Problem-oriented Policing Research Articles

Institutionalizing problem‐oriented policing: rethinking problem solving, analysis, and accountability

Problem‐oriented policing (POP) has emerged as a fertile area of innovative police research and practice. Its core ideas have existed for over 20 years; however, research suggests that POP has been routinized into the practice of few police departments. This paper argues that POP has not gained widespread adoption because of the inclination to make line officers the central actors in POP’s implementation. It presents an integrated model reconsidering how problems are defined, analysis is used, and how problem‐solving accountability is distributed throughout an organization and builds upon the strengths of traditional policing – information‐gathering, centralized command, and accountability structure.

A prominent participant? The role of the state in police partnerships1

In this paper I review three books on the notion of partnership working. In Problem-oriented policing and partnerships and Crime reduction partnerships the authors explore partnership working in an informative way for practitioners, whereas in the edited collection. Fighting crime together, the authors combine empirical, theoretical and methodological understandings of the notion of security networks. The books provide a useful starting point for exploring wider issues. I examine the involvement of the police, as a dominant partnership participant; the existence of co-operation and contest in police partnerships, as a manifestation of contradictions in the wider socio-political climate; the role of the state, empirically and normatively, in policing through partnerships. My argument is that the state does and should have a vital role in police partnerships, although not without it being regulated through an independent and socially representative body, such as a community safety or policing commission.

Pulling levers focused deterrence strategies and the prevention of gun homicide

A number of jurisdictions have been experimenting with new problem-oriented policing frameworks to understand and respond to gun violence among gang-involved offenders. These interventions are based on the “pulling levers” deterrence strategy that focuses criminal justice and social service attention on a small number of chronically offending gang members responsible for the bulk of urban gun violence problems. Unfortunately, there is relatively little rigorous evaluation evidence on the effectiveness of these approaches to violence prevention. In Stockton, California, an interagency task force implemented a pulling levers strategy to prevent gun homicide among gang-involved offenders. A U.S. Department of Justice-sponsored impact evaluation suggests that the pulling levers strategy was associated with a statistically significant decrease in the monthly number of gun homicide incidents in Stockton. A comparative analysis of gun homicide trends in Stockton relative to other midsize California cities also supports a unique program effect associated with the pulling levers intervention.

What Really Influences Officer Attitudes Toward COP?

This research examines the extent to which actual implementation influenced how officers felt and the reasons for their feelings particularly about community-oriented policing (COP)-related activities, procedures, and COP philosophy in general. A pre- and post-implementation survey was conducted and followed up by a set of focus groups. The primary areas of difference between the pre- and post-COP expectations and experience were in the following areas: (a) less communication with other officers; (b) belief that they have less independence and discretion; (c) less participation in departmental decision making; and (d) more meetings with agencies and businesses, but less informal contacts with citizens. In addition, problem-oriented policing projects are considered too formal and time-consuming, given all their other responsibilities. These findings suggest that the local context of policing is an important element in the success of COP implementation.

Making good cops in the twenty-first century: Emerging issues for the effective recruitment, selection and training of police in the United States and abroad1

Recruitment, selection and training have become critically important issues for police departments around the world in large part because of significant changes in the philosophy and nature of policing, higher expectations by their constituencies, and because of continuing efforts at professionalization. This paper highlights seven pressing issues, as at 2008, that will likely define recruitment, selection and training of police over the next several years. Two areas in recruitment and selection are discussed: proactive recruitment to promote diversity and college-education requirements. The paper then turns to five critical issues in police training: changing the pedagogy (andragogy is described), community and problem-oriented policing philosophies, multicultural/diversity training, technology, and counter-terrorism. The paper first examines the issues from an American perspective, but then each issue is considered through an international lens. This international focus offers a broader perspective that both highlights important differences between the USA and other countries and provides critical insights about lessons learned elsewhere.

Police reform: Who done it?*

This paper examines nine innovations in American policing since the report of the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice (1967) - community-oriented policing, problem-oriented policing, signs-of-crime policing, hot-spots policing, mandatory arrest for spouse assault, enhancement of internal discipline, external oversight, COMPSTAT, and increased diversity of personnel. These innovations occurred from the top-down within policing and were not the product of collaboration with the rank-and-file. In all but two cases, innovations were not instigated by the police themselves but were formulated by people outside the police and brought to the police for adoption. I conclude that innovation occurred because of a system of collaboration between police and civil society that is unique in the world and was itself instigated by far-sighted police leaders.

