Evidence Base Camp: Day 3

Evidence Base Camp: Day 3 Sifting Sessions Levin Wheller – Research Unit Shayan Moftizadeh – Research Unit Ian Macey – National Police Library

Research question What interventions have been shown to be effective in preventing or reducing theft from the person?

Present outcomes of initial searches What happened while you were away… Collaboratively develop sift criteria Collaborative sifting Get a view of what our search has returned Refine sift criteria if required Individual sifting Today…

Update: from there… 18/10/2013 – ProQuest Title or abstract ((robb* OR mugg* OR dipp* OR ("pick pocket*" OR pickpocket* OR pick?pocket) OR "assault with intent to rob" OR snatch* OR "theft from person" OR "theft from individual" OR "personal theft" or "conspiracy to rob" OR "stealing from person" OR "distraction theft*" OR "street crime*" OR "bag theft" OR "bag snatch" OR "personal theft" OR "mobile phone theft") AND (Prevent* OR Reduc* OR Decreas* OR Fall OR Falling OR Cease OR Stop* OR Deter* OR Divert* OR Declin* OR Eradicat* OR solve* OR Minimi?* OR Halt OR Tackl* OR Resolv* OR Lessen* OR Curtail* OR Remov* OR Thwart* OR Inhibit* OR Avert* OR Diminish* OR Lower*) AND (Interven* OR Publicity OR “Multi?agenc*” OR Enforc* OR “Problem?solving” OR “problem?oriented” OR Strateg* OR Tactic* OR “Positive action*” OR Partnership* OR Activit* OR Initiative* OR Operation* OR Option* OR Solution* OR Approach* OR Procedur* OR Pilot* OR Action* OR Target* OR “Hot?spot policing” OR trial*) AND (“systematic review*” OR “Rapid evidence assessment” OR “literature review*” OR trial OR RCT OR experiment OR evaluat* OR “best practice*” OR “Good practice*” OR effective* OR Assess* OR “What works” or impact OR success*) AND (police or policing or “law enforcement”)) 852 Hits

Removed policing tier as too restrictive Changed some of the phrases to a proximity search as they were too specific e.g "theft from individual" excludes "theft from an individual". Moved Robb* to the proximity search as it was returning articles on household Robbery and commercial robbery Search run on ProQuest, World of Knowledge and EBSCO Results processed on Reference Manager to remove duplicate articles Researchers scanned 200 ‘most relevant’ abstracts to see if the returns were relevant… …via this…

…to here Title or abstract ((mugg* OR "pick pocket*" OR pickpocket* OR ((robb* or theft or steal* or snatch* or dipp*) near/5 (street or person* or individual* or “mobile phone” or bag)) OR "assault with intent to rob" OR "conspiracy to rob" OR "distraction theft*" OR "street crime*") AND (Prevent* OR Reduc* OR Decreas* OR Fall OR Falling OR Cease OR Stop* OR Deter* OR Divert* OR Declin* OR Eradicat* OR solve* OR Minimi?* OR Halt OR Tackl* OR Resolv* OR Lessen* OR Curtail* OR Remov* OR Thwart* OR Inhibit* OR Avert* OR Diminish* OR Lower*) AND (Interven* OR Publicity OR “Multi agenc*” or multiagenc* OR Enforc* OR “Problem solving” OR “problem oriented” OR Strateg* OR Tactic* OR “Positive action*” OR Partnership* OR Activit* OR Initiative* OR Operation* OR Option* OR Solution* OR Approach* OR Procedur* OR Pilot* OR Action* OR Target* OR “Hot spot policing” or "hotspot policing" OR trial*) AND (“systematic review*” OR “Rapid evidence assessment” OR “literature review*” OR trial OR RCT OR experiment OR evaluat* OR “best practice*” OR “Good practice*” OR effective* OR Assess* OR “What works” or impact OR success*)) 844 articles to sift

Group workBuilding our inclusion criteria

Sift criteria are a series of questions that help you decide if the abstract you are reading is useful to the research question and should be ‘called’ (the full paper requested). Questions in your sift criteria will often map across to the key elements or tiers of your search. The same set of questions are applied to all abstracts to attempt to remove bias/ overt ‘judgement calls’. Typically, a lot of papers identified by the search are excluded at this stage of the process. Sift criteria - recap

Research question What interventions have been shown to be effective in preventing or reducing theft from the person?

1. Theft from the person 2. Prevention/Reduction 3. Intervention 4. What works/ effectiveness Factors in our question So our sift criteria needs to address each of these points… …and we may need to be careful about how we phrase our questions… …and remember – we can refine our criteria as long as changes are consistently applied across the sift

Inclusion Criteria Flag: Other exclusions:

Gert Vogel,. 'That Is the Prey'. On Foreign Tourists as Victims of Muggings in Amsterdam, 41 SOCIOLOGISCHE GIDS.276, 276-288 (1994). Abstract: A literature review is presented of key criminological studies to identify patterns surrounding the mugging of foreign tourists in downtown Amsterdam, Netherlands. Information gleaned from police reports, victim surveys, & interviews with muggers (N not given) reveals that experienced, more professional muggers clearly prefer foreign tourists as their targets, especially Chinese & Japanese tourists, who tend to carry more cash than others. The foreigners are less likely to report the crime to the police, decreasing the likelihood of apprehending the thief. Thus, the thieves prefer foreigners not because of xenophobia, but because stealing from them is more lucrative & secure than stealing from their Dutch compatriots. 4 Tables, 22 References. Adapted from the source document 1st abstract

