Crime Reduction - Helping to Reduce Crime in Your Area

IMPROVING PERFORMANCE THROUGH APPLIED KNOWLEDGE (IPAK)

Welcome to the Mini-site dedicated to a Home Office pilot project aimed at improving performance by applying knowledge more effectively.

The project is progressing and we are pleased to present the first evidence base of knowledge regarding Domestic Burglary.

You can also follow progress as we continue to develop the IPAK process for other crime types - this site will enable you to keep up to date on the latest developments as the work continues to move forward.

WHAT IS IMPROVING PERFORMANCE THROUGH APPLIED KNOWLEDGE?

Effective Practice is generally taken to mean simply what works but often examples of effective practice are not detailed enough for practitioners to use successfully. Practitioners don't just need to know what works but also how and why something works if they are to understand and use the information effectively.

IPAK aims to do this. It is seen as having great potential to improve performance in policing and Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships/Community Safety Partnerships (CDRPs/CSPs), and Government Ministers consider it a high priority in the general drive to improve performance in crime reduction.

This pilot is not just about identifying whole projects that have been successful and may be worth replicating elsewhere - it is also about identifying good knowledge and packaging it in ways that practitioners can use.

The project will pull together 3 different types of knowledge:

1. Examples of effective practice
2. Knowledge about crime and crime types - what we already know about a topic
3. Tacit knowledge - knowledge about how something was done (know-how), such as working effectively with elected members or other partners

AIMS OF THE PILOT PROJECT

The aims of the burglary pilot are:

• To carry out a systematic review of current research evidence regarding domestic burglary
• To collate tacit knowledge of effective initiatives from practitioners. This is the experience gained from intitiatives run by practitioners that is not often written down.
• To create an evidence base on domestic burglary and develop knowledge products to help and support practitioners and Government Offices with the delivery of crime reduction and drugs prevention
• To set up a process for updating products so they remain relevant
• Produce a communication strategy that will document how information will be disseminated to and received from, all stakeholders. It will also identify the medium and frequency of information flow of project outcomes to the right target audience
• Produce a transparent methodology to enable the IPAK process to be repeated for other crime topics
• Evaluate the impact of the project on key stakeholders
• To demonstrate the value of the IPAK approach in supporting improved performance.

Last update: Monday, April 02, 2007