crimefinal.qxd

This report chapter argues that systematic evaluation is an indispensable but underutilized component of crime prevention in South Africa. It critiques the tendency to assume that crime prevention activities are automatically successful and advocates for a 'realistic' approach to evaluation that focuses on how specific mechanisms work within particular contexts to produce outcomes, rather than relying solely on quasi-experimental methods.

• Evaluation of crime prevention is defined as the "systematic assessment of the conceptualisation, implementation and utility of crime prevention programmes," requiring data collection at every stage of development to determine if a plan was followed in practice and why it worked or failed.
• A comprehensive evaluation must address four primary stages of a project: conceptualisation (whether the idea is sound), design (whether the concept was translated into practical measures), implementation (whether activities were undertaken as anticipated), and impact (whether the measures actually prevented crime).
• Crime prevention research in South Africa is described as being in its "infancy," with very few programmes properly evaluated, including the South African Police Service's Crackdown initiative which cost millions of rands.
• The report identifies several barriers to evaluation, including the difficulty of defining 'crime' (which may include legal acts, 'incivilities', or fear of crime), the 'dark figure' of unreported crime, and the perception that evaluation is a dull, expensive, or discouraging process that may reveal 'nothing works'.
• The document challenges the pessimism regarding 'crime displacement' (the idea that crime just moves to another location), noting that displacement is rarely total and can be offset by a 'diffusion of the benefits' to non-targeted areas.
• The report advocates for a 'realistic' evaluation method, pioneered by Ray Pawson and Nick Tilley, which replaces quasi-experimental 'control group' models with a focus on 'CMOC' (Context, Mechanism, Outcome pattern configurations) to answer "What works for whom in what circumstances?"
• Using CCTV in car parks as an example, the report illustrates that the outcome (crime reduction) depends on the context of the offending; a 'disablement mechanism' works if crime is caused by a few active offenders, but is less effective if many less committed offenders are involved.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (n.d.). crimefinal.qxd. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PREVENCHAPTER8.PDF

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. crimefinal.qxd. n.d. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PREVENCHAPTER8.PDF.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=crimefinal.qxd |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PREVENCHAPTER8.PDF |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudiesndcrimefinalqxd, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{crimefinal.qxd}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PREVENCHAPTER8.PDF}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }