Can nonexperimental studies improve the policy relevance of crime prevention research?: insights from public-area video surveillance interventions

Critics of evidence-based crime prevention argue that extant research lacks insight into aspects of crime control and prevention that are critical to policymakers. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of programs require the use of experimental and quasi-experimental designs, and some scholars argue...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Authors: Reid, Savannah A. (Author) ; Piza, Eric L. (Author) ; Welsh, Brandon 1969- (Author) ; Moylan, John P. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2024
In: The annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
Year: 2024, Volume: 714, Issue: 1, Pages: 190-207
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Volltext (kostenfrei)
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Keywords:
evidence-based crime prevention
video surveillance
Systematic Review
EMMIE
Program Evaluation
research translation
Description
Summary:Critics of evidence-based crime prevention argue that extant research lacks insight into aspects of crime control and prevention that are critical to policymakers. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of programs require the use of experimental and quasi-experimental designs, and some scholars argue that relaxing that methodological criterion would result in a larger pool of studies that could better inform policy and practice. We test that proposition by using a comprehensive database of 160 evaluation studies of public-area video surveillance and measuring their policy relevance by looking for four specific factors: causal mechanisms, moderators, implementation, and economic costs. We find that studies incorporating experimental and high-quality quasi-experimental designs scored significantly higher than studies using less rigorous designs on three of the four dimensions. This suggests that adherence to a high standard of methodological rigor does not compromise the practical value of video surveillance research. We then discuss the implications of this finding.
Item Description:Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 204-207
Physical Description:Illustration
ISSN:1552-3349
DOI:10.1177/00027162251350519