Crime prevention efforts need to be properly evaluated to ensure that resource allocation and policies are based on empirical evidence rather than anecdotal truths. Along with my colleagues, we conducted a quasi-experimental impact evaluation of a crime preventive initiative in a disadvantaged neighborhood, tracking changes over a seven-year period. This study, presented at the European Society of Criminology conference in Florence in September 2023, is a mixed-methods research project. It was designed to assess how a crime preventive initiative can influence residents’ fear of crime, visible signs of neighborhood decay (local disorder), and informal social control and cohesion among residents (collective efficacy).
The initiative we evaluated was led by a property owner organization which formed a collaboration with the police, local municipality, and local NGOs to improve the neighborhood, which had been disadvantaged for many years. Before the project began in 2014, the area faced several challenges, including open drug scenes, deteriorating buildings, poor property management, and reckless driving among other issues. The organization initiated several activities, such as establishing a cleaning patrol, improving the physical environment by removing overgrown bushes, adding public artwork, and offering social activities in the town square.
To assess any changes, we used an annual quantitative community survey that showed a reduction in residents’ fear of crime and a decrease in local disorder after the organization was implemented. A similar trend of reduced fear of crime and disorder was also observed in the control group, which consisted of other disadvantaged neighborhoods in the city.
Qualitative interviews with key informants who had local knowledge of the neighborhood indicated that, seven years after the intervention, crime, fear of crime, and local disorder had decreased, while collective efficacy had increased. The interviews also revealed that the property owner organization played a significant role in improving collaboration between the various entities involved. However, the results also showed that the neighborhood is still vulnerable, and it is difficult to isolate the organization’s impact, especially since other initiatives were occurring at the same time within the neighborhood.
Overall, the results suggest that the neighborhood has improved since the organization was implemented. Fear of crime and visible disorder are lower, and, as one key informant stated, “the residents have reclaimed the neighborhood.” However, as is often the case in social science research, attributing these improvements solely to the organization’s efforts is challenging, especially when compared to the control neighborhoods which also had other ongoing crime preventive initiatives. However, rigorous research designs can provide empirical evidence that enables policymakers to make more informed decisions regarding crime prevention efforts. The evaluation of the project was designed and run by associate professor Anna-Karin Ivert and PhD Karl Kronkvist at Malmö University.
You can read more about the project here (mau.se).
About the author
Jennie Di Rocco is a PhD candidate at the Department of Criminology at Malmö University. Her PhD project concerns how urban neighborhoods develop over time in regard to crime and fear of crime.
Contact info: jennie.di-rocco@mau.se