The Effects of Problem‐Oriented Policing on Crime and Disorder

This Campbell systematic review assesses the effects of problem‐oriented policing on crime and disorder based on the existing research. The review summarises findings from 10 studies from eight American cities and six residential areas in the UK. The participants were probationers, parolees and residents of the eight American cities and six residential areas in the UK.Problem oriented policing has a statistically significant impact on reducing crime and disorder, but the effect size was small, and there was a lack of diversity and responses in the included studies. The results were similar for both the randomized and quasi‐randomized studies. The evidence base is small and there are shortcomings in the quality of the evidence.AbstractBackground:Problem‐oriented Policing (POP) was first introduced by Herman Goldstein in 1979. The approach was one of a series of responses to a crisis in effectiveness and legitimacy in policing that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s. Goldstein argued that police were not being effective in preventing and controlling crime because they had become too focused on the “means” of policing and had neglected the “goals” of preventing and controlling crime and other community problems. Goldstein argued that the unit of analysis in policing must become the “problem” rather than calls or crime incidents as was the case during that period. POP has had tremendous impact on American policing, and is now one of the most widely implemented policing strategies in the US.Objectives:To synthesize the extant problem‐oriented policing evaluation literature and assess the effects of problem‐oriented policing on crime and disorderSelection criteria:Eligible studies had to meet three criteria: (1) the SARA model was used for a problem‐oriented policing intervention; (2) a comparison group was included; (3) at least one crime or disorder outcome was reported with sufficient data to generate an effect size. The unit of analysis could be people or places.Search strategy:Several strategies were used to perform an exhaustive search for literature fitting the eligibility criteria. First, a keyword search was performed on an array of online abstract databases. Second, we reviewed the bibliographies of past reviews of problem‐oriented policing. Third, we performed forward searches for works that have cited seminal problem‐oriented policing studies. Fourth, we performed hand searches of leading journals in the field. Fifth, we searched the publications of several research and professional agencies. Sixth, after finishing the above searches we e‐mailed the list of studies meeting our eligibility criteria to leading policing scholars knowledgeable in the area of problem‐oriented policing to ensure we had not missed any relevant studies.Data collection and analysis:For our ten eligible studies, we provide both a narrative review of effectiveness and a meta‐analysis. For the meta‐analysis, we coded all primary outcomes of the eligible studies and we report the mean effect size (for studies with more than one primary outcome, we averaged effects to create a mean), the largest effect, and the smallest effect. Because of the heterogeneity of our studies, we used a random effects model.Main results:Based on our meta‐analysis, overall problem‐oriented policing has a modest but statistically significant impact on reducing crime and disorder. Our results are consistent when examining both experimental and quasi‐experimental studies.Conclusions:We conclude that problem‐oriented policing is effective in reducing crime and disorder, although the effect is fairly modest. We urge caution in interpreting these results because of the small number of methodologically rigorous studies on POP and the diversity of problems and responses used in our eligible studies.

Single-Family Home Construction Site Theft: A Crime Prevention Case Study

The United States and other countries around the world, such as Canada, Australia, England, and Japan, have begun to address single-family home construction site crime through a variety of crime prevention methods. This article presents the results of a practical problem-oriented policing effort to reduce single-family home construction site theft in a suburban city in Florida. The Port St. Lucie, FL Police Department utilized a variety of data sources to understand the problem and tailored crime prevention responses to achieve a successful reduction in construction site theft over a 2-year period. Consequently, this article details the background of the project, the analysis, the crime prevention strategies implemented, and the impact results of the strategies.

Community into Intelligence: Resolving Information uptake in the RCMP

Police now and then undergo radical mission adaptation. Yet, how events shape organizational police history, including the adoption of radically different missions, has largely evaded scholarship. Through a review of executive-level interviews and strategic leadership documents, we trace how the Royal Canadian Mounted Police turned from a community-policing mission to one which now highlights intelligence. We argue that while various programs and strategies to garner rank-and-file and public buy-in to the community-policing mission largely failed, problem-oriented policing nevertheless readied the ground for the next mission iteration: intelligence-led policing. The core problem underpinning the transition was not community service, but information uptake.

Police Innovation: Contrasting Perspectives. Edited by David Weisburd and Anthony A. Braga. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Pp. xx+367. $28.00 paper.

