How were graffiti artists successfully discouraged from defacing New York's subway trains? Why have burglary and assault declined in one of London's most ill-reputed neighbourhoods? Are preventing vandalism and actually reducing crime really possible? The authors of this short book describe various forms of crime prevention techniques adopted in Western countries, and their success or failure, and discuss the basic reasoning underlying these strategies: early prevention, which focuses on children, teenagers and their families; social prevention, which attempts to correct the social environment's negative features; "institutional" prevention, which increases risks and reduces benefits for would-be perpetrators of criminal acts.

Marzio Barbagli teaches Sociology at the University of Bologna.

Umberto Gatti teaches Juvenile Criminology at the University of Genoa.