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| What Works Center for Crime Reduction | |
|---|---|
| Name | What Works Center for Crime Reduction |
| Formation | 2019 |
| Type | Independent research and advisory body |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Region served | United Kingdom |
| Leader title | Director |
| Website | (omitted) |
What Works Center for Crime Reduction The What Works Center for Crime Reduction is an independent evidence‑synthesis and policy advisory body focused on reducing offending and reoffending. It conducts systematic reviews, rapid evidence assessments, and randomized evaluation syntheses to inform policymakers, practitioners, and funders across the United Kingdom and internationally. The Centre links research traditions from criminology, public health, and implementation science to translate findings into practical guidance for courts, prisons, police forces, and community organizations.
The Centre produces systematic reviews that draw on randomized controlled trials, quasi‑experimental evaluations, and program evaluations conducted in contexts such as England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Ireland (island), Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Israel, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia', and Thailand to identify interventions that reduce crime, victimization, and incarceration. It engages with stakeholders including Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom), Home Office (United Kingdom), National Audit Office, Crown Prosecution Service, Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service, College of Policing, London Metropolitan Police Service, Greater Manchester Police, West Midlands Police, Scottish Prison Service, Northern Ireland Prison Service, Office for National Statistics, Parole Board for England and Wales, Youth Justice Board, Local Government Association, National Police Chiefs' Council, Cabinet Office (United Kingdom), Nesta, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Wellcome Trust, Economic and Social Research Council, Arts and Humanities Research Council, British Academy, Royal Society, RAND Corporation, Violence Reduction Unit (Glasgow), Institute for Government, Resolution Foundation, and academic partners at institutions such as University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, London School of Economics, University College London, King's College London, University of Manchester, University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, University of Birmingham, University of Leeds, University of Bristol, University of Sheffield, University of York, Durham University, University of Nottingham, University of Liverpool, Queen Mary University of London, University of Exeter, University of Southampton, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Cardiff University, Queen's University Belfast, University of Leicester, University of Stirling, and University of West England.
The Centre was established following policy debates involving actors such as Theresa May, David Cameron, Sadiq Khan, Gavin Williamson, Michael Gove, Rishi Sunak, Boris Johnson, and stakeholders including Magistrates' Association, Howard League for Penal Reform, The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, The Police Foundation, Civic Scotland, Justice Committee (House of Commons), Home Affairs Select Committee, and the Local Government Association. Early development drew on methodological precedents from the What Works Network, Cochrane Collaboration, Campbell Collaboration, Education Endowment Foundation, Behavioural Insights Team, Nuffield Foundation, Wellcome Trust, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Founding collaborations involved researchers associated with David P. Farrington, Lawrence Sherman, Joan McCord, Travis Hirschi, Robert M. Sampson, John H. Laub, Patricia A. Adler, James Q. Wilson, and institutions such as Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge and School of Law, University of Edinburgh.
The Centre's mission aligns with priorities articulated by bodies like United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Council of Europe, European Commission, Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism, Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom), and devolved administrations. Its governance structure includes a board with representatives from Office for National Statistics', Her Majesty's Treasury, National Audit Office', independent academics, and civil society leaders from Victim Support, Shelter (charity), Prison Reform Trust, Clinks, International Centre for Prison Studies, Howard League for Penal Reform', Restorative Justice Council, and legal practitioners from Bar Council, Law Society of England and Wales, and judges linked to the Crown Court and Magistrates' Court. Senior staff have previously held posts at Home Office (United Kingdom), Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom), Crown Prosecution Service, Youth Justice Board, College of Policing, RAND Corporation, King's Fund, and universities such as London School of Economics and University of Cambridge.
The Centre adopts evidence hierarchies influenced by Cochrane Collaboration, Campbell Collaboration, GATHER (reporting) standards, CONSORT Statement, PRISMA Statement, GRADE, What Works Network, Education Endowment Foundation, Behavioural Insights Team, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and practices used by RAND Corporation, Brookings Institution, American Evaluation Association, Society for Research on Adolescence, American Society of Criminology, European Society of Criminology, Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and International Society of Criminology. Methodologies include randomized controlled trials aligned with designs used by National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice, Institute of Education Sciences, and quasi‑experimental approaches similar to those by Institute for Fiscal Studies, Centre for Evidence‑Based Medicine, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and Public Health England. Statistical methods reference works from Sir David Cox, Bradley Efron, John Tukey, Donald Rubin, Judea Pearl, Angus Deaton, James Heckman, and software tools used at Princeton University, Harvard University, Stanford University, MIT, and Carnegie Mellon University.
Major outputs include systematic reviews, policy briefs, practitioner toolkits, and trial registries used by Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom), Home Office (United Kingdom), College of Policing, Youth Justice Board, Crown Prosecution Service, Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service, Local Government Association, Mayor of London, Glasgow City Council, and Liverpool City Council. The Centre publishes guidance on interventions such as cognitive‑behavioral therapy programs associated with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, diversion programs referenced by Youth Justice Board, truancy interventions linked to Department for Education (United Kingdom), electronic monitoring programs used by Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service, violence reduction strategies associated with Violence Reduction Unit (Glasgow), and community interventions similar to examples in Operation Ceasefire, Boston Gun Project, Cure Violence, Hot Spots Policing, Problem‑oriented Policing, Focused Deterrence, Restorative Justice, Family Functional Therapy, Multisystemic Therapy, Functional Family Therapy, Dialetical Behavior Therapy, and programs evaluated by National Institute of Justice.
The Centre has informed commissioning decisions at Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom), Home Office (United Kingdom), Scottish Government, Welsh Government, and local authorities including Birmingham City Council, Manchester City Council, Leeds City Council, Sheffield City Council, Liverpool City Council, Bristol City Council, and Newcastle City Council. Its evidence summaries have been cited in reports by National Audit Office, Public Accounts Committee, Institute for Fiscal Studies, House of Commons Library, Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, Royal Society, British Academy, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Nesta, and Crime Survey for England and Wales. Internationally, findings have been discussed at conferences hosted by American Society of Criminology, Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Campbell Collaboration, Cochrane Collaboration, European Society of Criminology, and International Society of Criminology.
Critiques from actors such as Howard League for Penal Reform, Prison Reform Trust, The Guardian (news)', The Times (London), Financial Times, Open Democracy, Institute for Fiscal Studies, and academic commentators at University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, London School of Economics, and University College London have questioned the external validity of randomized evidence, the applicability of trial results to settings cited in Crown Prosecution Service practice, and the balance between short‑term crime reduction and long‑term social policy aims highlighted by Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Resolution Foundation. Debates have involved commentators including Sir Robert Francis, Baroness Hale of Richmond, Lord Justice Leveson, David Lammy, Yvette Cooper, Nick Hurd, and research critiques in journals such as The Lancet, British Medical Journal, Criminology, British Journal of Criminology, Policing and Society, Journal of Experimental Criminology, Journal of Quantitative Criminology, European Journal of Criminology, and Crime & Delinquency.
Category:Crime prevention