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1 – 10 of over 9000This paper aims to present the evaluation results of a practice‐based research partnership to develop and implement a new police organizational model for crime reduction into one…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present the evaluation results of a practice‐based research partnership to develop and implement a new police organizational model for crime reduction into one police agency which was implemented based on the best practices of problem‐oriented policing, hot spots policing, and Compstat.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative process evaluation of organizational changes and an impact evaluation examining specific crime types was conducted over seven years to determine increased efficiency, collaboration, and effectiveness of the police department's crime reduction strategies.
Findings
The process evaluation found that the agency improved its crime analysis capabilities as well as its coordination and communication, expanded its problem solving activities, and made a significant cultural shift towards incorporating problem solving and accountability throughout the organization. The impact evaluation found that the crimes addressed in the implementation – theft from vehicle – did decrease overall and when compared to other crime types and to neighboring jurisdictions.
Research limitations/implications
The limitations of the research are that these results are from one agency and that the impact evaluation is not conclusive.
Originality/value
The work was carried out over seven years in which the collaboration between the researcher and the agency was seminal. The model developed can be used by other police departments, and a key finding was that strong leadership played the most important role in the implementation of the crime reduction strategies and accountability practices.
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Current criminological theory and the Government's focus on ‘community safety’ and ‘crime and disorder reduction’ has led to the creation of a new discipline, or at least a new…
Abstract
Current criminological theory and the Government's focus on ‘community safety’ and ‘crime and disorder reduction’ has led to the creation of a new discipline, or at least a new paradigm, that of crime science. This article explores the theoretical basis and multi‐disciplinary nature of crime science and its usefulness in the reduction of alcohol and drug‐related crime.
Jerry H. Ratcliffe, Amber Perenzin and Evan T. Sorg
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the violence-reduction effects following an FBI-led gang takedown in South Central Los Angeles.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the violence-reduction effects following an FBI-led gang takedown in South Central Los Angeles.
Design/methodology/approach
The time series impact of the intervention was estimated using a Bayesian diffusion-regression state-space model designed to infer a causal effect of an intervention using data from a similar (non-targeted) gang area as a control.
Findings
A statistically significant 22 percent reduction in violent crime was observed, a reduction that lasted at least nine months after the interdiction.
Research limitations/implications
The research method does make assumptions about the equivalency of the control area, though statistical checks are employed to confirm the control area crime rate trended similarly to the target area prior to the intervention.
Practical implications
The paper demonstrates a minimum nine-month benefit to a gang takedown in the target area, suggesting that relatively long-term benefits from focused law enforcement activity are possible.
Social implications
Longer-term crime reduction beyond just the day of the intervention can aid communities struggling with high crime and rampant gang activity.
Originality/value
Few FBI-led gang task force interventions have been studied for their crime reduction benefit at the neighborhood level. This study adds to that limited literature. It also introduces a methodology that can incorporate crime rates from a control area into the analysis, and overcome some limitations imposed by ARIMA modeling.
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This article describes an effective use of information technology to tackle business crime. It is an example of partnership working between the police, wider security agencies and…
Abstract
This article describes an effective use of information technology to tackle business crime. It is an example of partnership working between the police, wider security agencies and business. The availability of data on offenders has resulted in increased awareness by store managers and the use of innovative approaches such as the exclusion of habitual offenders as trespassers. This allows consideration of the more serious charge of burglary. Reductions in crime have resulted in significant cost reductions.
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Andrew D. Newton, Shane D. Johnson and Kate J. Bowers
This paper reports the main findings of an evaluation of an intensive four‐week policing operation along a single bus corridor, aimed at reducing the extent of crime along the bus…
Abstract
This paper reports the main findings of an evaluation of an intensive four‐week policing operation along a single bus corridor, aimed at reducing the extent of crime along the bus route. The evaluation, which adopts a mixture of quantitative evaluation techniques, demonstrates that the operation was successful both in increasing officer arrest rates (up to four times for the officers who worked on the scheme), and also in reducing crime levels for particular crime types, namely assault and theft from vehicle, up to 400m from the route. A conceptual discussion is provided as to how to measure the effectiveness of an operation with no geographically predefined action area and to define the relationship between action areas and displacement or diffusion zones. Consequently, this evaluation examines both the influence of the scheme within a predefined distance from the route, and also proposes a method for determining the likely range of influence of the scheme in terms of physical distance.
