Crime reduction toolkit | College of Policing

The crime reduction toolkit summarises the best available research evidence on what works to reduce crime.

Use the crime reduction toolkit to see:

the impact of different interventions on crime
how and where interventions work
how to implement the interventions and their cost

The systematic reviews are interpreted, rated and presented using the EMMIE framework.

Read more about the toolkit, systematic reviews and the EMMIE framework

Intervention	Effect on crime Effect scale	Quality of evidence (Effect)
Intervention	Effect on crime Effect scale	Quality of evidence (Effect)	New Compulsory community treatment	No overall change	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
New Dog-training programmes in prison	Overall reduction	Moderate The quality of evidence (of impact) is moderate
Accident and emergency navigators	Some reduction	Moderate The quality of evidence (of impact) is moderate
After-school programmes	Mixed findings	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Aggression replacement training (ART) for reducing anti-social behaviour	Mixed findings	Moderate The quality of evidence (of impact) is moderate
Alcohol pricing	Overall reduction	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Alley gating	Overall reduction	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Alternative education programmes	Mixed findings	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Body-worn cameras	Mixed findings	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Boot camps	Mixed findings	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Brief interventions for alcohol use disorders within criminal justice settings	Some reduction	Moderate The quality of evidence (of impact) is moderate
Car breathalyser lock	Overall reduction	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Circles of support and accountability for sex offenders	Some reduction	Moderate The quality of evidence (of impact) is moderate
Closed-circuit television (CCTV)	Overall reduction	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)	Overall reduction	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for domestic violence	Some reduction	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Crime prevention through environmental design	Some reduction	Low The quality of evidence (of impact) is low
Criminal sanctions to prevent domestic violence	Mixed findings	Low The quality of evidence (of impact) is low
Crisis intervention teams (CITs)	Mixed findings	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Day reporting centres	Mixed findings	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Drink-drive stops	Overall reduction	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Drink-driving courts	Some reduction	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Drink-driving media campaigns	Some reduction	Low The quality of evidence (of impact) is low
Drink-driving school-based programmes	Some reduction	Moderate The quality of evidence (of impact) is moderate
Drug courts	Overall reduction	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Drug substitution programmes	Mixed findings	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Educational interventions to prevent relationship violence	Some reduction	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Electronic tagging for general offences	Mixed findings	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Electronic tagging for sex offences	Overall reduction	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Firearm laws	Overall reduction	Low The quality of evidence (of impact) is low
Focused deterrence strategies	Overall reduction	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Halfway house programmes	Overall reduction	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Health visitors	Overall reduction	Moderate The quality of evidence (of impact) is moderate
Healthcare screening for domestic abuse	Overall reduction	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Hot spots policing	Overall reduction	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Increased police patrols to reduce drink-driving	Some reduction	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Limiting alcohol sales	Mixed findings	Moderate The quality of evidence (of impact) is moderate
Lockouts for reducing alcohol-related violence	Mixed findings	Low The quality of evidence (of impact) is low
Mental health courts	Overall reduction, some rises	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Mentoring	Overall reduction, some rises	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Minimum legal drinking age laws	Mixed findings	Low The quality of evidence (of impact) is low
Moral reconation therapy (MRT)	Overall reduction	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Motivational interviewing (MI)	Overall reduction	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Multisystemic therapy	Some reduction	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Music making	No overall change	Low The quality of evidence (of impact) is low
Neighbourhood Watch	Overall reduction	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Police-led pre-charge diversion models for young offenders	Overall reduction	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Prison education	Overall reduction, some rises	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Prison visits	Overall reduction, some rises	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Probation officer training	Overall reduction	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Problem-oriented policing	Overall reduction	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Psychological treatment of adults convicted of sex offences against children	Mixed findings	Low The quality of evidence (of impact) is low
Red light cameras	Overall reduction	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Release on temporary licence	Some reduction	Low The quality of evidence (of impact) is low
Restorative justice conferencing	Overall reduction	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Retail tagging to prevent shop theft	Mixed findings	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Scared Straight programmes	Overall rise	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Second responder programmes to prevent domestic abuse	Some reduction	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Social skills training for children	Overall reduction	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Speed cameras	Overall reduction	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Street lighting	Overall reduction	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Teen courts	Mixed findings	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Therapeutic communities	Overall reduction, some rises	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Therapeutic foster care	Overall reduction	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Trying youths as adults	Mixed findings	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Victim-offender mediation	Overall reduction, some rises	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Wilderness challenge programmes	Overall reduction	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Young offender aftercare	Mixed findings	Strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is strong
Youth curfews	Mixed findings	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong
Zero-tolerance policing	No overall change	Very strong The quality of evidence (of impact) is very strong