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Methodological Advances in Crime Prevention Research

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Preventing Crime and Violence

Part of the book series: Advances in Prevention Science ((Adv. Prevention Science))

Abstract

The past few decades have seen considerable advances in building an evidence base for the effectiveness and cost-benefit of early intervention aimed at crime prevention. While work in building an evidence base for early crime prevention continues, there is a parallel movement toward understanding how to best translate this evidence to the field. This chapter surveys the methods that have been used in early prevention studies, considers some strengths and weaknesses, and identifies areas where further innovation might be most fruitful in generating insight around crime prevention efforts. The first section comprises a brief review of methods that have been most prominent in early prevention studies to date. In that process, we identify examples of particularly innovative studies or programs of research that have affected the knowledge base in prevention as a means of continually tying the methodological approach with the associated substantive conclusions. Following that review, we “look forward” and consider where there are limitations in the evidence base around early intervention and identify ways in which further methodological innovation might help in filling remaining gaps.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See Berk (2005) and Sampson (2010) for alternative perspectives on strengths and weaknesses of this design.

  2. 2.

    Though not directly relevant to this discussion as it is not a study of a “prevention program,” Haviland et al. (2008) have integrated propensity score matching methods with latent class growth analysis in a way that may be useful to prevention researchers.

  3. 3.

    Reynolds and Ou (2011) is another recent example of a study testing hypotheses linking mechanisms and processes with outcomes in the context of an early intervention program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, USA

    Christopher J. Sullivan

  2. Northeastern University, Boston, USA

    Brandon C. Welsh

  3. Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR), Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Brandon C. Welsh

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  1. Christopher J. Sullivan
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Georgia State University Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Brent Teasdale

  2. Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA

    Mindy S. Bradley

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Sullivan, C.J., Welsh, B.C. (2017). Methodological Advances in Crime Prevention Research. In: Teasdale, B., Bradley, M. (eds) Preventing Crime and Violence. Advances in Prevention Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44124-5_28

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