Year: 2019
Type: review
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: Focused deterrence is associated with moderate reductions in crime 1.1.1| The review in brief A relatively small number of people, often involved in gangs and criminally-active groups, are responsible for a disproportionate share of crime.Focused deterrence strategies attempt to reduce offending behavior for specific types of crime.Our review suggests that these strategies are associated with moderate overall reductions in crime.Crime is not displaced to other areas, rather it is more likely that there is a diffusion of crime control benefits to adjacent areas and socially-connected groups of offenders. | What is this review about?Crime is highly concentrated amongst a small number of highly-active offenders.Focused deterrence strategies combine law enforcement, community mobilization, and social services in an attempt to reduce offending behavior for specific crime types.A key feature of this crime control strategy involves the direct communications of the consequences of continued criminal offending and the availability of social services to targeted subjects.This review examines whether focused deterrence reduces crime and considers how observed crime reduction effects may vary by the different types of focused deterrence strategies and program evaluation designs.What is the aim of this review?This Campbell systematic review examines the effects of focused deterrence on crime.The review summarizes and analyzes results from 24 quasi-experimental evaluations of focused deterrence interventions, including 12 programs targeting criminally active gangs or groups, nine programs targeting open-air drug markets, and three programs targeting high-risk individual offenders.All but one of the studies are from the United States.1.3 | What studies are included?A total of 24 studies of focused deterrence interventions were identified.All studies were published from 2001 to 2015.Twentythree studies were conducted in the United States and one in Scotland.None of the identified studies used a randomized controlled trial design.
Source: Campbell Systematic Reviews
DOI: 10.1002/cl2.1051
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2972699353