By RESDAL

A complex index measuring the weight of three key factors for daily security: homicides, road traffic deaths, and robbery.

Latin American Security And Defence Network. Buenos Aires and Montevideo. 2001. 10P.

By Franklin Zimring

The forty-percent drop in crime that occurred across the U.S. from 1991 to 2000 remains largely an unsolved mystery. Even more puzzling is the eighty-percent drop over nineteen years in New York City. Twice as long and twice as large, it is the largest crime decline on record. In The City That Became Safe, Franklin E. Zimring seeks out the New York difference through a comprehensive investigation into the city's falling crime rates. The usual understanding is that aggressive police created a zero-tolerance law enforcement regime that drove crime rates down. Is this political sound bite true-are the official statistics generated by the police accurate? Though zero-tolerance policing and quality-of-life were never a consistent part of the NYPD's strategy, Zimring shows the numbers are correct and argues that some combination of more cops, new tactics, and new management can take some credit for the decline That the police can make a difference at all in preventing crime overturns decades of conventional wisdom from criminologists, but Zimring also points out what most experts have missed: the New York experience challenges the basic assumptions driving American crime- and drug-control policies. New York has shown that crime rates can be greatly reduced without increasing prison populations. New York teaches that targeted harm reduction strategies can drastically cut down on drug related violence even if illegal drug use remains high. And New York has proven that epidemic levels of violent crime are not hard-wired into the populations or cultures of urban America. This careful and penetrating analysis of how the nation's largest city became safe rewrites the playbook on crime and its control for all big cities.

Oxford, UK; New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. 272p.

By Garth Davies

Public housing projects, both in their structural design and sociodemographic make-up, constitute “neighborhoods.” Informal social control theory suggests that certain social factors differentially affect a neighborhood’s ability to regulate aspects of residential life, including crime. Public housing neighborhoods do not, however, exist in a vacuum; they are integral parts of their surrounding environments. Neighborhoods adjacent to public housing areas are likely to be affected by its proximity. At the same time, public housing is also reciprocally influenced by its immediate neighbors. Spatial autocorrelation analysis provides evidence of spatial patterning of crime in public housing and public housing neighborhoods. Generalized estimating equations reveal the presence of both outward and inward diffusion that is sometimes, but not always, mediated by socio-structural factors. The findings suggest that policies premised on deconcentration and decentralization would reduce crime in, and otherwise benefit, both public housing neighborhoods and surrounding communities.

El Paso, TX: LFB Scholarly Publishing, 2006. 200p.

By Ralph Taylor

This book uses data on recent Baltimore (Maryland) crime-reduction efforts to attack the "broken windows" thesis, which is the currently popular notion that by reducing or eliminating superficial signs of disorder (dilapidated buildings, graffiti, uncivil behavior by teenagers, etc.), urban police departments can make significant and lasting reductions in crime.

The author examines three ways that "urban life" is eroded: through increasing neighborhood crime, through decreasing neighborhood quality, and by affecting residents' views about their neighborhood and their neighborhood safety. The statistical models that examine these outcomes draw on three broad areas of empirical and theoretical work: new urban sociology, human ecology, and views about neighborhood quality and safety. Specific chapters describe the work and theorizing in each of these areas in detail. The author argues that the measures for reducing urban crime touted in the "broken windows" thesis, while useful, are only a partial solution to neighborhood crime. The data from Baltimore's crime-reduction efforts support a materialist view, i.e., changes in levels of physical decay, superficial social disorder, and racial composition do not lead to more crime, but economic decline does increase crime rates. The book contends that the Baltimore example shows that in order to make real, long-term crime reductions, urban politicians, businesses, and community leaders must cooperate to improve the economic fortunes of those living in high-crime areas.

Boulder, CO: Westview Publishing, 2000. 407p.

By Ruth Peterson and Lauren Krivo

More than half a century after the first Jim Crow laws were dismantled, the majority of urban neighborhoods in the United States remain segregated by race. The degree of social and economic advantage or disadvantage that each community experiences—particularly its crime rate—is most often a reflection of which group is in the majority. As Ruth Peterson and Lauren Krivo note in Divergent Social Worlds, “Race, place, and crime are still inextricably linked in the minds of the public.” This book broadens the scope of single-city, black/white studies by using national data to compare local crime patterns in five racially distinct types of neighborhoods. Peterson and Krivo meticulously demonstrate how residential segregation creates and maintains inequality in neighborhood crime rates.

New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2010. 184p.

By Clete Snell

Poor urban neighborhoods with high levels of disorder and fewer family and friendship networks have high levels of fear of crime. Finally, neighborhood disorder is a factor in explaining crime rates and fear of crime. These findings support Bursik and Grasmick’s Systemic Neighborhood Control Theory: that neighborhood differences in levels of crime and fear of crime result from variations in social control; neighborhood social control is a function of the quality and density of formal and informal networks.

