Information retrieval in systematic reviews: a case study of the crime prevention literature

OBJECTIVES: A defining feature of a systematic review is the data collection; the assembling of a meticulous, unbiased, and reproducible set of primary studies. This requires specialist skills to execute. The aim of this paper is to marshal tacit knowledge, gained through a systematic search of the crime prevention literature, to develop a ‘how-to guide’ for future evidence synthesists in allied fields. METHODS: Empirical results from a recent systematic search for evidence in crime prevention are supplied to illustrate key principles of information retrieval. RESULTS: Difficulties in operationalizing a systematic search are expounded and possible solutions discussed. Empirical results from optimizing the balance between sensitivity and precision with the criminological literature are presented. An estimation of database overlap for crime prevention studies is provided to guide other evidence synthesists in streamlining the search process. CONCLUSIONS: A high-quality search will involve a substantial time investment in honing the research question, specifying the precise scope of the work, and trialing and testing of search tactics. Electronic databases are a lucrative source of eligible studies, but they have important limitations. The diversity of expression across the criminological literature needs to be captured by the use of many search terms—both natural language and controlled vocabulary—in database searches. Complementary search tactics should be employed to locate eligible studies without common vocabulary. Grey literature should be ardently pursued, for it has a central role in the crime prevention evidence base

A victim-centred cost–benefit analysis of a stalking prevention programme

Research suggests that stalking inflicts great psychological and financial costs on victims. Yet costs of victimisation are notoriously difficult to estimate and include as intangible costs in cost–benefit analysis. This study reports an innovative cost–benefit analysis that used focus groups with multi-agency teams to collect detailed data on operational resources used to manage stalking cases. This method is illustrated through the presentation of one case study. Best- and worst-case counterfactual scenarios were generated using the risk assessment scores and practitioner expertise. The findings suggest that intervening in high-risk stalking cases was cost-beneficial to the state in all the case studies we analysed (even if it incurs some institutional costs borne by the criminal justice system or health) and was often cost-beneficial to the victims too. We believe that this method might be useful in other fields where a victim- or client-centred approach is fundamental

Evidencing the impact of Neighbourhood Watch

This report outlines the routes or processes through which Neighbourhood Watch activities might have an impact on crime reduction and other, associated, outcomes. These are broken down into chains of events (the ‘theories of change’ or ‘mechanisms’). Commonly used in evaluation projects, a theory of change is intended to simply but elegantly explain how and why something works . The first step is determining the intended outcomes of the activity, i.e. crime reduction or increased neighbourliness; the second is determining the logical sequence of specific actions and processes that are required to make that outcome likely to happen. The result is a process map that links activities and required conditions to produce intermediate changes and final outcomes. Articulating a theory of change before conducting any evaluation has the advantage of exposing measurement points along the process where data can be collected to evidence whether something is working as assumed. Therefore, measurement points along each theory of change we present are highlighted. Subsequently, the advantages and disadvantages of different data sets that can measure and evidence these points in the theory of change are summarised

Using heat maps to identify areas prone to violence against women in the public sphere

The lack of accessible crime data, especially geolocations, in developing countries often acts as a barrier to identifying environmental or situational factors in high crime areas that might contribute to the facilitation of those crimes. This paper presents a methodology for conducting fieldwork for creating heat maps to identify areas prone to violence against women (VAW) in Corregidora, Mexico. Heat maps were produced based on household survey data. The results were used to select specific high concentration locations to conduct structured observations and inductive visual analysis at street level in order to identify if and what situational factors might influence the perpetration of VAW in those locations. Four broad features were identified in the urban built environment during the site visits linked to the facilitation of opportunities for the commission of VAW: (1) lacking infrastructure, (2) presence of physical obstacles, (3) poor visibility and (4) restricted pedestrian mobility. The paper demonstrates the utility of this method for aiding situational crime prevention strategies in areas where official spatial crime data is unavailable or lacking. This study presents a relatively low cost (although labour intensive) and independent method of aiding crime prevention strategies, which will hopefully be of practical value for organisations in areas with poor crime recording practices and limited access to expensive mapping technologies

