What is Known About the Effectiveness of Police Practices in Reducing Crime and Disorder? (original) (raw)
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The Benefits, Challenges, and Lessons of Evidence‐Based Policing
Law enforcement is a blue‐collar vocation, let’s face it, a majority of us in American policing still wear nametags to work. Policing a bar fight is typically the same today, as it was 100 years ago, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pay attention to data and research to prove what works and what may not. Because many practitioners choose to rely on anecdotal experiences, traditions, and instincts while being reluctant to embrace research, the challenges are significant. However, just as the medical field was resistant to science and research for years, there are some shifts that signal law enforcement has begun to embrace research (Sherman, 2013). The acceptance of researchbased policing in the U.S. is progressing with positive examples in the Philadelphia, Rialto, and Sacramento Police Departments, all of whom successfully conducted randomized controlled trials (RCTs) aimed at evaluating policing strategies. Empirical data (e.g., hot spots policing and the effectiveness of body‐worn cameras) showed their methods were effective in reducing crime and bolstering legitimacy, for example, body‐worn camera usage reduced complaints and use of force in the Rialto study (Sherman, 2013). In spite of the benefits and challenges, we must realize the nuanced interplay of policing and research and how traditions, cultures, and cynicism can limit progress. We can learn many lessons from medical research as well, which this paper discusses. Finally, I draw on my experiences as a police practitioner, and some exposure to academia, to highlight the efforts and benefits that have been made toward evidence‐based policing in American law enforcement.
Identifying Effective Policing Strategies for Reducing Crime
2010
The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), working with police chiefs and mayors, have raised the concern that following a steady decline in violent crime that began in the early 1990s, the nation's cities are experiencing an increasing violent crime trend. A number of potential factors were identified as the possible sources behind an increase but the primary intent of PERF reports and forums has been to draw attention to this possible upward trend in violent crime so that the nation can act in such a way as to prevent this from escalating to a violent crime epidemic such as that experienced in the mid-to late 1980s. In response to these types of concerns, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) requested that the Sagamore Institute conduct a study that could point to promising policing strategies that might inform local, state, and federal policy with the goal of violent crime prevention and control. As the PERF project indicated, there is variation across the nation's cities in terms of patterns and trends in violent crime. The current project sought to study this variation as a way of identifying cities that have avoided the increase in violent crime experienced in many communities in 2005-2006. The thought was that there may be policing strategies in such communities that have played a role in stemming the increase in violent crime that could serve as promising practices for other police departments and local governments.
2008
This paper examines targeted policing as a form of evidence-based policing. The paper reviews eight experimental studies related to targeted policing. The main objectives of this paper are (1) to discuss the theoretical perspective for implementation of targeted policing; (2) to discuss empirical evidence for implementation of targeted policing; and (3) to assess the impact of programs that are based on targeted policing philosophy; the focus will be to answer the question: does targeted policing reduce crime? This is assessed by using the Maryland Scientific Methods Scale (1 to 5 point SMS scoring system) to determine the scientific rigor of each study that has evaluated one or more of the proactive police tactics/strategies such as, “hot spots,” “second response,” and “crackdowns.” The overall agenda in this paper is to judge – through an extended literature review – whether targeted policing (as a proactive crime prevention approach) reduces crime, and based on the aggregate resu...
Justice Quarterly, 2014
Available data make it impossible to reach strong conclusions about the role of policing in the New York crime decline. Instead, we examine whether innovations implemented in New York fit with what is known about effective policing strategies. Our main analysis focuses on how the New York City Police Department (NYPD) could have continued to contribute to the crime drop over the last decade when the number of police declined significantly. We examine geographic data on crime and stop, question and frisks (SQFs) to show that SQFs are concentrated at crime hot spots. We also show that the NYPD increased these specific hot spots policing strategies despite declining numbers. In our discussion, we speculate on whether this "doing more with less" could be an explanation for the continued crime drop in New York,
2007
This article explores new forms of policing in New York, Chicago, and Boston. These cities developed new policing strategies that each involves a different combination of problem solving and new forms of "community policing". The article explores whether these developments resulted in crime reduction and changes in belief in the efficacy of policing. The article concludes by considering the costs of the resulting increased security-reduction in democratic control of policing and increased risk to civil liberties.