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Executive summary
One fundamental function of the state is to protect its citizens from crime and insecurity. While the lessons of effective crime prevention are varied, one consistent finding is that police work is always more effective when it is supported by civil society. For example, experience globally with neighbourhood watch programs and community crime-prevention education shows the value of an empowered local community in keeping crime low.
Private sector involvement in crime prevention has also been an important hallmark of success. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) between corporations and crime-fighting bodies to devise and employ solutions to stymie criminal activities have been uniquely effective. IT companies are particularly well adapted to help crime-fighters address threats that rely on technology as a principle method to organize, target victims and execute criminal schemes.
The challenge for many law enforcement groups is to learn how to effectively promote and sustain PPPs with the private sector. Law enforcement agencies lack experience in engaging corporations and as a results are often ineffective in positioning their "ask" to attract necessary interest, resources and commitment.
To achieve strong and sustainable partnerships, law enforcement agencies need to tailor requests for private sector support to reflect industry core competencies include clear, shared measurable results and address private sector perceptions, both positive and negative related to being associated with crime prevention.
True to the PPP model, such partnerships may reflect the pursuit of a commercial opportunity, pro bono philanthropy, corporate citizenship or both. The result, however, whether fully commercial, pro bono or a mixture of both, can be very powerful indeed. Private sector competencies aligned to the task of preventing criminal activity have demonstrated far-reaching impact and the potential to put these into wider practice globally is promising.
Unfortunately, crime-prevention PPPs, do remain somewhat ad hoc in nature. Much more could be done through formalizing the dialogue space between crime-prevention agencies and likely private sector partners. Given their global convocatory power, accredited international agencies should adopt a leadership role in driving the collaboration process. Agencies such as the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Interpol are naturally suited entities to perform this role. Internationally recognized universities also offer the capacity to provide policy-level leadership and guidance. At the national level, national governments working...