Behavioural Crime Prevention

This study developed new evidence and insights about what works in crime prevention communications to persuade people to adopt new security behaviours to better protect themselves from crime risks.

Current crime prevention communications typically use a ‘fear frame’ – trying to scare people into changing behaviour. This research identified effective techniques to change public behaviours without increasing levels of fear of crime.

The approach tested three models of behaviour change:

• 'nudges’ use established social psychological influence mechanisms to induce behavioural modifications
• ‘tugs’ involve compulsion or direction to alter conduct
• ‘teachable moments’ work by delivering a communication at a particular moment in time, often when the recipient is especially receptive to new information.

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