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PERF: Chapter 4. Proactive Investigations Evaluation. Traditional Approach. Reactive approach Respond only when called Activity based on calls for service or arrests Success based on # arrests, timed responses. New Philosophy. Now proactive responses favored
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PERF: Chapter 4 Proactive Investigations Evaluation
Traditional Approach • Reactive approach • Respond only when called • Activity based on calls for service or arrests • Success based on # arrests, timed responses
New Philosophy • Now proactive responses favored • Target crimes that have predictable nature • Burglary & rape follow predictable patterns • Police use a variety of mechanisms to target crime • Generally quite successful
Crime Targeting • Police use…to target crime • Market organization (fencing, carjacking, stolen merchandise) • Geographic organization (decoys, undercover cops, stakeouts) • Criminal organization (drug gangs, gang activities)
Examples • Vegas police use ‘drunk’ decoys to act lost or stumble around the ‘strip’ as proactive targeting of would-be-robbers • Police becoming more proactive in criminal enterprises where there is no easily available victim – they place officers in the role of victim
Baretta • Opening credits – Baretta dressed as elderly lady with large purse • Easy victim – unable to properly defend ‘herself’ • Purse snatcher grabs purse • Baretta yanks suspect off his feet, arrests him • Today this same scenario is played out but now there is organized philosophy behind it
Strategy • Proactive police actions are sometimes best when facing crimes with many unknowns or are politically charged • Rape • Many unknowns (cause, affects) • Police use decoys, stings
Targeting • Police target offenders in many instances of vice crimes • Prostitution • Target prostitute, not ‘john’ • Politically charged – women’s groups voice concerns over sexism – arrest the woman, when it is the man who is wanting to commit the actual crime
Problems • Political atmosphere – minority communities, women’s groups, various interest groups • Often police know the market, geographic, and criminal organizations but try and translate this knowledge into a positive policing stragety is VERY problematic
Experience • Police administrators rely on experience as their guide – what has worked in the past • Resource management, allocation, and availability is also a problem - $, time, manpower
Profit Driven Crime • When targeting profit driven crime police can never really be certain of the long term impact of their actions • Arresting or imprisoning drug kingpins might be a small victory but what is long term consequences • Pablo Escobar – did it REALLY curb the drug trafficking into North America?
Victimless Crimes • The purpose of using proactive models is to combat crime problems for which there are no complainants or so few that police actions base don those complaints would leave problem untouched • Gambling, prostitution, drug markets • As long as these do not occur in people’s ‘backyards’ there are few complaints
Iceberg Principle • Proactive strategies rely on the police acting as complainant • Iceberg – police and ‘us’ only see the tip of the crime problem • Most of the problem lies unseen, hidden from police and majority of citizens • Most of the time the urgency of a crime operation depends on the police’s perspective – what is the ‘flavor’ of the day
Parameters • Proactive responses very difficult to measure (or operationalize) • What is the measure of success? • Long term impact tough to determine • Proactive research began around 1965-1967 with President’s Crime Commission • Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) created
LEAA • President LBJ wanted way to research police and crime all the while bypassing the police • Civil rights violence hinted at larger problem with police – LBJ wanted to bypass police to see if there really was a problem with police • Loads of research - little of it evaluative
Building On Existing Research • Bulk of research into proactive policing strategies has focused on ‘retail’ provision of goods • Gambling, sex, drugs • Easier to operationalize, measure • These types of crimes generally more open and more public and political outcry
Modern Research • If police force certain crimes back ‘underground’ it can give impression of success • Researchers have tried to conduct research into economic foundations, internal dynamics, and internal structures of criminal organizations • Difficult and dangerous!!
Organized Crime • O.C. – criminal entrepreneurs who organize and manage illicit enterprises • Removed spatially and/or organizationally from street level commerce • Dons, kingpins, cartel leaders, bosses • The degree of organization doesn’t seem as important as presence of managerial staff and support
Less Organized Crime Problems • Robbery and burglary targeted by police • Police have targeted specific individuals with criminal history • Police have used units to ‘spy’ on areas frequented by robbers or burglars • Bars, pawns, fencers
Market Principle • Police also use fencing operations to seek out criminals with property for sale • According to market principle if police target the fences, the market will dry up • Criminals will have no place to sell stolen property • Problem – criminals can rely on fences they know personally despite police actions
Impact Measures • Innovation has been implemented in effort to increase productivity • Shifting officers to peak periods of criminal activity • Redesign of patrol beats – more officers in high problem areas • Detectives and officers work together (decrease competition, make work more efficient)
Assess Productivity • Difficult to properly assess police efforts • No comparison, as the volume of illegal but consensual transactions is unknown • Increasing arrests not the answer – there is still no baseline, rarely is there a complainant, can’t arrest everyone • Waste of resources to increase arrests but have little impact on number of criminal incidents
Eradication vs. Regulation • Most vice control aimed not at eradication but regulation • Vice crimes will not disappear but if they can be regulated better everyone is happy • Police do not want these crimes occurring in broad daylight in public places • Corruption of vice officers has been posited as one factor in law productivity of police fforts
Corruption • Brings with it a variety of additional problems for police • Low productivity • Low morale • Illegitimate reward system • Makes police appear ineffective • Bad PR
Research Issues • Criminal enterprises organized similarly to legal ones • Make money • Criminals want stability, minimized risk • Unlike legal enterprises criminal precautions can be deadly • Joint risk share through cooperation with other criminal groups • Bribe police • Keep victims quiet • Control competition – ‘whacking’
Maximizing Profit • Support people in criminal enterprises very important – external to actual operation • Out of main hierarchy • Uncle Tommy • Allows family to maximize profits, while minimizing risk • He operates outside of primary chain of command
Change in Police Stragey • Over time police efforts have switched from smaller criminals to mid level suppliers or managers • Theory is – if primary trafficker is removed then flow of goods (drugs) will stop • Cut of the head and the body will die • BUT, as the big boss leaves another just comes to take his (her) place
Evaluating Tactics • Evaluations of proactive police tactics can help suppress critics • Quell concerns about civil rights • Help police cope with conflicting demands of communities • Help police administrators find more effective strategies
What Is An Evaluation? • Evaluation – a systematic attempt to determine if a specific intervention caused a change in a social problem • Police do same thing as evaluation researchers – they focus on crime, drugs, violence instead
Evaluations • 3 possibilities when considering evaluations • Intervention could be implemented as planned but have no impact on problem • Intervention could be implemented in a way other than was planned and have desired impact on problem • Intervention could be implemented in a way other than was planned and have no impact on problem
Cause & Evaluations • Impact evaluations are designed to demonstrate a causal link • 3 elements • Correlation • Temporal order • nonspuriousness
Evaluating Evaluations • Characteristics of an evaluation that will provide evidence of the 3 elements • Design must allow some variation in the intervention • Design should allow the evaluator to clearly determine when intervention occurred and when changes occurred • Design should rule out all other possible causes of change
