CRIME FRAMEWORKS

This knowledge takes several forms:
* Know-of crime – what crime is, definitions of specific offences; definitions of related concepts such as security, safety and partnership.
* Know-about crime problems – their nature, costs and wider harmful consequences for victims and society; offenders’ modus operandi, patterns and trends in criminality, risk and protective factors... and theories of causation.
* Know-what works – what methods work, against what crime problem, by what mechanisms, in what context, with what side-effects and what cost-effectiveness, more generally, what are plausible intervention methods and principles.
* Know-who to involve and how – contacts for advice, potential partners and collaborators who can be mobilised as formal or informal preventers; service providers, suppliers of funds and equipment and other specific resources; and sources of wider support.
* Know-when to act – knowing the right time to make particular moves – the climate must be right, other initiatives need to be coordinated with etc.
* Know-where to target and distribute resources.
* Know-why – covering the symbolic, emotional, ethical, cultural, political and value-laden meanings of crime and reductive action, including fairness and justice. Failure to address these issues can cause even the most rational and evidence-based actions to be rejected. The classic example is the public outrage sometimes caused by expensive sporting activities for young offenders.
* Know-how to put into practice – knowledge and skills of implementation and other practical processes, and methodologies for research and analysis.