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Crime prevention

Situational Approaches to Making Communities and Correction Institutions Safer

June 2010

NIJ Conference panelists will present the results of three studies that applied situational crime prevention (SCP) principles: (1) an evaluation of the Safe City initiative in Chula Vista, Calif., designed to combine the expertise and resources of local law enforcement, retailers and the community to increase the safety of designated retail areas; (2) a randomized controlled trial (in partnership with the Washington Metro Transit Police) that assessed the effectiveness of SCP to reduce car crime in Metro's parking facilities; and (3) an evaluation of the impact of SCP

Sex Offenders in the Community: Post-Release, Registration, Notification and Residency Restrictions

May 2010

The management of sexual offenders in the community post-release is an issue of increasing concern to law enforcement, policymakers and the public. In recent years, efforts to strengthen registration and notification have been enhanced. At the same time, comparatively little attention has been paid to related matters, such as how residency restrictions may impact offenders' efforts to find stable work and living arrangements once they are released from prison, whether rates of recidivism have changed, and whether these policies increase the safety of potential victims.

Crime Prevention

NIJ performs research in and evaluations of many specific types of crime prevention strategies — from more traditional crime, such as gun crime and child abuse, to emerging crime, such as identity theft and human trafficking.

On this page, find links to articles, awards, events, publications, and multimedia related to crime prevention.

Crime File: Neighborhood Safety

January 1985

One of the series of videos from the 'Crime File' public affairs program, this video on neighborhood safety mainly uses a panel interview to describe, evaluate, and identify success factors for police-citizen crime prevention programs; programs considered include citizen patrol, block watch, police 'storefront' services, and police door-to-door contact with citizens.