Reference no: EM131671473

Write a One-Page Reaction Paper on the concept of "Focus Deterrence", as per the Video Lecture, and include why you believe it is significant, OR not, in police operations.

The following information is integral as it pertains to this module

Broken Windows Policing

Also called "Zero Tolerance" policing

Based on a practical theory developed in the 1980s

Strict enforcement of disorderly behavior and minor offenses, considered "quality of life" offenses prevents more serious crimes from happening

Broken windows is a metaphor in which a broken window that is left unfixed indicates that no one cares and invites more broken windows and more serious behavior

Research results:

A summary of studies in seven cities found no evidence that strict enforcement of disorder reduced additional disorder or more serious crimes

More recent study found a direct link between misdemeanor arrests and more serious crime but data imitations raised questions about the validity of the study's conclusions

Hotspots Policing

A disproportionate number of crimes happens in particular areas in a city

Police systematically identify areas within a city that have disproportionate amounts of crime and employ responses in those specific areas.

The responses implemented in the hotspots are more traditional, such as increased police presence and arrests

Research results:

A significant amount of rigorously applied research on hotspots policing

Does contribute to meaningful reductions of both crime and disorder

Police crackdowns, which are a more temporary application of hotspots policing, have also shown to work, although primarily on a short-term basis

Compstat

A specific program implemented by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in 1994 in attempt to synthesize an accountability structure and strategic problem solving

Its rapid and widespread adoption by police agencies around the United States has moved it beyond an isolated strategy used by NYPD

Analysis of up-to-date computerized crime, arrest, and "quality of life" data is used to produce statistics and maps

This information is used in regularized, interactive crime prevention and reduction strategy meetings in which managers are held accountable for the crime prevention approaches they implement in their districts.

Research results:

There has been no formal evaluation of NYPD's Compstat

Or of the national implementation of Compstat

However, the first three years of NYPD's Compstat coincided with dramatic declines in crime rate and this decline (Most other large cities as well)

NYPDs "success" resulted in other police agencies adopting the strategy and adapting it to their own agencies.

A national assessment of the adoption and elements of Compstat concludes that although the strategy appears to be new in its used of technology and crime analysis, the police management and response strategies remain consistent with traditional policing

The Role of Crime Analysis in Policing

Broken Windows Policing

Limited role when BW policing is applied generally

When BW is focused in particular areas and particular times, crime analysis is key in determining the areas and times where enforcement of disorder activity would be best applied

Hotspots Policing

CA plays a vital role in hotspots policing

Helps to determine hotspots

COMPSTAT

Crime analysis is integral

The name itself (i.e., "comp" = computer and "stat" = statistics)

Regular analysis produced by crime analysts is used to hold managers accountable

Crime mapping central in Compstat meetings

The importance of crime analysis in policing cannot be overstated

Only recent incorporation of crime analysts into police agencies

The discipline is still struggling with being recognized and used in effective ways

Categories of Crime

Incidents

Individual events that an officer typically responds to or discovers while on patrol

Citizen- and officer-generated calls for service and include crime, disorder, or service-related tasks such as disturbances, robbery in progress, traffic accidents, subject stops, and traffic citations

Usually occur and are resolved within minutes and/or hours

The goal is to resolve each incident as quickly and effectively as possible

Serious incidents

Individual events that arise from calls for service

Deemed more serious by laws and policies of the police department

Require additional investigation and/or a more extensive immediate response

Examples: rapes, hostage negotiations, homicides, traffic fatalities, or armed robbery

Occur within minutes and/or hours but may take days, weeks, or in some cases, months to resolve.

Typically, detectives or specially trained personnel conduct more comprehensive analysis and respond

Short-Term Problems

Repeat incidents

Two or more incidents that are similar in nature

Have happened at the same place (typically) or by the same person

Usually common non-criminal incidents or interpersonal incidents

Happen within hours, days and in some cases weeks

Analysis and problem solving: Focuses on identifying addresses with multiple calls for service and resolving the immediate underlying issue.

Patterns

Group of two or more crimes reported to or discovered by police that is treated as one unit of analysis because they share one or more key commonalities which make them notable and distinct

There is no known relationship between victim and offender

Criminal activity is typically of limited duration (occurs over days, weeks, or months)

Patterns of these crimes are vitally important to police, citizens, businesses, the media, and all members of a community because they are perceived as the most immediate threat to personal safety

 

Difference between patterns and repeat incidents

Type of data that are analyzed

Repeat incidents consist of common "quality of life" or service calls

Patterns consist of reported more serious crime

Long-Term Problems

A long-term problem is a set of related activity that occurs over several months, seasons, or years that stems from systematic opportunities created by everyday behavior and environment

Problems can consist of common disorder activity as well as serious criminal activity

Problems contain numerous patterns and/or repeat incidents

By identifying lower level events and the incident-level responses, more can be learned about the problem

Difference Between a Pattern and a Problem

Scope and length: Where a problem is chronic in frequency and duration and may be characterized by acute spikes, a crime pattern is acute in its frequency and duration.

Nature of activity: Where a problem is related to "harmful events" that may include crime, safety, disorder, or quality of life concerns, a crime pattern is limited to a specific set of reported crimes.

Response: Where a problem requires specialized strategic responses that often involve multi-agency and community collaboration, a crime pattern typically requires routine operational tactics carried out primarily by the police

Types of long-term problems

Problem location (also called a "risky place")

Individual address or a type of place at which there is a concentration of crime or problematic activity

Various victims and offenders are involved in the activity

Analysis: identifying all the activity, understanding how opportunities are created and acted upon and how that location or type of place compares to similar, non-problematic places.

Problem offender (also called repeat offender)

Individual people who commit a disproportionate amount of crime or groups of offenders that share characteristics.

One person or a group of people move through different settings and take advantage of different victims

Analysis and responses: understanding and addressing offenders and their behavior specifically

Problem victim (or repeat victim)

Individual people or groups of victims who share characteristics

One person or a group of people move through different settings and are victimized by different offenders

Analysis and response: determines why these individuals are victimized and what about their behavior makes them vulnerable

Problem property (or hot product)

Not one individual piece of property that is repeatedly stolen, but is a type of product that shares characteristics that make them attractive and vulnerable in various situations to various types of offenders.

Analysis and response: examines the crime settings around the property and the opportunities that exist.