ABSTRACT
In the last two decades, crime has become one of the most pervasive features of quality of life. ‘Law and order’ vies with health and the economy as the most salient concern of British citizens, and the picture is not radically different in most Western societies. The influence of this concern is such that many British police forces now see delivery of quality of life as or more important than catching criminals or preserving public order. At the same time, there have been significant shifts in public policy on law and order, from detection to prevention, from offender to victim, from imprisonment to community sentences, which both reflect and mediate public opinion. In this chapter, I will explore the meaning of these transformations from a geographical perspective and illustrate the increasing role for geographical skills in analysis of the problem and in the search for solutions.