Police Innovation: Contrasting Perspectives. Edited by David Weisburd and Anthony A. Braga. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Pp. xx+367. $28.00 paper. Reviewed by Steve Herbert, University of Washington The unrest that plagued American cities in the 1960s led to a crisis of confidence in several institutions, the police not least among them. Many urban riots were touched off by a police-citizen encounter, clear evidence of the symbolic position officers occupied in many communities. This crisis of confidence coincided with the rise of social science as a means to examine and improve organizations such as the police. The U.S. Department of Justice began sponsoring research efforts to determine whether and how the police could be reformed, and many academics lined up to provide their expertise. In the 40 years since, police departments have tried various reforms, and many have invited researchers to examine their efforts. The goal of Police Innovations: Contrasting Perspectives is to assess eight of the most popular of these reforms: community policing, broken-windows policing, problem-oriented policing, pulling-levers policing, third-party policing, hot-spots policing, Compstat, and evidence-based policing. Each of these reforms gets two chapters, one written by an advocate, the other by a critic. Advocates typically assess the empirical record of a given reform positively and urge its continuation, albeit with some amendments. Critics, unsurprisingly, find less cause for celebration and outline the wellsprings of their more pessimistic reading. These detailed pro and con chapters are bracketed by an introduction and conclusion written by the co-editors. The roster of contributors is a virtual who's who of police researchers, almost all of whom live in the United States; names such as Skogan, Mastrofski, Kennedy, Moore, and Kelling grace the table of contents. Each of the authors is engaged in detailed empirical research with police departments, so each speaks from a position of considerable expertise. In many cases, the authors are very closely tied to the reform in question: they have either birthed the innovation (e.g., Kelling and broken-windows policing) or studied it intensively for several years (e.g., Skogan and community policing). The format of the book works well. Each author thoroughly reviews the empirical record and clearly explains the logic of the argument. Each chapter is reasonably concise and well-written. The decision to counterpose advocates and critics leaves the reader well-positioned to reach his or her own conclusion about the sensibility of a particular reform movement. Despite their differences, the authors in these volumes operate from similar assumptions. They believe that the police can reduce crime, and that the police should be evaluated significantly in terms of whether they achieve that goal. The authors share an embrace of detailed research programs that aspire to high scientific standards, the better to determine the precise impact of the adoption of a particular police strategy. …

Book Review: Problem-Oriented Policing and Partnerships

Book Review: Problem-Oriented Policing and Partnerships

Drug Law Enforcement

This article describes the results of a systematic review of drug law enforcement evaluations. The authors describe the search procedures and document the results in five main categories: international/national interventions (e.g., interdiction and drug seizure), reactive/ directed interventions (e.g., crackdowns, raids, buy-busts, saturation patrol, etc.), proactive/ partnership interventions (e.g., third-party policing, problem-oriented policing, community policing, drug nuisance abatement, etc.), individualized interventions (e.g., arrest referral and diversion), or interventions that used a combination of reactive/directed and proactive/ partnership strategies. Results indicate that proactive interventions involving partnerships between the police and third parties and/or community entities appear to be more effective at reducing both drug and nondrug problems in drug problem places than are reactive/ directed approaches. But the general quality of research in drug law enforcement is poor, the range of interventions that have been evaluated is limited, and more high-quality research is needed across a greater variety of drug interventions.

Problem-Oriented Policing and Partnerships: Implementing an Evidence-Based Approach to Crime Reduction

Problem-Oriented Policing and Partnerships: Implementing an Evidence-Based Approach to Crime Reduction

Improving Geocoding Rates in Preparation for Crime Data Analysis

Problem-oriented policing requires quality analyses of patterns and trends in crime incidences. A common form of analysis is the identification of geographical clusters or ‘hot spots’. For such analyses, crime incident records must first be geocoded, that is, address-matched so as to have geographical co-ordinates attached to each record. The address fields in crime databases typically have omissions and inaccuracies whilst a good proportion of crimes occur at non-address locations. Consequently, geocoding can have an unacceptably low hit rate. We present and test an improved automated and consistent approach to batch geocoding of crime records that raises the hit rate by an additional 65 per cent to an overall rate of 91 per cent. This is based on an actual implementation for a UK police force. Kernel density surfaces used to visualise the results of the test show that the additional geocoded records have distinct spatial patterning. This would indicate that without the improved hit rate, geocoded crime records are likely to be spatially biased and that ‘hot spots' of crime tend also to be ‘hot spots' of otherwise un-geocoded data.

