***** Handbook of Crime Prevention and Community Safety. By Nick Tilley; Published by Willan Publishing, www.willanpublishing.co.uk [1] (Web); 782 pages; $29.95.

 

Reading the Handbook of Crime Prevention and Community Safety, one finds it both surprising and disappointing that a 210-page book on these two topics would not even mention the security industry as a resource in either area.

 

The book is a criminology textbook, heavy on graphs, charts, and tables that are complemented by exercises and reference notes. Each chapter is specifically focused on such issues as the criminal justice system, the individual, social measures, and environmental crime control theories. Author Nick Tilley argues that crime prevention is the responsibility of criminal justice agencies, and he identifies mechanisms for preventing crime. The sixth chapter, “Implementation,” is interesting as Tilley acknowledges that the police cannot bear sole responsibility for crime prevention. Citizens, he argues, must also be accountable. By this point in the text, it seems Tilley either knows nothing about the security industry or has deliberately omitted it.

 

Tilley is certainly a deep thinker as evidenced by his review, analysis, and criticism of various theories. The book is interesting in an academic way, but offers nothing to security professionals except the implication of their irrelevance.

For those generally interested in crime prevention from a sociological perspective, this book provides a great deal of up-to-date material. Those looking for any mention of the impact or role that the security industry has on the subject will be quite disappointed. 

 

Reviewer: Glen Kitteringham, CPP, has worked in the security industry since 1990. He holds a master’s degree in security and crime risk management from England’s University of Leicester. He is Chair of the ASIS International Commercial Real Estate Council and is an assistant regional vice president for the Canada region.