El Paso, TX: LFB Scholarly Publishing, 2001. 168p.

By George Kikuchi

Thinking in spatial terms is essential in understanding crime and criminal behavior. By integrating newly developed statistical methods from interdisciplinary fields with social disorganization theory and routine activities theory, Kikuchi examines the spatial and temporal dynamics of crime at the neighborhood level. Statistical analyses consistently indicate that neighborhood characteristics are important predictors of the spatial distribution of crime, longitudinal trends of crime, and even criminal offenders target selection. Kikuchi endeavors to uncover the mechanism of how neighborhood characteristics produce crime-conducive environments. He advances the reader's understanding of dynamic interactions between neighborhood structures and crime based on the empirical analysis of the spatial and temporal aspects of crime.

El Paso, TX: LFB Scholarly Publishing, 2010. 215p.

By Bundeskriminalamt (Federal Criminal Police Office)

The Police Crime Statistics of Germany (PCS) are compiled on the basis of the individual data sets at the “Länder” Criminal Police Offices (LKÄ) and at the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA, Federal Criminal Police Office). Some statistics prior to 2013 are also available. International crime statistics also available.

By Research And Training Institute Ministry Of Justice of Japan

Annual White Papers report statistics of criminal justice system, crime, prisons, offenses and various definitions and legislative statements concerning crime and criminal justice. Some White papers are in pdf form, but most are html on the web site.

By Ifeanyi Ezeonu

Building on original research into the petroleum industry and on the theory of crimes of globalization, this book introduces the concept of Market Criminology: the criminology of preventable market-generated harms and the criminogenic effects of market rationality in variegated forms of capitalism. Ifeanyi Ezeonu explores the ascendance of the fundamentalist form of market economy in Nigeria; the complicity of the state political and security apparatuses in the corporate expropriation of the country’s petroleum resource wealth; the deleterious effects of this neoliberal architecture on the local population; as well as community resistance strategies over the years. This book offers a major contribution to research on state-corporate crime and the crimes of the powerful. Key reading for scholars and students in the areas of criminology, international political economy and sociology, this book will also be a rich resource for researchers and non-governmental agencies working in the areas of environmental protection, human rights and sustainable development in the Global South, especially Sub-Saharan Africa

Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon; New York: Routledge, 2018. 173p.

By Claire Hamilton

This book considers the impact of post 9/11 counter-terrorism laws outside of the counter-terrorism context, a process described here as ‘contagion’. It does so via a detailed empirical examination of the impact of counter-terrorism measures on the criminal justice systems of three selected EU countries with varying histories and experience of terrorism, namely, the UK, France and Poland. In particular, the book explores the synergistic relationship between counter-terrorism measures and control measures aimed at ‘ordinary’ crimes and asks what the implications are for the direction of travel of the criminal law in general. It probes the hegemonic power of terrorism and the securitisation agenda more broadly and discusses the implications for criminology as a discipline – does it, for example, have a role in social contestation of contagion? This book will be suitable for academics and students interested in political violence, terrorism and counterterrorism as well as practitioners and experts working in the area.

Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK; New York:, Palgrave Macmillan, 2019. 172p.

By Courtney R. Semisch, Kristen Sharp and Alyssa Purdy

This report provides information on offenders sentenced under the Armed Career Criminal Act (hereinafter “the Act” or “the ACCA”)1 using data collected by the United States Sentencing Commission (the “Commission”). This report provides an overview of the ACCA and its implementation in the federal sentencing guidelines. It also includes information on offender and offense characteristics, criminal histories, and recidivism of armed career criminals.

Washington, DC; United States Sentencing Commission, 2021. 88p.

By Frederick Howard Brown

Empirical studies have attempted to measure the relative deprivation - crime relationship with varying degrees of success. These have generally focused on examining ‘actual relative deprivation’ by employing quantitative methods to aggregated, area based data. Operationalising actual relative deprivation in terms of disparities in household income, these studies have attempted to show a relationship between income inequality and crime at the area level. From this they have assumed that those with the lowest incomes are most likely to perceive relative deprivation and are therefore more likely to engage in crime as a result. However, few studies have examined actual and perceived relative deprivation at the individual level. This thesis set out to explore at the individual level whether those experiencing actual relative deprivation are more likely than others to perceive relative deprivation and to determine whether actual or perceived relative deprivation (if either) is a good predictor of criminality.

London: London School of Economics and Political Science, 2001. 494p.

By Rick Cummings

Operation Burglary Countdown is an innovative community-based crime reduction program operating in two pilot areas, Bentley and Morley. A comprehensive and independent evaluation study has shown that the model of integrating central and local resources through coordinated police and community activities has been well implemented and generated considerable community support. During 12 months of operation, the program has demonstrated its effectiveness in targeted hotspots by reducing residential burglary in Bentley and the surrounding area by over 40%, saving the community an estimated $700,000. Its lack of significant impact in Morley indicates it is best introduced only in identified hotspots

Perth: Office of Crime Prevention, Government of Western Australia, 2005. 65p.

