Gating Alleys to Reduce Crime: A Meta-Analysis and Realist Synthesis

Sidebottom, Aiden; Tompson, Lisa; Thornton, Amy; Bullock, Karen; Tilley, Nick; Bowers, Kate; Johnson, Shane D.

doi:10.1080/07418825.2017.1293135

Cited by 41 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 52 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Unfortunately, many of the key principles to conducting a proper evaluation such as a thorough understanding of: (1) context, the setting in which an intervention is implemented; (2) mechanisms, how the planned intervention is meant to work; and (3) outcomes, the practical effects produced by causal mechanisms that have been triggered are largely absent from the conservation research that has focused on crime. While it is difficult to operationalize these three concepts within an impact evaluation, Johnson et al (2015) recently developed mnemonic, EMMIE, seeks to organize the various evidential components required for decision makers to optimize the selection of interventions (see also Sidebottom and Bullock 2017). As outlined by Johnson et al (2015), the EMMIE framework refers to: E the overall effect direction and size (alongside major unintended effects) of an intervention and the confidence that should be placed on that estimate M the mechanisms/mediators activated by the policy, practice or program in question M the moderators/contexts relevant to the production/non-production of intended and major unintended effects of different sizes I the key sources of success and failure in implementing the policy, practice or program E the economic costs (and benefits) associated with the policy, practice or program (p. 463).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wildlife crime: a conceptual integration, literature review, and methodological critique

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Wildlife crime, including poaching and wildlife trafficking, threaten the existence of particular species. To date, research on wildlife crime has been primarily conducted by those with backgrounds in the biological sciences, however crime scientists, have much to offer in examining wildlife crimes. With this in mind, we aim to highlight general principals of crime science found through an in-depth review of the conservation literature. More specifically, to determine if, and how, different types of wildlife crimes cluster, to identify the existence of interventions for which the mechanisms mirror those found within SCP, and consider their effectiveness. Our review suggests that various types of wildlife crimes concentrate in time and space, among products, along certain routes, and at particular facilities. Further, some overlap exists between mechanisms used to mitigate more traditional crimes and those used to prevent wildlife crimes and protect threatened species. Of note are the attempts by those in the conservation community to increase the risk of crime, remove excuses for non-compliance of rules, and reduce provocations that contribute to particular types of wildlife crime. Given this overlap crime scientists may be able to collaborate with conservationists to draw on the extensive knowledge base of prevention studies to identify potential interventions, analyze their implementation, and evaluate the overall impact of an intervention.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wildlife crime: a conceptual integration, literature review, and methodological critique

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Of those 27 studies, 18 explicitly referred to how tagging is expected to operate. This is a high proportion compared to other realist reviews of crime prevention interventions (see van der Knaap et al 2008;Sidebottom et al 2017). To illustrate, a study that we coded as alluding to tag-related mechanisms might refer to tags producing a deterrent effect.…”

Section: References To Mechanisms In the Tagging Literature Reviewedmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on previous realist reviews in criminology (van der Knaap et al 2008), it was felt that insisting on this more stringent threshold would be too restrictive and result in the exclusion of potentially informative studies.…”

Section: Criteria For Considering Studies For This Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This involved a wider range of primary studies, including but not limited to those evaluative studies that were eligible for meta-analyses, being read, coded and discussed with the aim of formulating working theories on the causal processes through and conditions under which alley gates may produce their observed effects. In this review, consistent with Johnson et al (2015) and Sidebottom et al (2017), we adopt a mixed-methods approach.…”

Section: Emmie and Our Approach To Systematic Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A systematic review of tagging as a method to reduce theft in retail environments

