Place Management for Crime Prevention
This open access brief examines how the management of residential buildings relates to crime and residents’ safety perceptions. Drawing on environmental criminology and place management theory, it compares rental and tenant-owned housing in two Swedish cities, showing how differences in management authority, capacity and practice are associated with crime, perceived safety and social cohesion across buildings.
The analysis is based on case studies in Sweden (Stockholm and Växjö), combining large-scale quantitative mapping of crime concentration and resident’s safety percetions with surveys and interviews that their capture experiences of place managers’ practices. This mixed-method approach reveals how visible and capable management reduces victimisation, lowers fear of crime, and strengthens social cohesion.
By situating Swedish findings within an international context, the book extends research largely drawn from the US, UK, and Australia, demonstrating the broader relevance of Nordic housing systems for understanding place-based crime prevention. It also speaks directly to the UN Sustainable Development Goals by promoting safer, more inclusive, and resilient urban communities (SDG 11), supporting effective local governance and justice (SDG 16), and addressing inequalities in residents’ experiences of safety (SDG 10).
This book is essential reading for researchers, policymakers and practitioners involved in crime prevention, residential management, and urban governance, as well as researchers in criminology, urban planning, and housing research.
Vania Ceccato is a Professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden and a guest professor at the Police Academy at Borås University, Sweden. She is interested in the geography of crime and fear across urban and rural settings, with a particular focus on transit safety. She founded the Safeplaces Network in 2017, a national hub that links researchers and practitioners to promote situational crime prevention to make communities safer and more sustainable.
Jonatan Abraham is a Researcher in the Department of Urban Planning and Environment at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. He recently earned his PhD in Urban and Regional Planning, focusing on perceived safety in urban environments. His research employs mixed-method approaches, with emphasis on statistical and spatial analysis.
Ioannis Ioannidis is a Researcher at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. His work focuses on environmental criminology and spatial analysis of urban crime. He investigates how social, spatial, and functional aspects of cities shape crime patterns and quality of life, by integrating geographical, remote sensing, socioeconomic, and demographic data.
Gabriel Gliori is a Research Engineer in the Urban & Community Safety Research Group at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. He also serves as Editor of the Safeplaces Network. His research examines how social and environmental factors shape victimisation and fear of crime, with a particular focus on public transport and transit environments.
John E. Eck is a Visiting Professor at Rutgers University and Professor Emeritus at the University of Cincinnati. His work has contributed to research on problem-oriented policing, crime prevention, and place-based analysis. As a co-founder of the theory of place management, he has helped develop ways of studying how crime concentrates in specific locations.