September 01, 2011

Crime-Cutting Miracles?

27 minutes

Following the riots the government has been keen to look at initiatives which hold out the promise of preventing violent crime. The Violence Reduction Unit was set up in Glasgow in 2004. The murder rate in the city had been high for generations. The radical idea the VRU had was that, rather than solve violent crime, police should prevent it. Violence is treated like a disease - tough police enforcement goes hand in hand with community initiatives aimed at changing the culture of violence.

Police initiatives in the US also have the same aspiration. Bill Bratton, who will be advising the government, was police commissioner in New York & Los Angeles when violent crime fell dramatically. Mobeen Azhar asks how initiatives, in both Scotland & the US, actually operate & whether they work.

Contributors

Commissioner Bill Bratton

Professor Larry Sherman

Professor Andrew Karmen

Dr Michael Murray

Karyn McCluskey, VRU

DS Steven Kettenhorn, Strathclyde Police

Superintendent Bob Hamilton, Strathclyde Police

Angela Morgan, Chief Exec, Includem

Commander Steve Rodhouse, MET

Producer : Rosamund Jones.

...more