What Are the Seven Steps of Crime Impact Assessment?

Introduction

A Crime Impact Assessment (CIA) is a meaningful method for law enforcement agencies to assess their impact on crime. It takes into account the causes and consequences of crime and uses this information to develop strategies that will help reduce victimisation and increase public safety. Crime impact assessments are very important for stability of law.

The Seven Steps in the CIA are:

Step 1: Information Gathering

In order to have a successful CI, you need to gather a lot of information. The trick is gathering the right information in the right way. If you don’t collect data from the right sources, or if your data isn’t available in an accessible format, then your CI will be next to useless. This step is all about finding out what kinds of information exist and where it can be found—and then using that knowledge to create a solid base for your CI.

Expert investigation

It’s important not only that you collect relevant crime data but also that this information is presented in a way that allows others to easily access and understand it (this usually means having an online database). In addition, because each type of crime has its own unique factors (especially when it comes down to something like identity fraud), there are many different ways to collect information about them: interviews with witnesses, surveys sent out via email blast, focus groups conducted by local professionals who have experience investigating these types of crimes; etcetera ad infinitum.

Step 2: Analysis of Localised Data and Context

The second step of the CIA process is to collect and analyse data. This includes identifying the most relevant sources, collecting quantitative and qualitative data, analysing that information for trends and patterns, interpreting those findings in the context of your local area and community, and then visualising them to make them more easily understandable by others. Once you’ve completed this stage, it’s time to share your findings with others so they can use them as a resource when making decisions about crime prevention strategies.

Step 3: Developing a Scope

A scope is a definition of what you’re studying and why. A good scope covers all the bases, so you can be sure you’ll cover all your bases in the end. It should include the following:

Defining the problem

By identifying and defining the crime/crime problem being studied, you will be able to understand who might be affected by it and how they are affected.

Identifying community members

You will want to know who has been affected by this specific crime problem so that they can provide valuable information on how it affects them personally or how they think it should affect them in the future (or both).

Identifying stakeholders

Stakeholders are anyone who has a vested interest in solving this issue or maintaining things as they currently stand—for example, members of parliament might have a stake in preventing organised crime from infiltrating their country’s banking system; police officers may have some sort of accountability for keeping their streets safe at night. Citizens could feel personally threatened if someone ever tried breaking into their homes while they slept inside them (and probably would want something done about it).

Step 4: Developing a Logic Model

A logic model is a way of organising the information gathered and using it to identify the root causes of problems. Logic models help you see things in a new light by identifying what needs to change, where work is needed, who will do this work, when it will happen and how much it will cost.

Step 5: Develop a Measurement and Analysis Plan

You’re now ready to develop a measurement and analysis plan that will tell you exactly how you’re going to measure each step of your crime impact assessment. A measurement and analysis plan is a document that explains how you will go about measuring the impact of whatever it is you’re trying to measure. It should include the following:

• A detailed description of what you will be measuring (e.g., the number of people who are arrested for drunk driving)
• Who is going to do this work (e.g., police officers)
• How often they’ll be doing it (e.g., once per month)

Step 6: Reporting and Communicating the Results 

Once you’ve completed your impact assessment, it’s important to communicate the results. A clear and concise report is necessary, but it’s also important that you communicate the results to the stakeholders, such as politicians and law enforcement officials. You should also communicate with members of the public who may be interested in learning. More about how crime impacts their community and what they can do to reduce its effects on them.

Step 7: Organising for Action and Sustainability

Sustainability is a key issue in the study of crime impact assessment. To be successful, you must commit to sustainability. This can mean any number of things, from organising an annual event with an open-ended format (like a panel discussion) to publishing research in a scholarly journal every year for several years. However, one thing is for certain: being sustainable will require you to make sure that your efforts are not just one-off events but part of something bigger and more long-term.

Organising for action means making sure that people who have been impacted by violent crime have access to resources and services. This might include providing direct services such as counselling or financial assistance or creating partnerships with local agencies already working on these issues so they can help each other out when needed.