Unit 2 Seminar

1. Unit 2 Seminar The COMPSTAT Model : Discuss the major principals of the COMPSTAT Model. How does it work? Also discuss the major principles of Broken Windows theory? Do these two philosophies/programs have any similarities, differences?

2. Introduction • Traditional policing • Amounts to throwing money at the crime problem • Is unimaginative • Traditional policing strategies include • Hiring cops • Freeing up resources • Random, preventive patrol • Rapid response • Residency requirements • College degrees for cops

3. The Theory of Traditional Policing • Traditional policing prizes deterrence theory • Some people cannot necessarily be deterred

4. Does Hiring More Cops Reduce Crime? • Common sense tells us that hiring more cops will reduce crime • The problem? • The police presence is spread thin • Apprehension of additional criminals may actually give the impression that crime is on the rise!

5. Reasons Why Hiring More Cops May Not Reduce Crime • There are several reasons why hiring more cops may not reduce crime • Police officers can’t work around the clock • Shift work, sick leave, vacations, transferring suspects, and paperwork reduce the police presence • Some cities have fewer police per citizen than others but less crime • Police are not necessarily capable of deterring certain types of crime (e.g., crimes committed behind closed doors and out of view)

6. Lessons From Kansas City • The famous Kansas City experiment divided the city into 3 separate areas: • Proactive beats (with a stepped-up police presence) • Reactive beats (police only responded to calls for service) • Control beats (business as usual) • Findings • No significant reductions in proactive beat • People didn’t even notice!

7. The Post-Kansas City Intellectual Debate • The Kansas City experiment prompted many researchers to explore the relationship between police levels and crime • The findings • ??????

8. The Violent Crime Control Act of 1994 • $ Billions to local law enforcement • “COPS Office” created • 100,000 new cops • Has the Act made a difference? • One recent study concludes it has • Authors claimed that increases in hiring reduce violent and property crimes

9. What Happens When the Police go on Strike? • Several researchers have explored what happens to crime when the police go on strike • Findings? • Increase in crime during Helsinki, Finland police strike • Increase in crime during Montreal police strike • Both studies dealt with strikes far in the past • Today police are often prohibited by law from striking • Who cares? • The police strike-crime relationship offers evidence that additional hiring won’t be counterproductive and that police are essential

10. Does it Work? • Hiring more cops is not counterproductive • Recent studies show more cops = less crime • Police strike literature tells us the police perform a valuable function • We cannot conclude with 100% certainty that hiring more cops reduces crime, but it certainly helps

11. Freeing Up Resources • If hiring is not possible, then “cutting the fat” and freeing up police resources may help • Methods of freeing up resources include • Eliminating two officer patrols and replacing them with one officer patrols • Implementing 311 systems • Carefully examining (and possibly changing) what officers do while on the clock

12. One Versus Two Officer Patrols • Studies on one versus two officer patrols have concluded that • Patrol staffing mode has almost no effect on police effectiveness • Single-officer staffing increases visibility, but has almost no effect on crime • Two officer patrols are (big surprise) twice as costly as one officer patrols • Patrol activity levels are comparable between both staffing methods

13. 311 • 311 alternative to 911 • Why would 311 affect crime? • Frees up time • Does 311 work? • There’s almost no research available on 311 • Available research shows • 311 may reduce overall calls to 911 • 311 does not reduce officer response time • 311 does not free up uncommitted blocks of time

14. Patrol Downtime Studies • Some studies show that as much as 60 percent of police officers’ time on duty is uncommitted (they are dated, however) • Does it work? • Who knows….

15. Does it Work? • The evidence in favor of one versus two officer patrols, 311, and reducing patrol downtime is not encouraging

16. Reactive Policing • Reactive policing is not very effective • How do we know? • Comparisons of crime rates and arrest rate • Not much of a link between crime rate and arrest rate

17. Rapid Response • Many people feel that getting cops to the scene of a crime faster will reduce crime • What does the research show? • No clear relationship between response time and probability of arrest • Few crimes are “hot”

18. Random Patrol • Can police officers deter crime by randomly driving around? • Probably not • Why? • Kansas City Experiment

19. Does it Work? • Reactive and random policing is not effective

20. Private Policing • Private police outnumber public police 3 to 1 • Store detectives • Security guards • Why private police? • Privatization • Mass private property • Public police ineffective • Does it work? • Probably suffers the same fate of other policing methods already discussed

21. Residency Requirements • Arguments in favor of residency requirements • Lower unemployment • Add to local tax base • Improved officer attentiveness to problems • Improved relationships • Arguments against residency requirements • Restricted applicant pool • Threatens officer safety • What does the research show? • There is none • No one has looked at the effect of residency requirements on crime

22. College Degrees for Cops • Advantages • Broader base for decision-making • Arguments against • Restricted applicant pool • Education does not improve crime fighting abilities • What does the research show? • Don’t know if crime is affected • May affect decisions to use force

23. Proactive Arrests • Compare proactive arrests with reactive arrests • Reactive waits until call for service • Proactive consists of police-initiated arrests • Not based on possibility of crime being committed • Proactive arrest focus is on criminals and crime • Directed patrol is concerned with areas (e.g., hot spots)

24. Targeting Drug Offenders • Crackdown • Police flood an area known for problems and seek to remove the criminal element • It is the “weeding” in “weed and seed” • What does the research show? • It is not 100% supportive of the strategy • May (1) not address root causes, (2) push crime into surrounding areas, (3) only fix the problem temporarily, (4) increase risks to those on drugs, and (5) increase fear in the neighborhood

25. Directed Patrol • What is directed patrol? • Patrol with direction! • Concentrating police presence in areas where it is needed most • Some terminology that comes up when discussing directed patrol • Hot spots • Hot times • Crime peaks • Saturation patrols • Focused patrol • Crime mapping

26. Broken Windows • Wilson and Kelling put forth the broken windows thesis in 1982 • What did they argue? • If low levels of disorder and deviance are not prioritized, more serious crime will likely follow • The policy implication? • Aggressive enforcement of low-level offenses • Does it work? • Probably, but there isn’t much research

27. Police-Corrections Partnerships • What are police-corrections partnerships? • Partnership between either probation or parole officers and police officers • Does it work? • Evidence inconclusive

28. Multijurisdictional Drug Task Forces • Law enforcement agencies often join together to combat the drug problem • Example • California’s CAMP program • Do multijurisdictional drug task forces work? • We don’t know

29. Compstat • What is Compstat? • New style of management aimed at promoting accountability in police departments • Relies on computer analysis, frequent “progress” meetings, and accountability for supervisors • Does it work? • Remains to be seen