Knowing what to do starts with knowing what works, and what hasn't. CrimeSolutions helps practitioners and policymakers understand what programs & practices work, are promising, or haven't worked yet.
On this page you can find programs and practices related to Property Crime. Select "Search Filters" to narrow down the list by rating, extent of evidence, and many other aspects of the programs or practices. Skip to Practices
CrimeSolutions’ ratings are assigned from standardized reviews of rigorous evaluations and meta-analyses. While we encourage you to learn more about this process, you don’t need to in order to benefit from it. Our clear ratings and profiles can help you determine if a program or category of program is worth pursuing.
Evidence Ratings Defined
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Rating
Description
Effective
Implementing the program, or a program encompassed by the practice, will achieve the intended outcome.
Promising
Implementing the program, or a program encompassed by the practice, will achieve the intended outcome.
Ineffective
Implementing the program, or a program encompassed by the practice, will not achieve the intended outcome.
Negative Effects
Implementing the program, or program encompassed by the practice, will not result in intended outcome(s) and may result in harmful effects.
Burglary, Motor vehicle theft, Patrol, Computers, Property crime, Motor vehicle theft, Crime prevention, Larceny/theft, Law enforcement operations, Law enforcement, Problem-oriented policing
This program involved the use of a crime forecasting model to direct police patrol to dynamic hot spots to reduce crime. The program is rated Promising. There were statistically significant reductions in daily crime volume (specifically burglary, car theft, and burglary-theft from vehicle) for police patrols in the treatment condition, compared with patrols in the control condition.
Surveillance, Sensors/Surveillance, Environmental design, Situational crime prevention, Burglary, Crime prevention, Property crime, Crime, Law enforcement, Law enforcement operations, Equipment and technology
This is a place-based intervention that uses environmental design at high-crime businesses in the city to reduce crime and improve public safety. The program is rated Ineffective. There were no statistically significant effects on disorder occurrences or violent crime. The intervention did result in statistically significant reductions in property crime around treated businesses, compared with matched control businesses, at 1-year postimplementation.
Burglary, Motor vehicle theft, Assault, Robbery, Community policing, Patrol, Environmental design, Crime prevention, Property crime, Larceny/theft, Violent crime
This is a police substation operating within a business improvement district in Newark (N.J.) with the goal of reducing crime in the target area. The program is rated Promising. There were statistically significant reductions in burglary and motor vehicle theft in the treated area compared with a control area over the entire 6-year postintervention period. There were no statistically significant differences in robbery, aggravated assault, or theft from auto.
This strategy sought to reduce crime in Philadelphia by testing three different patrol strategies. The program is rated Ineffective. Relative to control areas, there was no statistically significant difference in violent or property crimes in areas using one of two of the patrol strategies. Property crimes in an area using one of the strategies saw a statistically significant decrease, while there was a statistically significant increase in violent crime in areas using two of the strategies.
This was an intervention to reduce crime and delinquency in urban areas by remediating vacant land. The program is rated Promising. Compared with the control area, treatment areas experienced statistically significant reductions in gun assaults, burglary, nuisances, shootings (overall and per kilometer), and all crimes overall. However, the intervention showed mixed results with regard to drug offense rates and no statistically significant effect on robbery/theft rates.
Burglary, Larceny/theft, Motor vehicle theft, Assault, Gun violence, Homicide, Robbery, Sensors/Surveillance, Surveillance, Environmental design, Traffic laws, Traffic law enforcement, Law enforcement operations, Closed Circuit Television (CCTV), Arrests, Equipment and technology
This is a police-operated public surveillance program that seeks to reduce crime and increase crime clearances (i.e., arrests) by installing new closed-circuit television cameras at high-crime, high-traffic intersections in Milwaukee (Wis.). The program is rated Promising. Intersections in intervention areas where new cameras were installed had a statistically significant higher rate of crime clearances for all crime types, compared with intersections in comparison areas.
Youth development, Jobs and workforce development, Property crime, Crime prevention, Mentoring, Child health and welfare, Juvenile delinquency, Employment initiatives, Violent crime
This is a summer jobs program in Chicago, Ill., which seeks to reduce youth violence by providing high-risk students (grades 8–12) with part-time summer employment and access to an adult job mentor. The program is rated No Effects. There were no statistically significant differences between the treatment group and the control group in violent crime arrests, property crime arrests, drug arrests, or other arrests.
This is a crime prevention technique designed to deter retail theft by wrapping products in a security wire wrap. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group stores that received the intervention experienced a statistically significant drop in the loss of cordless electric drills, compared with control group stores. However, there were no statistically significant differences in the loss of diet supplements or skincare products.
