Hot Spots Policing: Theoretical Perspectives, Scientific Evidence, and Proper Implementation

Abstract

In recent years, crime scholars and practitioners have pointed to the potential benefits of focusing police crime prevention efforts on crime places. Research suggests that there is significant clustering of crime in small places or “hot spots.” A number of researchers have argued that crime problems can be reduced more efficiently if police officers focused their attention to these deviant places. General deterrence and criminal opportunities theories are often applied to understand the crime control effectiveness of hot spots policing. The available evaluation evidence suggests that hot spots policing generates noteworthy crime reductions and these crime control benefits diffuse into areas immediately surrounding targeted crime hot spots. Moreover, problem-oriented policing interventions seem to generate larger crime control impacts when compared to interventions that simply increase levels of traditional police actions in crime hot spots. To improve their legitimacy in disadvantaged minority neighborhoods, police departments should engage collaborative, community problem-solving approaches to address crime hot spots.