Future Directions Required of All of Us

This chapter summarises what we know and what we now need to do to reduce crime. Given the research evidence that, fortunately, expands daily, we do know a great deal about what worksWhat works in crime prevention, what complicates matters, and whom policymakersPolicymakers should be listening to and whom they should be ignoring in putting programs and strategies in place. We know, too, what often frustrates the task, namely the criminal justice systemAustralian criminal justice system itself. It too often gets in the way, yet pretends that it is essential to the task. The chapter repeats observations made by many criminologists about what should be the key focus of crime prevention, namely that our society needs to devote far more attention to the wellbeing of children, preventing their abuse and neglectChild neglect and crime, and trumpeting the importance of eradicating the intergenerational traumaIntergenerational trauma that continues to supply young candidates for police attention. It concludes with a plea that policymakersPolicymakers adopt evidence-based solutions and reject ‘quick fixes’.