5/20/2017 Crime:Measuringby'damagetovictims'willimprovepolicingandpublicsafetyScienceDaily

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Crime:Measuringby'damagetovictims'willimprovepolicingandpublicsafety
Date: April3,2016

Source: UniversityofCambridge

Summary: Currentcrimestatsare'legacyof19thcentury'thatpushpolicetochaseminoroffencesinsteadofpreventingmostseriouscrimes.New
'crimeharmindex'quantifiestruecostofcrime:damagecausedtovictimsandsociety.Simpletoolbasedon'imprisonabledays'allows
targetedpolicingofareasandperpetratorsproducinggreatestvictimharm.Expertscallongovernmentstoadoptlowcostmetricfor
greatertransparencyofcrimetrendsandrisks.

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FULLSTORY

A"menuofharm"thatmeasurescrimeaccordingtothepriceofdamageinflictedonvictimsratherthancounting
crimesasiftheyareallofequalseriousnessneedstobeadoptedworldwidetofocuspoliceresourcesontheworst
criminalacts,sayleadingUniversityofCambridgecriminologists.

Theydescribecurrentapproachestocrimemetricsasa"paperandpencillegacyofthe19thcentury,"presentingcrimein'grandtotals'thatgiveequal
weighttoshopliftingandhomicide,forexampleanapproachusedtoleverage'crimeisdown'mediareports,causingpolicetofocusonminoryet
highvolumeoffencesthatcauselessharmthanrarerbutmoreseriouscrimes.

Theteam,includingCambridgeInstituteofCriminologyDirectorProfessorLawrenceShermanandhiscolleaguePeterNeyroud,aformerChief
Constable,arecallingfora"meaningfulmeasureofcrime"groundedinthetruesocietalcost:theharmdonetoitscitizens.

Sherman,NeyroudandcolleagueshavedevisedtheCambridgeCrimeHarmIndex(CHI),whichtheydescribeasessentiallyacrimeversionofthecost
oflivingindexaclassificationsystemweightedby,inthiscase,thelikelyimpactofanoffenceonvictims.ThefirstdetailedoutlineoftheCambridge
CHIispublishedtodayintheacademicjournalPolicing.

TheCambridgecriminologistssaythatthissimple,costneutralratioofharmfulcrime,basedonsentencingguidelinesandnumbersof'imprisonable'
days,willdramaticallyimproveidentificationandpolicingofareaswherethemostdamagingcrimeoccurs,socalled'harmspots',aswellasthemost
dangerousrepeatoffenderswhooftenfallbetweencracksincurrentoverviewanalyses.

InthePolicingjournalpaper,theresearchersprovideatenyearUKcomparisonbetweencurrentcrimemetricsandtheCambridgeCHI.Whileoverall
crimecountsbetween2002and2012showedadropof37%,theharmindexrevealsthatthisisanoverestimationintermsofpublicsafety,as
imprisonabledaysreflecting'harmcaused'onlydropped21%.

ShermanbelievesthatadoptionoftheCambridgeCHIwouldhelpmakeoptimaluseofscarceresourcesthroughmoretargetedpolicing,whichcould,in
turn,reduceprisonpopulations.

TheCambridgeCHIisalreadybeingtrialledbypoliceunitsinanumberofUKforcestoidentifycrime'harmspots'andtheoffenderswhocausemost
harm,withpolicereallocatingresourcesandpatrolpatternsaccordingly.

InarecentexampleofCambridgeCHIuse,mappingtheharmindexontopatternsofdomesticviolencehelpedSuffolkConstabularyrevealthatofthe
25,000couplescomingtopoliceattentionoversixyears,resultinginsome36,000calloutsfewerthan2%ofcouplesgenerated80%ofallharmto
eachother.

Thecriminologistssaythattheirapproachneednotreplacecurrentsystems,butsimplybeaddedtothemtohelpimproveunderstandingofwhatthe
crimecountsreallymean.

