University Consortium for Evidence-Based Crime Reduction

There is widespread agreement that social policies need to be based on strong evidence, to ensure they produce their intended outcomes whilst minimising unwanted side-effects, and that they are cost-effective. A total of six What Works Centres are planned, including one on Crime Reduction. This proposal is for a three year Partnership Programme to support the WWCCR within the College of Policing. It will feed into and feed off the work of the other five centres. The research will involve close collaboration with the College in shaping the agenda and in conducting some of the individual work packages. Although based at the College of Policing the research spans a wide area including: 1. Developmental and social prevention 2. Correctional interventions 3. Drug treatment interventions 4. Sentencing and deterrence 5. Community interventions 6. Situational prevention A University Consortium for Evidence-Based Crime Reduction with expertise covering these areas is being formed to deliver the programme. The consortium is intended to outlast this programme of work and to continue to build capacity for the creation and use of evidence to improve the effectiveness of social policies. Proposed academic partners include: UCL, Birkbeck, Cardiff, Dundee, the Institute of Education (IoE), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Surrey and Southampton. We hope over time to attract other universities into the consortium. There is now quite a lot of relevant research, but it is hard at present for practitioners to locate and make sense of this material. The research programme will start by drawing together existing reviews of crime reduction evidence, and identifying gaps. It will then conduct a further twelve original reviews to fill the most significant gaps. This is a major piece of work, and forms the core of the programme. We shall then develop methods for costing crime reduction interventions, devise simple ways of communicating the results of reviews to decision-makers, and apply these methods to the existing reviews and the new ones that we ourselves carried out. Additionally the programme will involve carrying out original research, as we expect there to be some major gaps in the evidence base. We shall also develop, deliver and assess a pilot programme to equip practitioners to understand, critique and make effective use of available research evidence. Finally, the programme includes provision to test the impact of the What Works Centre, and this element is to be undertaken independently of those involved in the other elements of the programme. Although the need for What Works evidence is widely acknowledged, there is disagreement about the best ways of carrying out evaluations, and of summarising evidence. We propose to draw on the main methods currently used both to synthesise evidence and to conduct evaluations. The reviews will not plump for any individual approach, but will tailor the approach to fit the nature of the available research that is being summarised. We aim to adopt a relatively inclusive approach that enables us to draw on a wide range of studies, provided that they reach acceptable levels of probity in speaking to What Works in crime reduction. It is crucial that the quality and relevance of evidence is understood by police decision makers; they need to apply the information in ways that are sensitive to local contexts and tailored to local circumstances. Much of the proposed work focuses on the development and piloting of tools to help them improve outcomes by making best use of available evidence. Determining what works to reduce crime in what might be very different contexts is a complex process, and requires thought and creativity on the part of users. Presenting evidence in a stimulating way to busy practitioners (ranging from police and probation to local authorities, health practitioners, community groups and industry) is a major challenge.