This paper argues that contemporary crime challenges cannot be addressed effectively through reactive policing and criminal justice alone.

Drawing on the Police Foundation’s Strategic Review of Policing, it contends that crime prevention must become a central, systematised feature of public policy, involving a broad range of actors beyond the police. The authors trace the evolution of crime prevention in England and Wales, showing how ideas and practices have accumulated but remain fragmented, conceptually ambiguous and weakly institutionalised compared with other prevention focused domains such as public health. While recent developments – notably public health approaches, Violence Reduction Units, and renewed political interest – signal momentum towards prevention, progress is constrained by short-termism, cultural attachment to ideas of deterrence and personal responsibility, and the lack of a lack of a clear organising framework.