The Crime-Crime Prevention Relationship: A Manchester Case Study

Abstract

Crime data analysis and the identification of crime ‘hotspots’ are now commonplace in police forces and local authorities in Britain. Significantly less attention has been paid to the systematic collection and analysis of data on crime prevention. This reflects a preoccupation with the problems (crime, anti-social behaviour) and the context in which they occur (areas with poor natural surveillance, known crime generators) but a lack of attention to the attributes of the response (what is being done where, when and in what dosage). This paper breaks new ground by relating a crime problem, domestic burglary, to a burglary-prevention intervention (Target Hardening) using data for the City of Manchester. The results show a degree of mismatch between allocation of crime prevention and concentrations of burglary. The implications for further research and developments in this area are discussed.