Sacramento Hot Spot Policing Experiment (United States)

Axios
Policing

Solution types
Hot Spots Policing

Problems addressed

Crime and delinquency (multiple types)

Effectiveness

Promising

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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 hot spot patrol intervention. The officers carried out daily 15-minute patrols at the designated hot spots while they were not answering emergency calls. One to six hot spots were assigned to the officers, who were responsible for visiting those locations every 2 hours. Interventions were suggested to the officers by computers inside police vehicles.

Impact evaluations

An impact assessment showed a 25% reduction in crime in the treatment hot spots compared to the control areas (where they increased by 27%). Calls for service decreased by around 8% in the treatment group and increased by around 11% in the control hot spots. Petty crime incidents increased in both the treatment and the control groups, but the increase was greater in the treatment group [1].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Telep, C. W., Mitchell, R. J. & Weisburd, D. (2014). How Much Time Should the Police Spend at Crime Hot Spots? Answers from a Police Agency Directed Randomized Field Trial in Sacramento, California. Justice Quarterly, 31(5), 905–933. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2012.710645

Information source