Introduction

This briefing supports police and crime reduction partners to make evidence-based decisions about using situational crime prevention techniques to reduce neighbourhood crime (defined by the Home Office as domestic burglary, vehicle-related crime, theft from the person and robbery) (Home Office, 2020).

The paper provides a definition of situational crime prevention and the theories that underpin this approach, together with an overview of the factors that can influence neighbourhood crime and the interventions that can be used to address it.

This briefing summarises evidence presented in the Safer Streets Fund crime prevention toolkit. The Safer Streets Fund provides funding to hotspot areas in England and Wales that are disproportionately affected by neighbourhood crime. It is a Home Office fund that provided funding to police and crime commissioners in 2020/21 and 2021/22.

The toolkit, commissioned by the Home Office and developed by the College of Policing, provides details of the various situational crime prevention interventions that can be applied to neighbourhood crime, together with practical details on costs, sustainability and implementation.

Methodology

Evidence has been collated by searching for relevant literature, identifying key papers and reviewing the crime reduction toolkit.

Feedback was also obtained from an academic reference group containing subject matter experts. While this briefing is not intended to be a review of all relevant literature, or to contain a formal appraisal of evidence quality, members of the academic reference group are satisfied with the breadth of literature included.