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Paul Michael Cozens, Greg Saville and David Hillier
The purpose of this paper is to critically review the core findings from recently published place‐based crime prevention research. The paper aims to critically evaluate the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to critically review the core findings from recently published place‐based crime prevention research. The paper aims to critically evaluate the available evidence on the contribution of crime prevention through environmental design as a crime prevention strategy.
Design/methodology/approach
Large‐scale evaluations of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) are reviewed with a view to clarifying current knowledge on the evidence of crime prevention through environmental design.
Findings
The review concludes that there is a growing body of research that supports the assertion that crime prevention through environmental design is effective in reducing both crime and fear of crime in the community.
Research limitations/implications
Although the paper may not review all the evaluations of CPTED, it nonetheless provides a detailed compilation and overview of the most significant research in the area, including an extensive and modern bibliography on the subject. Research implications will be the subject of a forthcoming paper.
Practical implications
CPTED is an increasingly fashionable approach and is being implemented on a global scale. Additionally, individual components such as territoriality, surveillance, maintenance, access control, activity support and target‐hardening are being widely deployed. However, the evidence currently available is inconclusive and much criticised, which effectively prevents widespread intervention and investment by central government. The paper details the difficulties associated with demonstrating the effectiveness of CPTED.
Originality/value
The paper concludes that although empirical proof has not been definitively demonstrated, there is a large and growing body of research, which supports the assertion that crime prevention through environmental design is a pragmatic and effective crime prevention tool. This review provides an extensive bibliography of contemporary crime prevention through environmental design and a follow‐up paper will discuss the future research priorities for it.
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– The purpose of this paper is to review reasons why there has been a fall in the volume of recorded crime in the UK and other liberal economies.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review reasons why there has been a fall in the volume of recorded crime in the UK and other liberal economies.
Design/methodology/approach
Published relevant sources are reviewed and commented upon.
Findings
It is argued that the present means of recording conventional categories of crime fails to identify newer crime types such as digital fraud and to a smaller extent the victimisation of businesses and crimes committed by gangs.
Originality/value
It is suggested that present policy and practice in recording crime will give an incomplete picture of overall offending methods and that a review is required together with proactive approaches to identifying crime levels.
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Rachel Boba Santos and Bruce Taylor
The purpose of this paper is to examine national survey data of police agencies in the USA to explore the current state of crime analysis integration to patrol crime reduction…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine national survey data of police agencies in the USA to explore the current state of crime analysis integration to patrol crime reduction work.
Design/methodology/approach
The data examined in this paper are from a national quantitative survey which sought to understand how crime analysis results are used by officers as well as higher ranking personnel in the patrol division and what types of strategies are implemented using crime analysis.
Findings
The findings show that the routine use of crime analysis is not well integrated. Despite the low integration, however, some differences were found. Management uses crime analysis the most overall, but officers and first-line supervisors use tactical crime analysis more routinely than management, where management personnel use evaluation most routinely. Tactical crime analysis is used most often for directed patrol, strategic for both directed patrol and general information, and evaluation for both general information and crime prevention. Analysis of using analysis proactively shows that agencies use tactical crime analysis most proactively, followed by the strategic crime analysis, then evaluation.
Research limitations/implications
The study relies on self-report surveys, so the results may suffer from some of the general limitations of self-reports. Also, the study resulted in a lower response rate than surveys of police agencies typically achieve. Although responding and non-responding agencies were comparable in terms of population size, number of officers, and region of the country, the response rate was about 55 percent. However, it is a possibility based on the analysis results that non-responses may reflect a disinterest in the topic or the lack of integration of crime analysis.
Originality/value
This is the first national survey that focussed specifically on crime analysis integration in patrol work for crime reduction. The value of the results presented here are in the description of the current state of crime analysis integration in the USA which has not been investigated in such depth before and the identifications of gaps in both research in practice.
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Crime reduction partnerships depend a great deal upon the input of the police and the manner in which the police implement their activities impacts upon the success or otherwise…
Abstract
Crime reduction partnerships depend a great deal upon the input of the police and the manner in which the police implement their activities impacts upon the success or otherwise of initiatives. This article examines three of the main styles of policing that appear to be prevalent in the delivery of crime reduction programmes, examining their relative strengths and weaknesses.
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