Crime Prevention

What is it and how do you measure it?

How do you measure crime that didn’t happen? Tough question. You could look at a reduction in incidents but is that really accurate? Statistics are notoriously easy to manipulate in either direction. For example, an organization redefined what counted as a robbery or an assault and the numbers went down. I’m not saying this happens everywhere or with these particular crimes but it does happen. An old adage of “What gets measured gets done” remains in force today.

Another View

Maybe you’re familiar with the concept of inputs, outputs and outcomes. Inputs and outputs are all of your resources and infrastructure and outcomes are the desired end result. You don’t necessarily want more arrests (outputs) but you do want people to feel safer (outcome). Why do they feel safer - maybe it’s a combo of officer presence and visibility, arrests and a general reduction in types of incidents. These inputs and outputs can lead to a perception of feeling safer. Of course this is one example and very generalized but you get the concept.

So how do you measure perception

This is where surveys and polls come in along with your agency statistics. And you shouldn’t be surprised that these things take time to move the needle. Major incidents can be major impacts to scores. It’s a long-term strategy for moving forward that doesn’t rely solely on arresting more people every year. You as a leader need to be well-versed so you can communicate these concepts to the appropriate groups. This concept applies to private security as well as a metropolitan police department. There are no easy answers or quick fixes. Long-term strategic planning coupled with high-level commitment and buy-in is a solid, viable objective.