Challenging perspectives on crime and crime policy

The purpose of the research is to explain the determinants of crime and to identify the implications for crime reduction policy and the operation of the police and criminal justice system.

The main findings from the research are:

Dr Bandyopadhyay found that an increase in crime detection by the police has an unambiguous impact in lowering crime rates and so is an important deterrent.

Further findings of the research saw the relationship between prison sentencing and crime rates is complex. Prison sentences are lower for some categories, e.g. fraud and forgery, but not for others, e.g. theft and handling. An important finding showed short sentences do not necessarily deter crime and in fact may even increase it as prison introduces inmates to criminal networks leading to greater crime opportunities once out of prison. For serious crimes, sentences may need to be longer; longer sentences deter would be criminals and keep hardened criminals away from the public.

Research showed socio-economic factors like inequality, employment and wages have a less clear-cut role on variation in crime rates as changes in these factors affect both costs and benefits of crime, making the net effect ambiguous. Further, socio-economic factors affect crime differently across high and low crime areas; for example, the impact of unemployment in increasing crime is strongest in high crime areas.

Innovative measures like citizen reporting can be counterproductive since without adequate training in crime detection, citizens may misread innocent activity as criminal and thus waste police resources by directing attention towards them. This leaves fewer resources to solve actual crimes and criminals can take advantage of citizens misreporting crime by generating false reports. Citizen bias about some groups having higher crime rates can be selfperpetuating i.e. an initial bias can become true. If citizens are known for their bias towards a group, law enforcement treats reports about that group less seriously. The group in question recognises that reports about them will be investigated less thoroughly and would therefore have more incentives to commit crime. Thus the initial bias against them leads to higher crime.

Following the research findings, we were able to achieve positive changes in local health and social care policy and practice that directly responded to the concerns and experiences of older.

The findings have helped enhance the knowledge and practice at national and local levels which in turn helped develop approaches that researchers and service commissioners and providers can employ to involve marginalised older people in research and service development and promoted the citizenship of older people through their participation as co-researchers. Enhanced strategies for supporting practitioners and service providers to access and utilise research findings.