Books and Articles

This bibliography offers interesting reading on a wide range of topics of importance to those working to prevent crime.   They are offered to help shed light, pique interest, and augment local efforts.

GANGS

Street Gang Patterns and Policies.  Malcolm W. Klein and Cheryl L. Maxson.  New York:  Oxford University Press, 2006.  This up-to-date text by two veteran researchers on gang characteristics and crime patterns highlights gang behaviors and patterns, gang transformations, and successful (and less-than-successful) strategies for gang prevention.

“Opportunities Missed:  Montgomery County Gang Prevention Task Force.”  Jeffrey T. Wenner. Journal of Gang Research, Vol. 13, Issue 4. Summer 2006.   This detailed write-up of how gang task force work in this Maryland suburb of Washington, D.C. from one author’s perspective offers an analysis of problems, challenges, and lost opportunities. 

“Understanding and Preventing Gang Violence:  Problem Analysis and Response Development in Lowell, MA.”  Anthony A. Braga, Jack McDevitt, Glenn L. Pierce.  Police Quarterly, Volume 9, Issue1, March 2006.  This article describes why and how Lowell tackled homicide and serious nonfatal gun violence, using problem analysis, responses that drew on an interagency working group that reached into the community, and focused on prevention, intervention and enforcement as a necessary package.

National Gang Threat Assessment 2005 (CD ROM)  This electronic format presents the 2005 threat survey but combines it and its findings with a host of federally produced gang prevention and intervention resources.  Order through National Youth Gang Center, c/o Institute for Intergovernmental Research (www.irr.org/nygc) 

YOUTH

“Church Attendance or Religiousness;  Their Relationship to Adolescents’ Use of Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Delinquency,”  Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, Vol. 24, Issue 1/2, 2006.  Brent B. Benda, Sandra K Poke, and Kelly J. Kelleher.  Study of 3,551 seventh through ninth graders shows that personal and family religiousness, importance of religion, and belief in God were more direct measures of convictions and beliefs that likely influenced these youth than was church attendance

“Early Adolescent Delinquency:  Assessing the Role of childhood Problems, Family Environment, and Peer Pressure,” Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice Journal, Volume 4, Issue 4, October 2006.  Christopher J. Sullivan.  Peer pressure was found to be the most significant predictor of delinquent behavior in early adolescence, whereas family environment provided a protective effect.  This suggests that family-centered interventions are a productive strategy for prevention of delinquency.

Methamphetamine and Drug-Endangered Children:  Breaking the Cycle.  Wausau, WI:  Marathon County Sheriff’s Office, 2006.  (www.usacops.com/wi/s54403/index.html)  DVD promotes community awareness of dangers of the drug and its manufacture, its impact on users, and its effects on children who are housed in or near lab sites.

“What Works (and What Does Not) in Youth Violence Prevention:  Rethinking the Questions and Finding New Answers.”  Nancy Guerra, Paul Boxer, Clayton R. Cook.  New Directions for Evaluation, Issue 110, Summer 2006.  This article reflects on findings from an evaluation of a large-scale study of child aggression prevention in a metropolitan area.  It suggests that not just outcomes but also the factors that may influence them must be carefully studied. 

“Commentary on the Pitfalls and Pratfalls of Evaluation Research with Intervention and Prevention Programs,”: Karen L. Bierman, New Directions for Evaluation, Issue 110, Summer 2006.  This overview article highlights important considerations in evaluating youth violence prevention programs.  Distinctions are made between the design of a program and the strength of its application; between measuring prevention results and intervention results. 

“Delinquent Behavior, Violent Victimization, and Coping Strategies Among Latino Adolescents,”  Zina T. McGee, Asha Barber, Ebone Joseph, Jocelyn Dudley, Robyn Howell.  Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, Volume 42, Issue 3.  2005.  This study looks at differences between Latino and non-Latino youth in reported problems, both by gender and by age, suggesting that  tailoring by these criteria could address major differences among age and gender categories in the way youth react to violence. 

