Policing Experiment in Medellin Hot Spots
Axios
Policing
Solution types
Hot Spots Policing
Problems addressed
Homicides
Robberies
Fear of crime and/or sensation of insecurity
Community satisfaction with police work
Effectiveness

Promising

.

.

.

.

.

Promising

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
Colombia
Description

This is a program developed to act on the city’s hot spots. In the first phase of the study, the city was divided into 37,055 street segments, with an average radius of 90 meters.
In the second stage, 3% of the segments with the highest crime records were identified, resulting in 967 “hot” segments.
In the third stage, a random draw was conducted, and 384 segments were chosen. In these segments, patrolling was expanded, with the inclusion of six agents responsible for the quadrant.
The agents paid seven 15-minute visits over the course of a day, monitored by GPS.

Impact evaluations

An impact evaluation showed that the program had positive effects only on one specific type of crime (vehicle theft, with an 11% reduction). However, no direct effects were found on other crimes or on satisfaction with police services. On the other hand, greater effects were seen in the least safe areas, especially on the perception of security in the short term, vehicle theft, and muggings. Likewise, no evidence of displacement was found, but rather a decrease in vehicle thefts in nearby hot spots and a decrease in assaults also in nearby hot spots (diffusion of benefits effect) [1].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Collazos, D., García, E., Mejía, D., Ortega, D., y Tobón, S. (2021). Hot spots policing in a high-crime environment: An experimental evaluation in Medellin. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 17(3), 473-506. https://repositorio.uniandes.edu.co/bitstream/handle/1992/41065/dcede20…

Information source