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Moving Knowledge into Action: Applying Social Marketing Principles to Crime Prevention

NCJ Number
228431
Author(s)
Peter Homel; Tom Carroll
Date Published
September 2009
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the potential application of social marketing principles to crime prevention in Australia.
Abstract
One of the most well developed and empirically grounded frameworks for systematically analyzing and implementing a process for transferring evidence-based knowledge into action can be found within the principles of the social marketing approach. Social marketing has been described as the design of programs (using commercial marketing concepts and tools) to influence the voluntary behavior of target audiences to achieve social objectives. Social marketing has been a significant force in the public health field in Australia for more than two decades. The potential for the approach to be applied to crime prevention is examined through examples of older people and crime and online grooming of young people using social networking sites. The purpose of this paper is to explore the utility of applying social marketing principles to the prevention of crime, both as an analytical and intervention design tool, and to assess the potential for the social marketing approach to enhance the current inventory of crime prevention responses. In applying the process, a multi-step model for the development of a comprehensive social marketing campaign includes: (1) problem analysis; (2) external analysis; (3) internal analysis; (4) identification of need and audit of complementary strategies; (5) target audience identification and analysis; (6) channel analysis; (7) strategic planning; (8) formulation of a marketing plan and a management system; (9) development of strategies and materials through formative research; (10) implementation and monitoring; (11) summative evaluation; and (12) review and analysis for subsequent phases. Figure and references