Page 2 - NCPC35-5 July2017.indd

11

was a huge commitment for Majeed’s small team of psychologists who are
responsible both for the mental welfare of a 14,000-strong force and the
study of criminal behaviour. But they delivered and the book is stronger for
their contributions.
Majeed and I have rather ambitiously subtitled our book The Story of
Crime Prevention in Singapore. In truth, it only features four public education
campaigns and Crime Watch. But these are also some of the most important
work the NCPC has done in recent years. They can be said to have been
impactful, often for the right reasons but sometimes not. In discussing each
campaign, Majeed and I asked ourselves three questions:
• What impact is it having?
• Is it changing behaviour?
• Is it cost-effective?

Some answers were readily forthcoming. Others will require time for a
proper evaluation. There are three lessons that are immediately obvious:
• In the design of crime prevention campaigns, it is very useful to work
with behavioural scientists and police psychologists to understand
modus operandi, offender motivation and victim behaviour to better
identify target audience and messaging for specifi c crimes of concern.
• To sustain community involvement, campaigns have to leverage both
new and old technologies to nudge behavioural change. But nothing
still beats the traditional poster.
• Evaluations of campaign effectiveness have to be holistic, taking into
account not just campaign costs and public participation rates, but
also general measures of community wellness, including confi dence
in police and sense of safety and security.

12/7/17 9:57 am
NCPC35-5 July2017.indd 11 12/7/17 9:57 am
NCPC35-5 July2017.indd 11