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This website presents, in one place, the complete set of Crime Frameworks, including 5Is and the Conjunction of Criminal Opportunity, that he has developed (and continues to develop) during his career in research, evaluation, action projects and design.

The Crime Frameworks https://crimeframeworks.com have been developed from a career of experience in researching, evaluating, co-designing and implementing crime prevention, security and community safety action. The frameworks centre on analysis of causes and risk factors, and generation and application of interventions derived from tested theoretical principles. They support and complement an evidence-based approach, combined with a strong orientation towards theory and sharp conceptual analysis. They offer an advanced, integrated approach intended to handle the messy complexity of real-world crime problems and solutions more effectively than existing counterparts which can be oversimple and fragmentary. But they can be applied at different levels of sophistication according to the needs and abilities of users.

The underlying philosophy is that a greater investment in knowledge tools enables better, more adaptive/agile performance in crime prevention, security and community safety – both practice and research.

The frameworks include:

• A clear and consistent suite of terms, definitions and concepts with which to articulate, record and share diverse approaches to crime and security
• The 5Is Framework which is both an advanced process model (Intelligence, Intervention, Implementation, Involvement, Impact & process evaluation) and a knowledge capture framework. It is a more sophisticated counterpart of the SARA model for Problem-Oriented Policing, and also for describing action for knowledge-management purposes.
• The Conjunction of Criminal Opportunity, a ‘one-stop-shop’ integrated framework of the immediate causes of criminal events, and counterpart intervention principles – similar to the Problem Analysis Triangle but much more comprehensive and detailed
• The Ds Framework, for describing how situational interventions have their effect on the offender
• The Misdeeds and Security Framework, for thinking systematically about the range of crime risks and security possibilities potentially emerging from new products and other fruits of design

The Crime Frameworks website focuses variously on here-and-now crime, security and terrorism problems; the secure design of products, places (CPTED), systems and services; cybercrime; future crimes; crime-security arms races and other evolutionary processes; and techniques and applications of evaluation.

Professor Paul Ekblom PhD FRSA is passionate about the quality of thinking, communication and knowledge in crime prevention, security and community safety. This applies equally, but in different ways, to practice, programmes and policy; and to research, theorising and evaluation within and across the disciplines of Crime Science, design and engineering in material and cyberspace.

A new AIC study by researchers from Griffith University reveals the potential for applying predictive policing techniques in Australia.

• Based on an analysis of crime data in Brisbane, Logan and Townsville, two predictive algorithms and a retrospective crime mapping technique were evaluated.
• All three methods were found to be effective at predicting spatio-temporal crime patterns for burglary, thefts of vehicles and thefts from vehicles, although this varied between locations.

Read Predictive policing in an Australian context: Assessing viability and utility

"We are looking for individuals who are worried about their sexual urges regarding children and want access to help anonymously online.

This research project aims to evaluate a new way to help people decrease their urges to act on sexual impulses involving children. These impulses could be using child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or engaging with a child online or in person.

We are testing the second version of Prevent It, a therapist-assisted online cognitive behavioral psychotherapy program. The first version of Prevent it proved to be effective, safe, and well-appreciated (see results). After the first clinical trial, we have revised the manual, taking into account clinical experience, patient feedback, and the statistical analyses of the patient data. The study is an academically initiated, global, randomised, waitlist controlled clinical trial.

Child sexual abuse, both online and offline, violates children's rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and causes a lot of damage to both the children and their relatives. The perpetrators of child sexual abuse or CSAM use can also experience suffering related to their urges or behavior, and risk both social and legal sanctions. Many of the existing programs targeting child sexual abuse are offered in correctional or forensic settings, and are thus mainly a method to reduce the risk of reoffending – not preventing abuse in the first place. This is the gap Prevent It wants to fill.

The study participation is free of charge, voluntary and anonymous. Recruitment for Prevent It is ongoing from November 2022 until June 2024. Currently, the english version of the treatment program is available. The Swedish, German, and Portuguese versions of the treatment program will start recruitment in February 2023. 

The study has been approved by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (Dnr 2022-03938-01) and it is conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki for research ethics."

Click here to register

The Australian Institute of Criminology has released a new Trends & issues paper on crime by outlaw motorcycle gang members during club conflicts.

• This study examines the trends in and spatial distribution of recorded offending by Australian outlaw motorcycle gang (OMCG) affiliates at the onset of a territorial conflict between two clubs in New South Wales.
• Results show an increase in recorded offending by OMCG affiliates involved in the conflict and based in the disputed territory.
• Changes in offending patterns were largely limited to the clubs involved in the conflict and localised to the territory in dispute.

This research can help guide focused law enforcement responses during periods of gang conflict.

Read Crime by outlaw motorcycle gang members during club conflicts

Online fraud continues to be a prominent issue in Europe and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, a lot of information is available about how (online) fraud works and how these scams can be prevented.
If we want to design effective crime prevention initiatives, using the available intelligence is key. This paper puts forward some general concepts and tools to do precisely this.  Several tools that can be implemented in crime prevention initiatives can also serve as a source of inspiration when building new projects or can be implemented within existing ones. Online fraud is characterised by a high degree of flexibility on the part of the offenders, enabling them to adapt to changing circumstances. The information in this paper allows you to develop scientifically backed responses to them in kind.

Published by the EUCPN Secretariat, February 2023

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• Recommendation paper: How online fraud works and how to prevent it528.21 KBEngli