"Notallcrimesarecreatedequal.Countingthemasiftheyarefostersdistortionofriskandaccountability,"saidProfessorSherman,Directorofthe
CambridgeInstituteandHonoraryPresidentofthe2,000memberSocietyofEvidenceBasedPolicing.

"Ifshopliftingdropswhilemurdertriples,crimeisreportedas'down'yetanycommonsenseviewofpublicsafetycriesoutforsomeadjustmentfor
seriousness.

"Currently,thereisnomeaningful'bottomline'indicatorofwhetherpublicsafetyisactuallyimprovingordeclininginanygivenyearorplace.Measuring
bythenumberofdaysinprisoneachcrimecouldattractensuresthatpolice,policymakersandthepublicarebetterinformedonratesandtrendsof
crime,therisksposedandresourcesrequired,"Shermansaid.

Anynewapproachtomeasuringcrimemustpassathreeprongedtest,saysSherman:cost,reliabilityanddemocracy("reflectingthewillofthe
people").

TheCambridgecrimeharmindexusesafixedscalebasedonthenumberofprisondaysanoffencewouldreceiveatitsloweststartingpointfora
previouslyunconvictedoffender,withsentenceseverityreflectingharmcausedbythecrime.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160403195918.htm 1/3
5/20/2017 Crime:Measuringby'damagetovictims'willimprovepolicingandpublicsafetyScienceDaily
Wherepenaltyguidelinesareexpressedincommunityservicehours,theCambridgeIndexconvertsthemintodays.Wherethestartingpointisafine,
thisiscalculatedbythenumberofhours/daysneededtoearnthefineatminimumadultwage.

Judicialattitudescanvarywildlydependingonmediapanicsandpublicmood,saysSherman.Relyingonlyontheheavilydebatedsentencing
guidelinesprotectstheCambridgeCHIfromthisinstability,keepingitreliable,whileretainingitsbasisinthedemocraticallyauthorisedlawoftheland.
Thisdiffersfromothersystems,suchasCanada's'crimeseverityindex',whichrelyonthe"shiftingsands"ofactualsentencingpractice.

TheCambridgeresearcherssaythattheirharmindexcanbeeasilycalculatedbycitizensandofficialsalike,usingdataalreadypublishedonaregular
basis."Policingbudgetscanillaffordtofundanewsystemofcrimestatistics,andwehaveshowntheydon'thaveto,"saidSherman."Ourapproachis
essentiallyfreeofcharge."

Importantly,theCambridgeCHIdistinguishesbetweencrimesreportedtothepoliceandthose"proactivelygenerated"throughenforcement
sidesteppingwhatShermanreferstoasthe"selflickingicecream":theideathatanunreportedcrimedetectedbypolicesurveillancestillcountsas'one
crime',sopoliceenforcementactuallycontributestostatisticalcrimeincrease.

Shermanusestheanalogyofhedgefundstohighlighttheimportanceofacrimeharmindex:"Likepoliceandjusticeagencies,investorshaveto
achieveobjectivessuchasgrowthandsecurity,butfaceavastarrayofchoicesabouthowbesttoinvesttheirscarceresources.

"However,investorshaveonegreatadvantageoverpolicethatmakestheirjobmucheasier:acommoncurrency.Nowpolicecanhaveacommon
currencyaswell,onethatquantifiesthetruecostofallcrimetheharmitcauses."

StorySource:

MaterialsprovidedbyUniversityofCambridge.TheoriginalstoryislicensedunderaCreativeCommonsLicence.Note:Contentmaybeeditedfor
styleandlength.

JournalReference:

1. LawrenceSherman,PeterWilliamNeyroud,EleanorNeyroud.TheCambridgeCrimeHarmIndex:MeasuringTotalHarmfromCrimeBasedon
SentencingGuidelines.Policing,2016paw003DOI:10.1093/police/paw003

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UniversityofCambridge."Crime:Measuringby'damagetovictims'willimprovepolicingandpublicsafety."ScienceDaily.ScienceDaily,3April2016.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160403195918.htm>.

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