Crime fighters Strategies to protect businesses are now available on the Web Archived article from Oct 5, 2001 By Irene O'Brien   "The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together." This line from Shakespeare's "All's Well That Ends Well" is one of Marcus Felson's favorites, because it goes a long way toward describing what the School of Criminal Justice professor calls the situational features of crime. To illustrate, Felson points to cities such as Newark, where the recent success of small businesses has inadvertently created new opportunities for crimes against owners and patrons. Crime-prevention strategies for businesses may seem obvious -- locks, secure windows and doors, and bright lighting. But, in fact, Felson maintains, success in fighting crime, particularly property theft in the workplace, requires learning more about the strategies and tactics of crime prevention. Few owners of small businesses have time to do so. That's where Rutgers comes in. In 1994, Felson published an article in Crime Prevention Studies proposing a new model for fighting crime. Based on the structure of agricultural cooperative extension services, a crime-fighting cooperative extension would make current research on crime prevention readily available to business owners. At the same time, this service would give researchers real-world examples of how and why crimes occur. His concept is already being used in Australia, but is only now gaining attention in New Jersey. With support from a Strategic Resources and Opportunity Analysis (SROA) grant, Felson recently launched Crime Prevention Service, a Web site designed to educate business owners in Newark and elsewhere about practical crime-prevention measures. "There is good reason to believe that a significant majority of crime has business as its victim, probably as much as 70 percent," Felson said. "Small businesses suffer the most, particularly from property crime, and they are often repeat victims. This type of crime very often evades enforcement, so the best defense is to prevent it from happening in the first place." Located at crimeprevention.rutgers.edu, the site is designed and maintained with the help of Sharon Chamard, a doctoral student in criminal justice. It is written in clear and precise language with built-in mechanisms for visitors to supply examples from their own experiences. Felson has also offered classes for police officers in preventing crime. "While police are aware of many of the reasons that crimes against business can occur, they do not always articulate the nuances of how to prevent it. We've been able to bring their experience to the classroom to combine with what we teach from the research world, and several of these officers have reported successfully using our theories on the job." Felson's goal is for the Web site to become a resource for businesses throughout New Jersey. "Our research on crime prevention could directly serve the greater community and benefit just about everyone. Now we are addressing the challenge of sharing this information with as many people as possible," he said. Tips for business owners Cash registers should be located in the center of the store, offering good visibility from many vantage points. Parking lots should be well-lit to eliminate dark hiding spots. Interior lighting should be bright enough to allow for visibility and surveillance without creating excessive glare or shadows. Employ at least two workers after dark. Windows should be clear of excessive signage. Cash should be handled discreetly.

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