For the harm done by the offender, he is responsible.  For the harm done because we do not use the best knowledge when that is available to us, we are responsible.

The harm to victims from current levels of crime are unacceptable in the 21^st century.  We have the compelling and empirical evidence that smart prevention stops victimization from crime.  We know that investing in proven prevention gives us a dividend of less harm to victims of crime but also of less costs to taxpayers.

But politicians are simply not applying this knowledge as if they were on the side of crime victims.  They must re-balance expenditures on reaction with effective prevention.  They must shift government thinking, bureaucratic silos and investment to guarantee the right to safety – a fundamental human right – for voters who are (potential) victims of crime.

If governments and so taxpayers are to pay on the basis of results in reducing crime, we would see a massive shift from traditional policing strategies and mass incarceration to smart problem oriented policing and targeted social crime prevention.

The World Health Organization reviewed the scientific studies on what prevents violence in 2002.  It asserted that violence is preventable, not inevitable, and recommended investing significantly in proven and targeted pre-crime prevention and services for victims of crime.  Mandela wrote the foreword.  ¨Violence is preventable, not inevitable.¨

Little did Mandela know that just ten years later  A plethora of government agencies across the world would provide living proof.  The World Health Organization again in 2009 and now the U.S. Department of Justice have scoured the world to provide even more.   In my country, Public Safety Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada – yes the public health agency – have selected best practices and made them publicly accessible.

My two recent books bring this material together with a plan on how to implement this knowledge successfully.  The books are not just enabling legislators, taxpayers, voters and potential victims to understand the potential of prevention.  They are leading to real action.  They have also coincided with the initiatives of WHO, Habitat,  UNODC and now the World Bank that propose similar actions.

These programs have to be directed by good governance strategies that are sustained, comprehensive and results oriented.  You cannot succeed through partial solutions.  The essentials include a responsibility center at all key orders of government, sustained investment in training, standards and capacity development as well as 3 year action plans with ten year vision.  These must be multi-pronged (enforcement, design, social …) and a portfolio of short and long term investments.

Those of us involved in successful implementation know of inspiring successes such as the Province of Alberta and Glasgow.  We know also what is needed from understanding how ¨planned change¨ succeeds.  Here is that list:

• Collaborative and Problem Solving Partnerships that bring together (braid) key agencies such as schools, social services, who are in the best position to tackle the proven risk factors in families and neighborhoods;
• The problem solving planning cycle of diagnosis, plan, implementation, evaluation;
• All orders of government – municipalities have key role to play but require financial and technical support from other orders of government;
• Engaging and involving the public;
• Sustained Investment Targeted to High Risk (persons, families, areas);
• Capacity developed before – human resources, models, data;
• Measuring outcomes/results independently of justice processes – eg using victimization surveys, surveys of violence against women, health data (death and injury), costs and consequences of crime.

But it also requires urgently political leadership from those who have the passion to take the side of victims and stop victimization with strategies that ¨work¨.  They can be encouraged by police leaders who understand that stopping victimization is a partnership between smart enforcement and smart prevention.