) hold much promise in reducing crime. The economic benefits of these strategies have also been s hown to be substantial. In most industrialised countries, particularly Engl and and Wares, situational prevention dominates governmental crime preventi on policy and local practice; little attention is paid to developmental pre vention. This paper assesses the feasibility, crime reduction potential, an d economic efficiency of integrating developmental and situational crime pr evention strategies. A review of the theoretical research on the integratio n of these two strategies suggests that integration is feasible. Using prev iously identified studies which had produced high positive benefit to cost ratios (the Ferry and Kirkholt studies), preliminary conclusions are drawn about the effectiveness and economic benefits of an integrated developmenta l and situational crime prevention programme. Each method appears to comple ment the other in the time frame of impact on crime; an integrated programm e appears to yield a greater level of economic efficiency than the individu al strategies; and an integrated programme may produce important benefits f or other sectors of society (e.g., health and education).