Value for money? A review of the costs and benefits of situational crime prevention

In recent years, in the United Kingdom and other industrialized countries, there has been a growing interest in the economic costs and benefits of eff orts to prevent crime. Little is Known, however, about the economic value o f the principal strategies. This paper reviews the costs and benefits of si tuational crime prevention. Thirteen situational crime prevention studies p ermitted the calculation of benefit to cost ratios, enabling an assessment of programme efficiency. In general benefits were calculated more conservat ively than costs. There were no consistent relationships between the studie s' benefit-cost ratios and either the primary intervention technique employ ed or the primacy crime targeted by the intervention. Current Knowledge sug gests that situational prevention can be an economically efficient strategy for the reduction of crime. However, future evaluations need better design s, more adequate estimates of costs and benefits and longer follow-up perio ds.