Jenny Fleming,. 'Working Together': Neighbourhood Watch, Reassurance Policing and the Potential of Partnerships. Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice (303), 1-6. 2005. Woden, Australian Institute of Criminology. Abstract: Few well designed evaluations have found strong support for neighbourhood watch (NW) schemes; in fact there have been no formal, published, peer reviewed evaluations of NW in Australia. This paper argues for a change in focus in what is examined to determine success. Overseas evaluations suggest such schemes are ineffective because they looked at whether NW prevented and reduced the fear of crime, and improved information flows between the community and the police. The author proposes that a better way to assess the efficacy of NW is to view it as a vehicle to enhance partnerships between police, other agencies and the community and that these partnerships can effectively improve police/community relations, improve perceptions of safety and security and enhance community involvement in wider crime prevention initiatives. Such a change in focus is consistent with the emergence of 'reassurance policing' that targets street crime and disorder and has been a key component of recent reforms in the UK police force. This paper challenges practitioners, policy makers and communities involved with NW schemes to rethink the outcomes they are seeking to achieve and provides a rationale for community police partnerships that have the potential to improve feelings of safety and security in local communities. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT] 2nd abstract

V. I. Kuleshov et al. [Current problems in prophylaxis and treatment of acute decompression disease of mild degree], 323 VOENNO-MEDITSINSKII ZHURNAL.50, 50-95 (2002). Abstract: The authors discuss the causes leading to the rise of acute decompression illness in the amateur skin-divers. They include the insufficient training of most skin-drivers in the basis of diving physiology and medicine, the underwater dipping without consideration of individual sensitivity to decompression illness and nitrogen narcotic action, disorders in decompression regimens, non-observance of behavior rules after dipping, use of air transport immediately after dipping. The case of delayed treatment of decompression illness is described. The data concerning the possibility of chronic decompression illness formation due to the action of asymptomatic decompression gasformation and acute decompression illness of mild degree are presented. The authors propose the system of measures that would help to decrease the incidence of disease and to make the treatment of decompression illness more effective. 3rd abstract

M. Panigati et al. Determination of lead and cadmium in titanium dioxide by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry, 58 TALANTA.481, 481-488 (2002). Abstract: A procedure for the simultaneous determination of lead and cadmium in TiO2, by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) has been developed. The key feature of the method is the use of triethanolamine (TEA) to remove titanium interference: TiO2 undergoes acidic digestion with HF/H2SO4 at atmospheric pressure, TEA is added to the HCl solution of the residue and the solution is analysed using a standard ASV instrumentation, equipped with a hanging mercury drop electrode. The calibration curves for both lead and cadmium are linear up to 50 mug l(-1) of solution, and the detection limits are I mug l(-1), corresponding to I mug g(-1) of TiO2. Method reliability was tested by comparing the results with those given by electrothermal atomic absorption spectroscopy. The method has been successfully applied for determination of both contaminants in powdered titanium dioxide (raw materials) and in titanium dioxide-containing cosmetics (sunscreen products). (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V 4th abstract

Ruth Paley. `An imperfect, inadequate and wretched system'? Policing London, in 95-130 ( 1989). Abstract: A study reexamines some of the issues that lay behind the introduction of the Metropolitan Police in eighteenth-century London, UK. Whether judged in terms of perceived need, quality of personnel or cost, it is unlikely that the "new" police were more efficient than the old. Though it is believed that the new police had a considerable impact on such minor street crimes as drunkenness, loitering and the like, little is known about their role in the enforcement of the law in a broader context--especially in the prevention, detection and prosecution of serious crimes such as burglary, theft or murder. Moreover, it is unlikely that quality of performance is determined by organizational structure alone, as some of the older accounts of the formation of the Metropolitan Police appear to assume. The nature of policing is determined as much by the courts as by organizational structures. After 1829, the courts became sensitive to the question of police abuses, partly because of institutional rivalries. The result was that the Metropolitan Police were forced to cultivate an image of impersonal authority, and in so doing, greater restraints were imposed on the policeman's use of his personal power than was common in more democratically controlled urban police forces 5th abstract

Inclusion Criteria Other exclusions: Exclude theft from vehicles, etc Exclude solely offender management studies, e.g. TASC without mention of recidivism/ impact on offenders

Focus of interventions should be reduction of theft - not drug treatment or reducing recidivism Phrasing of the sift questions was discussed - i.e. does the abstract focus on theft or discuss theft Mass transit and environmental deterrence? - Include if empirical Challenge of different definitions of street crime - US definition/ academic definition of street crime will be different to that used in policing Decision on TASC papers to be made outside of the session - Further research to clarify what type of intervention TASC is is required Issues discussed

Individual sifting (handouts)

We are sifting hard copies of the abstracts Highlighters are provided – highlight the reference number: Green for ‘include’ Orange for ‘unsure’ Leave ‘excluded’ abstracts blank Fill in your sift template to keep track of what you have sifted Please return all of the abstracts, sift templates and highlighters at the end of the day! Individual sifting (the real thing!)

Each abstract is numbered Pages are numbered Some abstracts overlap from one page to another – if you don’t have the whole of an abstract in your pile, make a note of this on your sift template… Any questions, just ask! Recording our sifting…

Evidence Base Camp: Day 3