From paper to action: Setting up local burglary reduction projects

This chapter examines the issues facing Phase I and II RBI projects in translating their paper bids into effective action on the ground. Extensive coverage has already been given to the theme of developing RBI project bids as part of a bidding process, and to developing crime reduction plans more generally (see for instance Tilley et al., 1999, Curtin et al., 2001). This chapter does not intend to retread this ground in any detail. Rather, our aim is to concentrate on what we would contend is a more neglected area of project development. As bid documents for RBI projects were frequently hurried to meet deadlines, or were written by people other than those given the responsibility of project management, the period from bid to action proved to be key in the development of projects. This chapter starts by examining the extent and implications of project change in what we shall call the ‘post-bid period’. It then explores the underlying reasons for changes, conceptualising change as a series of project development tasks that typically had to be worked through. Finally, the chapter examines how experience of change may have been affected by differences in the context within which projects were developed.