Disorder Oriented Policing: A Revealing Case Study of a Special Differential Response Unit in the Houston Police Department

Abstract

Proactive policing has been a preferred approach among American law enforcement agencies for decades. While most of the systematic studies done in this area focus on the effect of proactive policing programs, limited research has analyzed factors that cause police departments to adopt a particular style of proactive policing. Using propositions primarily derived from social disorganization and broken windows theories and path analysis, this study examines the characteristics and associates of everyday activities of the Differential Response Team (DRT)—a proactive policing team—in Houston, Texas. Our findings suggest that DRT activities are driven mostly by neighborhood characteristics and the occurrence of reported serious crimes. The most significant predictor of DRT activities is violent crime rate of a neighborhood.