By Andrew D. Newton, Michelle Rogerson and Alex Hirschfield

This paper explores the relationship between the allocation of target hardening and burglary risk based on recent research in the City of Liverpool. Individual property‐level data from a range of sources was collated for each residential property in the city using a unique property reference number. This produced a rich data set enabling burglary and target hardening activity to be analysed through time at both the individual property‐level and across a variety of spatial units (e.g. super output areas, wards and regeneration areas). The results highlight an imperfect alignment between target hardening and burglary risk locations largely attributable to the influence of Liverpool’s area based regeneration initiatives. The paper makes the case for prioritising properties for target hardening based on a combination of the prior burglary history of individual properties, the burglary risk of an area, and existing levels of target hardening protection.

Huddersfield, UK: University of Huddersfield, 2008. 25p.

By Timothy Coupe and Max Griffiths

Residential burglary can be regarded as one of the most serious crimes, since, as well as being one of the more common forms of criminal behaviour, it also intrudes into the home and damages feelings of personal security, peace of mind and well-being. Because of this, it often has an impact on its victims, and others who fear burglary, that is out of proportion to the value of the property that is stolen. It is, therefore, important that residential burglary detection rates should be improved. As well as reducing the numbers of existing offenders at large, this should also serve to deter others contemplating burglary. Fewer burglaries should also ease public anxiety, and moderate home insurance costs which have risen sharply during the last decade. The purpose of this research was to identify ways of improving burglary detection rates, while maintaining, and, where possible, improving the quality of service provided to victims by the police. It involved the study of police operations, the offenders, the victims and their perceptions, the burgled dwellings and the property stolen, and the residential environment. It was concerned with how the police allocate resources and time to the investigation of residential burglaries, and with assessing the relative contribution of proactive and reactive policing (Audit Commission, ACPO & HMIC, 1993) to their detection. The principal objective was to assess the scope for adjusting existing operational procedures in order to optimise human resource deployment and primary detection rates, without degrading the victim’s perception of police effectiveness. The findings illustrate how police actions during the course of burglary investigations influence the victims’ view of the service they provide and form the basis for recommending appropriate indicators for monitoring the quality of policing provision in terms of the service provided to victims.

London: Home Office, Police Research Group: 1996. 53p.

The first European Sourcebook project started in 1996. In that year the Council of Europe established a committee to prepare a compendium of crime and criminal justice data for its member states. Information was collected from 36 European countries covering the period 1990 to 1996. It included both statistical data and information on the statistical rules and the definitions behind these figures. The main publication that is produced in this way "European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics" was published first in 1999, and since then five editions were published. For the 4th edition that was published in 2010 and the 5th that was published in 2015, Asst. Prof. Galma Akdeniz (member of the Human Rights Law Research Center) collected crime and justice data for Turkey and thus contributed to the publication. More information about this project, databases that were formed as a part of the project, and its publications can be found on the European Sourcebook website.

By Tani Marilena Adams

The phenomenon of “non-conventional armed violence, which refers to the hybrid forms of organised violence that emerge outside or alongside traditional armed conflict, is best understood through a more systemic understanding of violence. Many groups and individuals identified as part of the “nonconventional” phenomenon form part of a larger, self-reproducing system of chronic violence. These systems are driven by a complex combination of structural factors and behaviours, cultures, and practices that undermine human development in predictable ways.

Oslo: Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre (NOREF), 2014. 11p.

By Justin Kotzé

The Myth of the ‘Crime Decline’ seeks to critically interrogate the supposed ­statistical decline of crime rates, thought to have occurred in a number of predominantly Western countries over the past two decades. Whilst this trend of declining crime rates seems profound, serious questions need to be asked. Data sources need to be critically interrogated, and context needs to be provided. This book seeks to do just that. This book examines the wider socio-economic and politico-cultural context within which this decline in crime is said to have occurred, highlighting the changing nature and landscape of crime and its ever deepening resistance to precise measurement. By drawing upon original qualitative research and cutting-edge criminological theory, this book offers an alternative view of the reality of crime and harm. In doing so it seeks to reframe the ‘crime decline’ discourse and provide a more accurate account of this puzzling ­contemporary phenomenon. Additionally, utilising a new theoretical framework developed by the author, this book begins to explain why the ‘crime decline’ discourse has been so readily accepted.

London: Routledge, 2019. 188p.

Edited by Christiana Gregoriou

Crime and criminals are a pervasive theme in all areas of our culture, including media, journalism, film and literature. This book explores how crime is constructed and culturally represented through a range of areas including Spanish, English Language and Literature, Music, Criminology, Gender, Law, Cultural and Criminal Justice Studies.

Cham: Springer, 2012. 256p.