The presence of crime and disorder in a neighbourhood functions as a ‘signal’ to both residents and outsiders, that is ‘read’ and used to inform beliefs concerning the safety of an area. Certain disorderly behaviours or objects are considered to have a disproportionate influence in shaping both individual and collective perceptions of risk or decay, Martin Innes – founding father of reassurance policing – argues.

The contributors in this volume examine the conceptual and practical consequences of this theory for Belgium and the Netherlands. In the first section the concepts and methods of reassurance policing are elucidated and the effectiveness of the reassurance strategy is addressed. The second section contains reflections on reassurance policing in different contexts. What might Dutch and Flemish police forces learn from ‘reassurance’ methods and strategies that are applied in England? The third part of this volume is devoted to the image-work and public relations aspects that many associate with the aim to reassure the public. Is reassurance policing a mystifying concept? In the final section the editors draw up the balance. What are the potential virtues and vices of reassurance policing? On the one hand it would have far-reaching implications. The police and other professionals are allocated broad tasks, which could pervade everyday social life. Does it give the dominance of police officers ‘maintaining order’ too much discretionary power? On the other hand, it seems that reassurance policing has seen trust in the police and other public professionals, also in marginal neighbourhoods return, and for the moment it has produced some impressive positive effects.

This book is the result of an extremely intensive collaboration between the Dutch Society, Security and Police Foundation on the one hand, and the Flemish Centre for Police studies.

Target group

This book is particurlarly interesting for criminologists and Police and Justice researchers in The Netherlands and Belgium.

Author's information

Marleen Easton is fulltime Assistant Professor of sociology and management at the University College Ghent, department of Business and Public Administration. Lodewijk Gunther Moor is director of the Dutch Foundation for Society, Safety and Police [Stichting Maatschappij, Veiligheid en Politie (SMVP) Bob Hoogenboom is professor of Forensic Business Studies at Nyenrode University. Paul Ponsaers is fulltime senior professor at the University of Ghent, Law Faculty, department of Penal Law and Criminology. Bas van Stokkom is a research fellow at The Centre for Ethics, Radboud University Nijmegen.