A Place Management Approach to Promote Evidence-Based Crime Prevention

Abstract

Abstract Crime is highly concentrated among people and places. It is critical that police and other policymakers understand the causal mechanisms responsible for this phenomenon, so that scarce resources will be allocated to the prevention strategies most likely to reduce crime. This chapter seeks to explain these mechanisms and promote more place-focused, evidence-based crime prevention. It summarizes a large body of evidence showing that a few places generate most crime, and that place management practices can account for these unequal crime distributions. Drawing from this literature, a theory to explain persistent violent hot spots is offered. This theory uses a place typology known as CS4 to explain the role and significance of less visible crime-involved places. The theory explains how four place types create larger place networks that underlie persistent hot spots. A strategy, Place Network Investigations, designed to disrupt place networks and achieve long-term crime reductions by improving place management, is presented. This strategy and its associated theory suggest new directions for crime prevention research and practice.