Beste collega´s van DRC, DVB, DGPenV, DGSenB, en externe collega´s, 

Vandaag een mooie systematische review over ´geconcentreerde afschrikking bij zogenaamde veelplegers´. In feite is de aanpak onder de Amsterdamse Top600 hier een voorbeeld van. Op 1 mei 2011 startte Amsterdam met de aanpak van 600 meest criminele veelplegers. Bij de Aanpak Top600 is sprake van een integrale samenwerking tussen de gemeente Amsterdam, politie, Openbaar Ministerie, reclasserings-, zorg- en jeugdorganisaties. In totaal werken meer dan dertig partners binnen deze sterke aanpak samen om deze doelgroep met voorrang aan te pakken, vast te zetten en uit de criminaliteit te halen. De opzet en resultaten van de Top600 aanpak zijn te raadplegen onder:

https://www.amsterdam.nl/bestuur-organisatie/organisatie/overige/acvz/top600/

De bijgesloten review geeft een beoordeling van de internationale ervaringen en effecten die zijn opgedaan met vergelijkbare interventies zoals bij de Top600 aanpak:

Anthony A. Braga, David Weisburd & Brandon Turchan (September 2019).  Focused deterrence strategies effects on crime: A systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews, vol. 15, no. 3, September, pp. 1-65.  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/cl2.1051

What is this review about?

Crime is highly concentrated amongst a small number of highly‐active offenders. Focused deterrence strategies combine law enforcement, community mobilization, and social services in an attempt to reduce offending behavior for specific crime types. A key feature of this crime control strategy involves the direct communications of the consequences of continued criminal offending and the availability of social services to targeted subjects. This review examines whether focused deterrence reduces crime and considers how observed crime reduction effects may vary by the different types of focused strategies and program evaluation designs.

What studies are included?

A total of 24 studies of focused deterrence interventions were identified. All studies were published from 2001 to 2015. Twenty three studies were conducted in the United States and one in

Scotland. None of the identified studies used a randomized controlled trial design.

Is focused deterrence an effective approach to reducing criminal offending among problem persons and groups?

Yes. The available evidence suggests an overall reduction in crime when focused deterrence strategies are used. The largest reductions are generated by focused deterrence strategies that target criminally active gangs or groups, followed by programs that target individual chronic offenders and drug market interventions.

Do some programs work better than others?

Yes. Gang/group intervention programs generate the largest effects, followed by programs targeting high‐risk individuals, with the smallest effects generated by drug market intervention (DMI) programs. DMI programs are most likely to suffer implementation problems which reduce effectiveness.

Does crime get displaced to other areas?

No. No studies found significant crime displacement effects into surrounding areas. There is some evidence of the diffusion of crime control benefits.

What do the findings of this review mean?

Findings from this review support the growing use of focused deterrence as a proactive crime reduction strategy. Practitioners and policy‐makers should continue to implement focused deterrence

programs to address serious crime problems. The number of studies included in the updated review is more than double the number of studies included in the previous iteration of the review. However, despite the increase in eligible studies, no evaluations utilized a randomized controlled trial design. The growth of focused deterrence warrants more methodologically rigorous program evaluations and further exploration into the specific components of the strategy in order to improve our understanding of how the program reduces crime.

Mooi dus, een effectieve interventie die ook Nederland (in kader aanpak harde kern) verder vorm gegeven kan worden. Tot zover maar weer voor vandaag. Hopelijk zijn jullie nog allemaal gezond en is thuis werken voor ons ministerie ook daar een uitdaging. Blijf optimistisch! En tot de volgende ´parel´. Trouwens, ik heb jullie mailadressen op verzoek in de BCC gezet, dit om ongewenste spam e.d. te voorkomen.