Summary
The report discusses why some United Kingdom households and businesses fail to take action to prevent crime and describes a toolkit to address the issue. The toolkit includes: 1) an eight-step framework to help unpick problems with reference to the relevant agents/influencers and to select the most promising policy ideas; 2) a substantial evidence base to show which policy options are most appropriate in which circumstances; and 3) an interactive version of the framework with guidance and templates to help policymakers work through their own policy question. The framework was tested by applying the approach to specific problems: how to design security features into new products; how to reduce crime on industrial estates; and how to reduce theft of old cars. Recommendations relating to the specific crime problems were developed, including electronic tagging/tracking of high value goods; promoting the demand for crime-resistant products through new 'secure design' kite marks; subsidizing mechanical immobilizers for old cars in crime hotspots; and encouraging insurance companies to promote crime prevention.