Linden & Chaturvedi (2005) The Need for Comprehensive Crime Prevention Planning: The Case of Motor Vehicle Theft

Abstract

Most crime prevention programs are poorly planned and implemented, and therefore do little of nothing to prevent crime. Those responsible for the programs rarely undertake a careful analysis of their community’s problems, and programs are often implemented because they are fashionable rather than because they have been shown to be successful. In fact, communities that have been able to make meaningful reductions in crime rates have done so by taking a comprehensive approach to crime prevention in which they implement an integrated series of programs that coordinate the efforts of a broad range of partners and participants. This article illustrates how this process can be applied to the prevention of motor vehicle theft.