Street-level drug law enforcement: A meta-analytical review⋆

Our paper presents the results of a meta-analytical review of street level drug law enforcement. We conducted a series of meta-analyses to compare and contrast the effectiveness of four types of drug law enforcement approaches, including community-wide policing, problem-oriented/partnership approaches that were geographically focused, hotspots policing and standard, unfocused law enforcement efforts. We examined the relative impact of these different crime control tactics on street-level drug problems as well as associated problems such as property crime, disorder and violent crime. The results of the meta-analyses, together with examination of forest plots, reveal that problem-oriented policing and geographically-focused interventions involving cooperative partnerships between police and third parties tend to be more effective at controlling drug problems than community-wide policing efforts that are unfocused and spread out across a community. But geographically focused and community-wide drug law enforcement interventions that leverage partnerships are more effective at dealing with drug problems than traditional, law enforcement-only interventions. Our results suggest that the key to successful drug law enforcement lies in the capacity of the police to forge productive partnerships with third parties rather than simply increasing police presence or intervention (e.g., arrests) at drug hotspots.

The Center for Problem-oriented Policing

The Center for Problem-oriented Policing

Faceless-Oriented Policing: Traditional Policing Theories are Not Adequate in a Cyber World

This article examines traditional policing theories in a cyber world and defines ‘Faceless-Oriented Policing’ (FOP). FOP policing theory is centred on cyber-world crimes. Many traditional policing theories do not apply when crimes are committed online. FOP has multiple tenets outlining the explanation of policing utilising the internet as a faceless venue to commit crimes and how to investigate these crimes. Problem-Oriented Policing (POP) and Community-Oriented Policing (COP) are two of the most popular policing theories utilised today in the United States. These strategies, while successful in response to conventional crime, are not easily applied to cyber crimes. Getting close to the community is really not the solution. The visible aspects of much of these offences are absent or drastically altered. In the event that detection is possible, one must contend with the escalation of certain activities online due to the overall perception that they are not detectable. The internet has not created new vices. It has made many traditional vices more accessible to the general public. If the public can remain anonymous while committing crimes, some people will become more willing to pursue these vices. The internet has also allowed a person to practise these vices around the world rather than in just their own small segment of the world.

The Theories and Practice of Community Problem-Oriented Policing: A Case Study

Renaissance of traditional philosophy of law enforcement is revealed in the theory and practice of the contemporary community problem-oriented policing. Taking a historical comparative view, this article explains how the traditional strategy that was originally conceptualised and operationalised in Britain, the country where modern policing originated, has been reserved by Japan, the nation that by-passed the police professionalism movement, and how the tasteful old wine was subsequently poured back into the old bottle. In an analysis of the case of successful application by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, the effectiveness of fighting crime backed up by community collaboration was manifested.

Understanding and Preventing Gang Violence: Problem Analysis and Response Development in Lowell, Massachusetts

Gang violence presents a major challenge to police departments in the United States. Problem-oriented policing has been suggested as a promising way to understand and prevent complex gang violence problems. Unfortunately, problem analysis, as currently practiced, is generally weak and the resulting responses usually consist of mostly traditional enforcement tactics. Academic-police partnerships can be very productive in understanding and responding to serious crime problems. Unfortunately, such collaborations are rare. The U.S. Department of Justice-sponsored Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative provides an important opportunity to facilitate academicpolice partnerships. In Lowell, Massachusetts, academics and practitioners collaborated on a problem analysis that shed important light on the nature of gang violence and led to the implementation of problem-oriented responses that have been promising in preventing gang violence.

Interdiction Day: Covert Surveillance Operations, Drugs, and Serious Crime in an Inner-City Neighborhood

This article describes a drug trafficking interdiction in the Brightwood neighborhood in Indianapolis, Indiana. It defines terminology and effects of police crackdowns, interventions, and interdictions. The interdiction effort is empirically linked to decreases in crime (calls for service [CFS]) in the interdiction neighborhood over and above change in the control neighborhood— with one exception: drug CFS. The findings support the accumulation of evidence that interdictions based on problem-oriented policing can be successful. Short, largely invisible interdictions of this type can have positive impacts on reported neighborhood crime and in so doing might improve inner-city development options.