A systematic mapping of public health primary prevention interventions with relevance for policing
| Published date | 01 June 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14613557231159551 |
| Author | Arun Sondhi,Emma Williams |
| Date | 01 June 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Original Research Articles |
A systematic mapping of public health
primary prevention interventions with
relevance for policing
Arun Sondhi
Therapeutic Solutions (Addictions), UK
Emma Williams
The Open University, UK
Abstract
This study aimed to utilise systematic mapping techniques to assess existing empirical reviews of the evidence-base for
primary prevention public health initiatives relevant to policing. In total, 9410 records were extracted of which 9373 were
screened by two researchers; 356 studies were assessed for eligibility of which 134 titles were included. The majority of
titles were academic publications (81%) across 16 subject domains. The main domains reviewed were violence (53%),
substance misuse (37%) and mental health (27%). Forty-two per cent of the titles were across multiple points of contact
and 38% were within school settings. Few primary prevention studies were delivered for domestic abuse, female genital
mutilation, hate crime, road traffic accidents, terrorism and white-collar crimes. Positive outcomes were ascribed to par-
enting, family-based, school and pre-school primary prevention interventions. Definitional problems identifying primary
prevention initiatives from the literature were identified as a major concern. Thematic analysis identified issues linking
causal mechanisms with behaviour change and how to ensure high-quality methods are deployed to measure outcomes.
Further work is required to develop preventative approaches in areas with limited knowledge. It is recommended that
research focuses on expanding understanding causal mechanisms underpinning primary prevention initiatives.
Keywords
Systematic mapping, primary prevention, prevention, public health, policing
Submitted 7 Feb 2022, Revise received 28 Apr 2022, accepted 12 Dec 2022
Introduction
There has been an emerging consensus that emphasises the
role of public health interventions in addressing wider
societal needs, including the prevention of antisocial and
criminal behaviours encompassing diverse issues such as
knife crime (Hurley, 2019; Ponsford et al. 2019), violence
(Middleton and Shepherd, 2018), substance misuse (Saloner
et al., 2018), domestic violence (Chandan et al., 2020) and sui-
cidal behaviours (Decker et al., 2018). The role of publ ic
health initiatives to meet these wider needs has also been
viewed conceptually as ‘regulating the poor’(Rodger, 2012)
or ‘behavioural regulation’(Brown, 2015) as part of a wider
aim of criminalising social policy. This view can be seen as
part of a debate as to whether the police should concentrate
on a narrow, more ‘traditional’focus for policing, set against
examining the possible synergies that lie (and arguably can
be shown to have always existed) between public safety
and public health (Bartkowiak-Théron and Asquith, 2017;
Corresponding author:
Arun Sondhi, 4 Old Park Lane, London W1K 1QW, UK.
Email: arun.sondhi@therapeutic-solutions.org.uk
Original Research Article
International Journal of
Police Science & Management
2023, Vol. 25(2) 148–156
© The Author(s) 2023
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DOI: 10.1177/14613557231159551
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