“School Resource Officer Programs:  Finding the Funding, Reaping the Benefits.”  Peter Finn.  FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, Volume 75, Issue 8, August 2006.  Benefits of the School Resource Officer program are outlined, including reduced patrol officer workload, improved juvenile perception of officers, positive relationship between law enforcement agency and schools; and enhanced agency reputation in community.  It also provides suggestions for funding such programs. 

DRUGS

Clandestine Meth Labs, 2nd edition.  Michael S. Scott and Kelly Dedel. Washington, DC:  COPS Office, U.S. Department of Justice, 2006.  www.cops.usdoj.gov/mime/open.pdf?item=274.  This guide provides excellent state and local perspective on handling the complex issue of searching out and seizing the clandestine labs for making methamphetamine, including the need for a communitywide multiagency approach. 

“Effects on High School Students of Teaching a Cross-Age Alcohol Prevention Program,” Alison Padget, Mary Lou Bell, Stephen R. Shamblen, Chris Ringwalt.  Journal of Drug Education, Volume 35, Issue 3, 2005. High school students who taught the Protecting You/Protecting Me curriculum produced by Mothers Against Drunk Driving made strides in their understanding of the effects of alcohol and actually reduced their drinking. 

COMMUNITY

New York City’s Gun Court Initiative.  Freda F. Solomon, New York City Criminal Justice Agency (www.ncyja.org), 2006. This evaluation outlines the successes and challenges of a widely applauded gun court in the nation’s most populous city. 

“Changing Nature of Public Space CCTV.” David Mackay.  Security Journal , Volume 19, Issue 2, 2006.  The author points out that CCTV has the capacity to provide many services in urban areas, beyond the customary surveillance and recording functions.  He suggests that 24-hour call-for-service help, monitoring for fire and accidents, and similar functions can be beneficially incorporated to enhance community safety. 

“Prevention, Crime Control, or Cash?  Public Preferences Towards Criminal Justice Spending.”  Mark A. Cohen, Roland T. Rust, Sara Steen.  Justice Quarterly, Volume 23, Issue 3, September 2006.  Using techniques from other public policy areas, the authors found that members of the public significantly supported spending more money on delinquency prevention, drug treatment for nonviolent offenders, and police.  They would even forego tax rebates if these were the areas in which funds were to be spent.  The authors point to these findings as strong support for prevention.

Power of Partnership:  Celebrating 10 years 1994-2003 Community Outreach Partnership Center.  Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2005.  This report highlights the many successes of community outreach partnership centers in reducing crime, delinquency, and other problems in urban communities.  One key to these partnerships is community/university partnerships at the local level. 

Burglary at Single-Family House Construction Sites.  Rachel Boba and Roberto Santos.  www.cops.usdoj.gov/mime/open.pdf?item=1761. This excellent guide looks at theft from single-family housing sites from the point of view of what builders can do to prevent or reduce them and what police officers can to do improve their response to such crimes. 

Understanding Community Justice Partnerships:  Testing a Conceptual Framework and Foundations for Measurement.  Caterina Gouvais Roman, Susan Jenkins, and Ashley Wolff.  Washington, DC:  The Urban Institute, 2006.  This study offers improved ways to document the success of community partnerships while also examining them as the dynamic processes that they are.  It provides a promising base for measuring the success of such working arrangements.

“Police Volunteers and Ethics,” Carol Schmidt, M.S.  FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, Volume 75, Issue 9, September 2006.  This thought-provoking article emphasizes the ethical standards that police volunteers need to follow as part of their duties.  It suggests areas of instruction that are necessary and areas of behaviors that need to be ruled out of bounds for volunteers from an ethical point of view. 

Ten Years of Balanced and Restorative Justice in Pennsylvania.  Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, Harrisburg, PA.  2006.  This thoughtful report documents the impact of the state’s decade of experience with adopting and promoting the balanced and restorative justice concepts. 

Motor Vehicle Theft:  Crime and Spatial Analysis in a Non-Urban Region.  Deborah Lamm Weisel, William R. Smith, G. David Garson, Alexi Pavlichev, Julie Wartell.  Washington, DC:  National Institute of Justice, 2006.  This instructive look at auto thefts in a four-county section of western North Carolina highlights the patterns that  may be unique to rural areas, noting clusters of such crimes and possible security measures to reduce thefts. 

