Crime Prevention for Social Impact and Social Justice

• In Event: Crime Prevention for Social Impact and Social Justice I

Abstract

There is a growing demand for the use of crime prevention approaches in a wide range of domains or contexts, including families, schools, communities, labor markets, and public and private places. At the same time, there is a pressing need for crime prevention practices and policies to do more to advance social impact and social justice. The purpose of this paper is to outline the ideals, the challenges, and the progress of crime prevention for social impact and social justice. It also introduces the larger project on this topic. Crime prevention that prioritizes social impact is about harnessing the knowledge of evidence-based interventions and fostering systems-level change that is both meaningful and lasting. Key to this approach includes targeting the social and environmental conditions that lead to criminal activity, building on existing strengths and assets, and tailoring evidence-based practices to local conditions. Social justice in the context of crime prevention is about delivering crime prevention resources in an equitable way, ensuring that the social impact of interventions is equitable, and intervening in a manner that promotes fairness and legitimacy for individuals and the community at-large. The paper concludes with a discussion of priorities for policy and research.

Authors

• Brandon C. Welsh, Northeastern University / Harvard Medical School

• Eric Piza, Northeastern University