This program used a randomized experimental design to test the effects of a situational theft prevention strategy to reduce the theft of property (i.e., dry erase markers labeled with an anti-theft message) from classrooms at a university in Louisiana. The program is rated Promising. Treatment classrooms with labeled markers had a statistically significant lower likelihood of having the markers removed, compared with control classrooms that received markers without the message.
The program is designed to reduce theft and accidental loss of high-loss products by both increasing attention paid to the product and reducing general access to the product. This program is rated Promising. The program showed a statistically significant decrease in product loss in stores that used special protective handling procedures compared with stores that did not.
The program is designed to reduce theft of high-loss products using protective display fixtures. By increasing the effort and time needed to execute a theft, this fixture increases the perceived risk of theft detection while reducing their perception of the potential rewards of stealing a product. This program is rated Promising. The program showed a statistically significant decrease in product loss in stores that used protective display fixtures compared with stores that did not.
Burglary, Larceny/theft, Patrol, Problem-oriented policing, Policing strategies, Property crime, Crime prevention, Larceny/theft, Law enforcement operations, Law enforcement
This program relies on hot spots policing strategies to prevent thefts from vehicles and residential burglaries in “micro-time” hot spots in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The program is rated Effective. There was a statistically significant reduction in thefts from vehicles and residential burglaries in micro-time hot spots that received tactical police responses, compared with micro-time hot spots that received police patrol as usual.
Community policing, Problem-oriented policing, Policing strategies, Law enforcement operations, Law enforcement
This intervention used two hot spots policing strategies (problem solving and directed patrol) to improve citizens’ perceptions of police in St. Louis, Mo. The program is rated Ineffective. Although residents in both treatment groups reported a statistically significant increase in cooperation with the police, the preponderance of evidence suggests that the intervention had no significant impact on citizens’ perceptions of procedural justice, police legitimacy, or police abuse.
Burglary, Property crime, Crime prevention, Victimization, Victims of crime
This intervention was designed to prevent repeat and near-repeat burglaries. The program used a target-hardening, crime-prevention technique to reduce repeat victimization of the same households and neighbors within the same area. The program is rated Ineffective. The program found no statistically significant difference in both burglaries and time-to-repeat victimization between households in the treatment group, compared with households in the control group.
Motor vehicle theft, Gun violence, Homicide, Robbery, Sensors/Surveillance, Computers, Situational crime prevention, Larceny/theft, Crime prevention, Law enforcement operations, Closed Circuit Television (CCTV), Law enforcement, Violent crime, Equipment and technology
This program is designed to deter street-level crime in Newark using closed-circuit cameras, hard-wired to physical structures, which are monitored in real time by CCTV operators. The program is rated Ineffective. Results from one study showed no statistically significant differences in shootings, auto thefts, or thefts from autos. Results from a second study showed a statistically significant decrease in auto thefts but no statically significant difference in shootings or thefts from auto.
Robbery, Burglary, Victims of crime, Property crime, Crime prevention
This is a restorative justice program that uses face-to-face conferences to reduce posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) among burglary/robbery victims and reconviction rates among those who committed the offense. The program is rated Promising. Results showed a statistically significant reduction in victims’ clinical levels of PTSS, but no statistically significant effect on reconviction rates among those who committed the offense.
Burglary, Evidence, Fingerprints, Property crime, Investigations, Law enforcement, Law enforcement operations, Victims of crime
This program aims to improve police officers’ forensic evidence-collection techniques at burglary crime scenes to increase solved burglaries. The program also intends to improve police–victim and police–witness interactions at burglary crime scenes. The program is rated Promising. Results showed a statistically significant increase in solved burglary cases.
This is a criminal investigation method used by law enforcement to increase burglary arrest rates using statistically derived profiles of convicted persons. The intervention was implemented in one police department in Florida for use in active burglary investigations. The program was rated Effective. Results showed a statistically significant increase in burglary arrest rates for the police department that implemented the program.
Burglary, Larceny/theft, Motor vehicle theft, Assault, Robbery, Patrol, Situational crime prevention, Law enforcement operations, Law enforcement, Problem-oriented policing
This program involved officers patrolling crime hot spots in roughly 15-minute intervals to reduce crime. The program is rated Promising. There were statistically significant reductions in aggregated Part 1 crimes and Part 1 property crimes in the treatment hot spots, compared with control areas, during the 90-day intervention period, when compared with the same period 1 year prior. However, there was no statistically significant effect on calls for service, soft crime, and Part 1 violent crimes
Vehicles, Dispatching, Patrol, Property crime, Motor vehicle theft, Crime prevention, Law enforcement operations, Law enforcement
This program examined whether access to deployment data collected through technology impacted police commanders’ management of resources and led to reductions in crime. The program is rated No Effects. There was a statistically significant decrease in crime at the hot spot level. However, there were no significant differences in crime at the beat level, in consistency between patrols assigned and delivered per beat and per hot spot, or in number of hours of patrol on beats or in hot spots.