“Leadership, Crime Prevention, and Community Outreach Programs.”  Police Chief, Volume 73, Issue 7, July 2006.  This article discusses ways to gain community support for law-enforcement led crime prevention, citing examples from around the country. It also looks at how the police must enlist citizens rather than allowing them to assume police alone can or should do the job.

“Fear of Crime and Criminal Victimizations:  Gender-Based Contrasts,” Joseph A. Schafer, Beth M. Huebner, Timothy S. Bynum.  Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 34, Issue 3, May/June 2006.  How women and men perceive fear and crime in their neighborhoods, how neighborhood satisfaction reduces fear, and other key points help put these two key concepts in a different light. 

“Daylight and Darkness Targeting Strategies and the Risks of Being Seen at Residential Burglaries.”  Timothy Coupe and Lawrence Blake.  Criminology, Volume 44, Issue 2, May 2006.  Burglars are more willing to risk daylight burglaries during the week.  Nighttime burglaries were seen as presenting less risk of being observed, even though homes were occupied.  

Clean Streets:  Controlling Crime, Maintaining Order, and Building Community Activism.  Patrick J. Carr.  New York:  New York University Press, 2005.  The author tells how a community on Chicago’s Southside had deteriorated but was stirred to action by the brutal gang murders of two teenage girls.  The community successfully rebuilt informal social control, operated a Neighborhood Watch patrol, and got police help in dealing with community trouble spots. 

“Community-Oriented Policing in a Retail Shopping Center.” Juli Jim, Fawn Ngo Mitchell, Douglas R. Kent.  Policing:  An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, Volume 29, Issue 1, 2006.  The police/business empowerment partnership caused community fear of gangs and crime dropping soon after its implementation.  Perceived levels of graffiti also dropped.  Several additional measures helped track success.  

SENIOR CITIZENS

Rise in Reported Elder Abuse:  A Review of State and National Data.  Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (www.icjia.state.il.us/) Chicago:  Author, 2005. This state statistical agency has taken leadership on state and national studies involving older Americans with this first study in a series.  Both types and targets of abuse are spelled out using a variety of national and state sources.

Partnering with Faith Communities to Provide Elder Fraud Prevention.  Office for Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice.  2006.   This 8-page report tells how the Denver, CO, district attorney’s office collaborated with more than 200 faith community partners to prevent and intervene in elder fraud cases.  The evaluation showed success and innovation in dealing with this difficult problem. 

TRAVEL

Secure and Tranquil Travel:  Preventing Crime and Disorder on Public Transport.  Martha J. Smith and Derek B. Cornish.  London:  Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science, 2006.  Overview of transportation safety offers suggestions on preventing such problems as anti-social behavior; assaults, thefts, and robberies against passengers; vandalism and graffiti; and damage to routes and rail lines. Rail, subway, and bus problems are reviewed, analyzed, and addressed. 

"Are Foreign Visitors More Likely Victimized in Hotels?  Policy Implications".  Jinlin Zhao and Taiping Ho.  Security Journal, Volume 19, Issue 1, 2006.  Examining hotel visitors to Miami, these researchers found differing patterns of crime against American tourists and tourists from overseas.  Among other things, foreign visitors were more likely to be robbed; Americans were more likely to have hotel rooms and cars broken into. 

OTHER

Investigating White Collar Crime.  Howard E. Williams.  Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas Company, 2006.  This 11-chapter book outlines ways police investigators can make the case against a variety of white collar crooks.  It sheds interesting light on what is sure to be a growing element of the crime picture.

Unresolved Issues for Crime Prevention Research.  Steven Lab.  Washington, DC:  National Criminal Justice Reference Service.  2005.  This paper describes critical gaps in crime prevention knowledge, pointing out that for many prevention strategies, no one has tested whether or not they work.  Lab presents a long list of research needs to document crime prevention efficacy and refutes arguments that programs do not work simply because no journal articles have been written on them.