Following a systematic process can greatly help you identifying effective solutions to crime problems. Once you have identified a crime event, you can apply the seven stages of the IMPACTS process:

• I – Instantiate the crime event as a process
• Break the crime down into its component steps to understand how it happens.

• M – Map the conditions affecting each step
• Systematically determine what factors make each stage more or less likely.

• P – Propose interventions
• Develop a list of interventions that could change the influencing conditions.

• A – Appraise the different interventions
• Assess the costs, benefits and risks of the interventions.

• C – Choose the most promising intervention
• Select the intervention with the best overall potential.

• T – Take action
• Implement the chosen intervention in a real-world setting.

• S – Study the effects
• Assess positive and negative effects of the intervention.