Robbery, Community policing, Patrol, Problem-oriented policing, Environmental design, Situational crime prevention, Burglary, Property crime, Crime prevention, Traffic law enforcement, Traffic laws, Law enforcement operations, Policing strategies
This is a law-enforcement model in which both location-based crime and automobile crash data is analyzed to determine where such incidents disproportionately occur (“hot spots”) and to employ targeted traffic enforcement strategies. The program is rated Promising. The areas of targeted enforcement experienced statistically significant declines in robberies, burglaries, and traffic crashes.
A deterrence-based intervention that took place in four Quebec insurance companies aimed to deter residential theft insurance claimants from exaggerating the value of their claims. The program is rated Promising. The project resulted in a statistically significant reduction in claim padding compared to the control group.
In the Netherlands, a large-scale government intervention led to a regulation requiring built-in home security in all newly constructed homes. The program is rated Promising. The regulatory change statistically significantly reduced the risk of burglary by 26 percent compared with homes built in the years prior to the passage of the regulation. There were no statistically significant effects on measures of attempted burglary.
This is a restorative justice program that provides juveniles who have been convicted of an offense and their victims the opportunity to meet face to face in the presence of a mediator to discuss the offense. The program is rated Promising. Individuals in the program were statistically significantly more likely to complete their restitution obligation. There was a statistically significant impact on victim satisfaction with the justice system, but there was no statistically significant impact on
This is a restorative justice program that uses conferencing to repair the harm. The program is rated Promising. Participants had a statistically significant lower likelihood of committing violent offenses, and a greater likelihood of reporting a belief in the law, negative attitude toward reoffending, and greater effort to not drive drunk, compared with the control group. There were mixed findings in the rate of drunk driving, and no difference in property crimes, shoplifting, or recidivism.
Motor vehicle theft, Sensors/Surveillance, Vehicles, Patrol, Problem-oriented policing, Property crime, Crime prevention, Larceny/theft, Patrol, Law enforcement operations, Equipment and technology
This program consists of the use of a vehicle-scanning device deployed by law enforcement to detect vehicles that have been reported stolen or missing. The program is rated Ineffective. There were no statistically significant program effects on general crime, auto-related crime, vehicle-theft calls for service, or auto-theft.
Gang Crime, Youth gangs, Probation, Community policing, Problem-oriented policing, Young juvenile offenders, Property crime, Crime prevention, Drugs, Violent crime
This is a comprehensive gang violence reduction program designed for the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group youth who participated in the program had statistically significant reductions in total violent crime, serious violent crime, and drug crime arrests, compared with control group youth. However, there was no statistically significant difference in property crime arrests or total arrests.
Arson, Burglary, Larceny/theft, Motor vehicle theft, Assault, Homicide, Robbery, Community policing, Patrol, Problem-oriented policing, Situational crime prevention, Policing strategies, Property crime, Law enforcement operations, Arrests
This is a geographically focused policing strategy to reduce violent crime in high-crime areas using problem-oriented policing (POP) and saturation/directed patrols. The program is rated No Effects. While there were no statistically significant reductions in any violent or property crime in POP hot spots, or in any violence or property crime in directed patrol hot spots, there were statistically significant reductions in nondomestic violent crime in POP hot spots compared with control hot spots.
This community crime-prevention program in Portland, OR., used a combination of private prevention techniques and neighborhood prevention efforts to protect neighborhoods from burglary. This program is rated Effective. Participating homes showed statistically significant reductions in burglary rates and were more likely to report burglaries to the police, compared with non-participating homes. However, there were no statistically significant differences in recovery rates of stolen property.
This is a place-based policing intervention that was designed to reduce crime and disorder associated with homeless encampments in the “Skid Row” section of Los Angeles, Calif. The program is rated Promising. The treatment group areas had statistically significant reductions in nuisance crime, violent crime, and property crime, compared with comparison group areas.
Burglary, Larceny/theft, DNA testing, Prosecution, Evidence, Databases, Crime scene investigation, Fingerprints, Crime prevention, Courts, Investigations, Law enforcement, Law enforcement operations
This was an experiment to evaluate the impact of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) evidence collection and testing on the investigation of high-volume property crimes. The program is rated Effective. Across five sites, more suspects were identified, arrested, and prosecuted in the treatment group cases, compared with suspects in the control group cases. These differences were statistically significant.
Burglary, Property crime, Situational crime prevention, Victims of crime
This program upgrades street lighting on residential roads and footpaths to decrease crime and fear of crime. This program is rated Effective. In the experimental area, there were statistically significant reductions in the incidence and prevalence rates of crime and in the percentage of respondents who knew a victim, compared with the control area.
