Evidence-Based Policing at Work in Smaller Jurisdictions
Axios
Policing
Solution types
Hot Spots Policing
Problems addressed
Disorder and disturbance (or breach) of the peace
Effectiveness

Mixed Evidence

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Mixed Evidence

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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 an experiment on hot spot policing in a non-urban jurisdictional region where officers applied two types of strategies: visual presence only (parking in areas visible to the public) or a combination of visibility and proactive activity, such as contact with the public and enforcement actions (illegal parking, excessive noise, and alcohol violations).
Police officers who applied the visual presence strategy stood visibly in public places for 15 minutes, refraining from any proactive activity (unless requested to do so). The objective is to analyze the impact of the strategies on crime levels at 48 hot spots.

Impact evaluations

An impact evaluation showed an average decrease of between one and two crimes and three calls for police service at all hot spots that received treatment, suggesting that this tactic offers an option for the police to reduce crime without compromising their legitimacy in the eyes of the public [1].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Hegarty, T., Williams, L. S., Stanton, S., & Chernoff, W. (2014). Evidence-based policing at work in smaller jurisdictions. Translational Criminology, 6. https://gpd.uq.edu.au/s/gpd/item/224

Information source