Sidebottom¹,

Thornton²,

Tompson³

et al. 2017

Crime Sci

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Retailers routinely use security tags to reduce theft. Presently, however, there has been no attempt to systematically review the literature on security tags. Guided by the acronym EMMIE, this paper set out to (1) examine the evidence that tags are effective at reducing theft, (2) identify the key mechanisms through which tags are expected to reduce theft and the conditions that moderate tag effectiveness, and (3) summarise information relevant to the implementation and economic costs of tagging. Methods:In this mixed-methods review, we performed systematic keyword searches of the published and unpublished literature, hand searched relevant journals, conducted forward and backward citation searches and consulted with four retailers. Studies were included if they reported an explicit goal of reducing the theft or shrinkage of items through the use of security tags in retail environments. Results:We identified 50 eligible studies, eight of which reported quantitative data on the effectiveness of tags in retail environments. Across these eight studies, five showed positive results associated with the introduction of tags, but heterogeneity in the type of tag and reported outcome measures precluded a meta-analysis. We identified three mechanisms through which tags might plausibly reduce theft-increase the risks, reduce the rewards, increase the effort-which were found to vary by tag type, and their activation dependent on five broad categories of moderator: retail store and staff, customers (including shoplifters), tag type, product type, and the involvement of the police and criminal justice system. Implementation challenges documented in the literature related mainly to staffing issues and tagging strategy. Finally, although estimates are available on the costs of tagging, our searches identified no highquality published economic evaluations of tagging. Conclusions:Through applying the EMMIE framework this review highlighted the complexity involved in security tagging in retail environments, whereby different kinds of tags are expected to reduce theft through different casual mechanisms which are dependent on a distinctive configuration of conditions. Based on the available evidence it is difficult to determine the effectiveness of tags as a theft reduction measure, albeit there is suggestive evidence that more visible tags are associated with greater reductions in theft than less visible tags.© The Author(s) 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

show abstract

“…These dimensions encapsulate the types of evidence studies might provide which could inform improved decision-making (Sidebottom et al 2017) and were designed to give consideration to a broader range of issues, pertinent to crime prevention practitioners and policymakers (Johnson et al 2015). This approach to the systematic review in practice required a broader extraction of data, in addition to the more traditional estimates of effect, to uncover evidence across these dimensions and to reveal research and knowledge gaps in the primary studies and the evidence base.…”

Section: Emmie Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal security alarms for the prevention of assaults against healthcare staff

et al. 2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Personal security alarms have been used to try to reduce violence against healthcare staff, some of whose members face relatively high risks of assault. This systematic review focused on the effect of alarms in reducing the incidence and/or severity of assaults.Methods: Electronic databases, including Cochrane Library, Ovid MEDLINE(R); CINAHL Plus (EBSCO); PubMed; PsycINFO (OvidSP) PsycEXTRA; Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ProQuest) (1987 to current); Criminal Justice Abstracts (EBSCOhost); Psychology and Behavioural Science Collection (EBSCOhost); Social Policy and Practice (OvidSP) Sociological Abstracts; ProQuest theses and dissertations, were searched. Study designs eligible for inclusion were randomised controlled trials, interrupted time series and controlled before-after studies that assessed the impact of personal security alarms on assaults. Searches were undertaken for studies of healthcare staff in all settings (i.e. including staff working in confined spaces such as hospitals and also field personnel such as community health workers). Workplace violence between colleagues (lateral violence and bullying) and other uses of personal alarms (e.g. fall alarms for the elderly, domestic violence prevention) were excluded. Search results were screened by title, abstracts and keywords for possible inclusion. Full text reports for all potentially relevant studies were obtained and independently assessed for final inclusion. The primary outcome was physical assaults (recorded or self-reported). Secondary outcomes included increased confidence or self-efficacy in violence prevention (recorded or self-reported). Main results:No studies were found that met all inclusion criteria. Four reported associations of personal alarms (and other variables) with risks of assault in healthcare settings. These were described narratively. Conclusions:Healthcare workers in emergency departments, psychiatric units and geriatric facilities face much higher risks of assault than those in other healthcare settings. Alarm systems vary widely. Alarm systems form one of a range of measures, which may interact with one another, that are used to reduce the risks of assault. Given this complexity and diversity, prior to field trials EMMIE orientated efficacy trials are recommended to try to establish whether alarms can be introduced and operated in ways that can contribute to reducing assaults in specific high-risk settings. In relation to findings relating to any given intervention, EMMIE refers to effects produced, mechanisms activated to produce the effects, moderators or contexts relevant to the activation of mechanisms, implementation issues that arise, and economic costs and benefits.

show abstract

Gating Alleys to Reduce Crime: A Meta-Analysis and Realist Synthesis

Cited by 41 publications

References 52 publications

Wildlife crime: a conceptual integration, literature review, and methodological critique

Wildlife crime: a conceptual integration, literature review, and methodological critique

A systematic review of tagging as a method to reduce theft in retail environments

Personal security alarms for the prevention of assaults against healthcare staff

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About