Larceny/theft, Motor vehicle theft, Robbery, Burglary, Property crime, Environmental design, Situational crime prevention, Victims of crime
This is a program designed to reduce crime by improving street lighting in residential areas. This program is rated Effective. There were statistically significant reductions in prevalence, incidence, and fear of crime in the experimental area compared with the control area. In addition, a statistically significant higher percentage of residents in the control area reported knowing someone who had been the victim of a crime compared with residents in the experimental area.
Burglary, Larceny/theft, Sensors/Surveillance, Problem-oriented policing, Property crime, Situational crime prevention, Motor vehicle theft, Crime prevention, Law enforcement operations, Law enforcement, Equipment and technology
The town of Redton, England, installed closed-circuit television cameras in the central commercial district to reduce crime. The program is rated Promising. Using a trend analysis, there was no significant overall crime decrease. However, in analyses of separate types of crime, controlling for trends, the reduction was significant for some types of crime (theft of and from vehicles), but not from others (other theft, shoplifting).
Sensors/Surveillance, Problem-oriented policing, Burglary, Property crime, Environmental design, Situational crime prevention, Closed Circuit Television (CCTV), Law enforcement, Law enforcement operations, Equipment and technology
This program installed closed-circuit television cameras to monitor public space in different locations around the city of Philadelphia, PA. This program is rated Promising. The intervention showed a statistically significant reduction in disorder crime and the number of crime events in the target areas, compared with the control areas. However, no significant differences were found for serious crimes in the target areas, compared with the control areas.
This is a policing program designed to reduce crime through the management of police resources in Fort Worth, Texas. The program is rated Promising. Following the implementation of Compstat in Fort Worth, there was a statistically significant reduction in rates of overall crime and property crime, and a statistically significant increase in arrests for minor nuisance offenses. However, there were no statistically significant effects on violent crime rates.
Motor vehicle theft, Sensors/Surveillance, Vehicles, Situational crime prevention, Larceny/theft, Property crime, Crime prevention, Equipment and technology
This program uses devices that prevent a vehicle from starting without receiving the correct signal from the driver, with the goal of reducing car theft. This signal may be communicated through a transponder, electronic key, or other mechanism. The program is rated Effective. The program demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in theft of cars with engine immobilizers, compared with theft of cars without engine immobilizers.
This is a crime prevention program that consists of the installation of gates to alleyways in Liverpool, England, to reduce burglaries. The gates restrict access to local residents only, thus reducing opportunities for potential crime. The program is rated Effective. Treatment areas that implemented alley gates had a statistically significant reduction in burglaries, compared with comparison areas.
Crime & Delinquency | Total property damage only crashes
Crime & Delinquency | Total red-light running crashes
Crime & Delinquency | Total crashes
Sensors/Surveillance, Vehicles, Property crime, Crime prevention, Traffic laws, Traffic law enforcement, Law enforcement operations, Law enforcement, Equipment and technology
Red-light cameras are a traffic enforcement mechanism that permit police to remotely enforce traffic signals, to deter red-light running at signalized intersections. Red-light cameras are a fully automated photo detection system that includes cameras, sensors or triggers, and a computer. The practice is rated Promising for reducing total injury crashes. The practice is rated Ineffective for reducing total crashes, total property-damage-only crashes, or total red-light-running crashes.
Burglary, Larceny/theft, Motor vehicle theft, Sensors/Surveillance, Surveillance, Witnesses, Community policing, Problem-oriented policing, Situational crime prevention, Law enforcement operations, Law enforcement, Violent crime, Equipment and technology
Public surveillance systems include a network of cameras and components for monitoring, recording, and transmitting video images. Public surveillance cameras are designed to reduce both property and personal crime. This practice is rated Promising for reducing overall crime, property crime, and vehicle crime, and rated No Effects for impacting violent crime.
Weapons violations, Patrol, Problem-oriented policing, Policing strategies, Property crime, Crime prevention, Law enforcement, Crime prevention, Larceny/theft, Patrol, Law enforcement operations, Arrests, Law enforcement, Drugs, Public order offenses
Hot spots policing strategies focus on small geographic areas or places, usually in urban settings, where crime is concentrated. Through hot spots policing strategies, law enforcement agencies can focus limited resources in areas where crime is most likely to occur. This practice is rated Effective for reducing overall crime and rated Promising for reducing violent, property, public order, and drug and alcohol offenses.
Burglary, Motor vehicle theft, Community policing, Problem-oriented policing, Property crime, Situational crime prevention, Victimization
Also known as block watch, apartment watch, home watch, and community watch, these programs involve citizens trying to prevent crime in their neighborhood or community. Citizens remain alert for suspicious activities and report those activities to the police. The practice is rated Promising in reducing crime in the control area compared to the experimental area; and rated Ineffective in reducing victimization.
