Production and dissemination of scientific evidence in primary crime prevention: From theory to practice and vice-versa through researcher–practioner collaboration

Abstract

While specialists in psychology deal with offenders and juvenile delinquents in tertiary crime prevention, in primary crime prevention non-specialists in psychology, such as police officers and government officials, deal with potential victims in the general public. Therefore, the concept of translational criminology, which translates and conveys expertise and theories of criminal psychology to nonspecialists, is important in primary crime prevention. In addition, because primary crime prevention can employ multiple types of interventions to resolve a single crime problem, it is necessary to evaluate the evidence of intervention effectiveness in coping with crime. Based on the above discussion, this study first argues for the importance of routine activity/lifestyle theory in primary crime prevention by examining empirical studies conducted in Japan. Second, this study argues that the natural experimental paradigm is an alternative framework to randomized controlled trials. Third, this study surveys the evidence distribution mechanisms in the U.S. and the U.K.: CrimeSolutions.gov of the National Institute of Justice, and the Crime Reduction Toolkit of the College of Policing. Finally, this study proposes two strategies for producing and disseminating theories and evidence on crime prevention: the use of logic models and collaboration between researchers and practitioners.