Chief officer misconduct in policing: an exploratory study

Key findings This study has examined cases of alleged misconduct involving chief police officers and staff. The aim was to describe the nature of cases that have come to light, examine the perceived pathways that led to misconduct, and suggest ways of mitigating the risks of misconduct. The study is based on interviews with key stakeholders and with investigating officers in chief officer misconduct cases since April 2008. These cases involved only a small minority of chief officers over the time-period in question. What sorts of cases have come to light since 2008? Cases involving chief officer misconduct fell into two broad categories: those associated with professional decision-making, and those related to interpersonal conduct. Cases involving professional decision-making included: abuses of due process and other forms of misrepresentation; suppression of information and dishonesty; abuses of force procedures relating to recruitment and procurement; material/financial misconduct; and other forms of professional misjudgement. Cases involving interpersonal conduct included: bullying; expressions of racist or sexist prejudice; and sexual misconduct. In around a third of cases, no misconduct was found, reflecting levels of chief officer exposure to scrutiny, vexatious or unfounded allegations, and the collective responsibility they carry for their police force. What are the routes into misconduct? The ‘ethical climate’ of a police force is a key determinant of chief officer misconduct. Ethical climate is shaped by leadership styles, the organisational ethos, training and selection procedures, styles of performance management, and wider social norms. Behaviour is shaped by individual vulnerabilities, including absence of ethical or emotional support, lack of challenge, exposure to corrupting influences, and cognitive failures in decision-making. In a number of cases those involved in misconduct believed that their role as leaders excepted themselves from organisational rules and regulations; this cognitive failure explains why, in several cases, those involved refused to accept that they had done anything wrong. How can the risks of chief officer misconduct be mitigated? Ethical standards will improve with greater openness of debate on police ethics. Publication of the Code of Ethics (College of Policing 2014a) may help achieve this. There are differences between forces, and regulatory and oversight bodies about ethical standards and the thresholds between acceptable conduct, misconduct and gross misconduct, and how they are investigated. A key task is in creating a greater consensus on these issues, which requires open debate. Police organisational responses should be commensurate with proportionality and public interest; both of which have implications for the costs involved. Chief officers need to recognise the specific risks of cognitive failure that organisational leaders face, and the temptations of excepting themselves from rules and norms. It is important to encourage an organisational ethos in which leaders can be challenged, and in which leaders are given the right sort of support when faced with ethical challenges. There needs to be more recognition of the impact of selection and training processes, and of performance management systems, on the ethical climate of police organisations. It was clear that across chief officer ranks as a whole the appetite is very much for change. Indeed, it was clear that the very change interviewees spoke of had already started to embed itself among many chief officer teams around the country

Kidney Age Index (KAI):A novel age-related biomarker to estimate kidney function in patients with diabetic kidney disease using machine learning

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: With aging, patients with diabetic kidney disease (DKD) show progressive decrease in kidney function. We investigated whether the deviation of biological age (BA) from the chronological age (CA) due to DKD can be used (denoted as Kidney Age Index; KAI) to quantify kidney function using machine learning algorithms. METHODS: Three large datasets were used in this study to develop KAI. The machine learning algorithms were trained on PREVEND dataset with healthy subjects (N = 7963) using 13 clinical markers to predict the CA. The trained model was then used to predict the BA of patients with DKD using RENAAL (N = 1451) and IDNT (N = 1706). The performance of four traditional machine learning algorithms were evaluated and the KAI = BA-CA was estimated for each patient. RESULTS: The neural network model achieved the best performance and predicted the CA of healthy subjects in PREVEND dataset with a mean absolute deviation (MAD) = 6.5 ± 3.5 years and pearson correlation = 0.62. Patients with DKD showed a significant higher KAI of 15.4 ± 11.8 years and 13.6 ± 12.3 years in RENAAL and IDNT datasets, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that for a given CA, patients with DKD shows excess BA when compared to their healthy counterparts due to disease severity. With further improvement, the proposed KAI can be used as a complementary easy-to-interpret tool to give a more inclusive idea into disease state

The social construction of 'dowry deaths'

The classification of cause of death is real in its consequences: for the reputation of the deceased, for her family, for those who may be implicated, and for epidemiological and social research and policies and practices that may follow from it. The study reported here refers specifically to the processes involved in classifying deaths of women from burns in India. In particular, it examines the determination of 'dowry death', a class used in India, but not in other jurisdictions. Classification of death is situated within a framework of special legal provisions intended to protect vulnerable women from dowry-related violence and abuse. The findings are based on 33 case studies tracked in hospital in real time, and interviews with 14 physicians and 14 police officers with experience of dealing with burns cases. The formal class into which any given death is allocated is shown to result from motivated accounting processes representing the interests and resources available to the doctors, victims, victim families, the victim's husband and his family, and ultimately, the police. These processes may lead to biases in research and to injustice in the treatment of victims and alleged offenders. Suggestions are made for methods of ameliorating the risks

A systematic review of tagging as a method to reduce theft in retail environments

Background: Retailers routinely use security tags to reduce theft. Presently, however, there has been no attempt to systematically review the literature on security tags. Guided by the acronym EMMIE, this paper set out to (1) examine the evidence that tags are effective at reducing theft, (2) identify the key mechanisms through which tags are expected to reduce theft and the conditions that moderate tag effectiveness, and (3) summarise information relevant to the implementation and economic costs of tagging. Methods: In this mixed-methods review, we performed systematic keyword searches of the published and unpublished literature, hand searched relevant journals, conducted forward and backward citation searches and consulted with four retailers. Studies were included if they reported an explicit goal of reducing the theft or shrinkage of items through the use of security tags in retail environments. Results: We identified 50 eligible studies, eight of which reported quantitative data on the effectiveness of tags in retail environments. Across these eight studies, five showed positive results associated with the introduction of tags, but heterogeneity in the type of tag and reported outcome measures precluded a meta-analysis. We identified three mechanisms through which tags might plausibly reduce theft-increase the risks, reduce the rewards, increase the effort-which were found to vary by tag type, and their activation dependent on five broad categories of moderator: retail store and staff, customers (including shoplifters), tag type, product type, and the involvement of the police and criminal justice system. Implementation challenges documented in the literature related mainly to staffing issues and tagging strategy. Finally, although estimates are available on the costs of tagging, our searches identified no highquality published economic evaluations of tagging. Conclusions: Through applying the EMMIE framework this review highlighted the complexity involved in security tagging in retail environments, whereby different kinds of tags are expected to reduce theft through different casual mechanisms which are dependent on a distinctive configuration of conditions. Based on the available evidence it is difficult to determine the effectiveness of tags as a theft reduction measure, albeit there is suggestive evidence that more visible tags are associated with greater reductions in theft than less visible tags