The Effectiveness of Community Policing in Reducing Urban Violence

1
The Effectiveness of Community Policing in
Reducing Urban Violence
2
General Crime Picture

• In recent years sharp declines in violent crime
  rates have been recorded across the country
• During this same time period American police have
  shifted to COP
• Research indicates that COP had little effect on
  control or decline in violent crime

3
Violent Crime Act

• Implemented in 1994
• Increased COP at national level
• Case studies demonstrate that police
  administrators realize limitations of traditional
  reactive policing
• No nationally representative empirical research
  examining efficacy of COP on control of violent
  crime

4
Police Strategies

• Research suggests that police can have an effect
  on violent crime using specific tactics
• Other studies show police have little effect on
  violent crime
• Differing methods?
• Variability in measurement of violent crime
• Police strategies
• Location of studies

5
Police Strength

• Police administrators and public generally
  believe more police safer communities
• Little support for this contention
• Results between relationship between police
  strength and crime inconclusive
• NYC experiences 40 decrease in crime but only
  increased hiring by 18

6
Aggressive Police Enforcement

• Crime control achieved thru strict enforcement of
  laws zero tolerance policies
• Field interrogations most common aggressive
  tactic
• Research supports its deterrent effects

7
Research

• Wilson Boland 1978
• of traffic citations issued per officer had a
  positive effect on probability of an arrest for
  robbery
• Reductions in robbery rates resulted
• Jacob Rich 1980
• Found no evidence that aggressive traffic
  enforcement reduced robbery rates

8
Zero Tolerance

• Sampson Cohen 1988
• Replicated Wilson Bolands work
• Found that aggressive policing significantly
  reduced robbery rates
• In general literature suggests that zero
  tolerance policies can result in reductions in
  violent crime