Conclusion

This final chapter observes that if we do not meet the challenges and grab with both hands the options and programs listed in this book, greater expenditures will be required to pay for the losses due to crime and victimisation that await us in the future. In other words, it is better to pay up front now rather than foist these additional expenditures upon our grandchildren. There is enough money to expend now, of course, for the criminal justice systemAustralian criminal justice system is a very expensive system indeed. Reinvesting that money into crime prevention programs that work is a far better approach. The chapter concludes that we have clear choices in relation to crime reduction and prevention that are achievable, cost-effective, and realistic so long as we maintain the drive for research, learn from our findings, and adopt, uphold, and carry with us the appropriate political and societal will.