Firearm Suppression Patrol Program in Pittsburgh
Axios
Policing
Solution types
Firearms-Focused Policing
Problems addressed
Armed violence
Effectiveness

Effective

.

.

.

.

.

Effective

Want to know more about this classification? Check out our methodological manual.

Life periods served
People of all ages
Where the program was applied
Community (streets or community centers)
Country of application
United States
Description

This is a police program to direct additional police resources to selected high-crime areas.
An additional patrol of four police officers and a sergeant was deployed in three vehicles to the two high-crime areas.
The process lasted 14 weeks, with two 4-hour shifts (from 20 to 24 hours) per week, during which information was solicited from passersby, and areas of suspicious activity related to arms trafficking were investigated.
The actions consisted of stopping traffic, detaining pedestrians, and conducting searches and interrogations.

Impact evaluations

An impact evaluation showed that patrols focused on illegal gun carrying reduced calls to the police by 34% and hospital-reported firearm injuries by 71% during program implementation days. However, the actual number of arrests and weapons confiscated as a result of the patrol was modest [1].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Cohen, J. & Ludwig, J. (2003). Policing Crime Guns. En P. J. Cook & J. Ludwig (Eds.), Evaluating gun policy: Effects on crime and violence (pp. 217–239). https://popcenter.asu.edu/sites/default/files/problems/gun_violence/PDF…

Information source