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What Can Police Do to Reduce Crime, Disorder, and Fear?

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  • David Weisburd
  • John E. Eck

Abstract

The authors review research on police effectiveness in reducing crime, disorder, and fear in the context of a typology of innovation in police practices. That typology emphasizes two dimensions: one concerning the diversity of approaches , and the other, the level of focus . The authors find that little evidence supports the standard model of policing—low on both of these dimensions. In contrast, research evidence does support continued investment in police innovations that call for greater focus and tailoring of police efforts, combined with an expansion of the tool box of policing beyond simple law enforcement. The strongest evidence of police effectiveness in reducing crime and disorder is found in the case of geographically focused police practices, such as hot-spots policing. Community policing practices are found to reduce fear of crime, but the authors do not find consistent evidence that community policing (when it is implemented without models of problem-oriented policing) affects either crime or disorder. A developing body of evidence points to the effectiveness of problemoriented policing in reducing crime, disorder, and fear. More generally, the authors find that many policing practices applied broadly throughout the United States either have not been the subject of systematic research or have been examined in the context of research designs that do not allow practitioners or policy makers to draw very strong conclusions.

Suggested Citation

  • David Weisburd & John E. Eck, 2004. "What Can Police Do to Reduce Crime, Disorder, and Fear?," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 593(1), pages 42-65, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:593:y:2004:i:1:p:42-65
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716203262548
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. James J. Heckman & Jeffrey A. Smith, 1995. "Assessing the Case for Social Experiments," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(2), pages 85-110, Spring.
    2. David Weisburd & Cynthia M. Lum & Anthony Petrosino, 2001. "Does Research Design Affect Study Outcomes in Criminal Justice?," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 578(1), pages 50-70, November.
    3. Weiner, Kenneth & Chelst, Kenneth & Hart, William, 1984. "Stinging the Detroit criminal: A total system perspective," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 289-302.
    4. Anthony A. Braga, 2001. "The Effects of Hot Spots Policing on Crime," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 578(1), pages 104-125, November.
    5. Levitt, Steven D, 1997. "Using Electoral Cycles in Police Hiring to Estimate the Effect of Police on Crime," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(3), pages 270-290, June.
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    1. David Weisburd, 2005. "Hot Spots Policing Experiments and Criminal Justice Research: Lessons from the Field," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 599(1), pages 220-245, May.
    2. Nielson, Kyler R. & Zhang, Yan & Ingram, Jason R., 2022. "The impact of COVID-19 on police officer activities," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    3. Shino Shiode & Narushige Shiode, 2022. "Network-Based Space-Time Scan Statistics for Detecting Micro-Scale Hotspots," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-20, December.
    4. Kang, Songman & Kim, Duol, 2022. "Focus vs. spread: Police box consolidation and its impact on crime in Korea," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    5. Falusi Fisayo Samuel & Omoyeni Tolulope Julius. & Olabamiji Aminat Abiodun, 2024. "Community Policing and Crime Prevention in Ekiti State: Interrogating the State Police Option," International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation, International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI), vol. 11(7), pages 630-642, July.
    6. Boylan, Richard T., 2022. "Should cities disband their police departments?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    7. Zhanjun He & Rongqi Lai & Zhipeng Wang & Huimin Liu & Min Deng, 2022. "Comparative Study of Approaches for Detecting Crime Hotspots with Considering Concentration and Shape Characteristics," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-16, November.
    8. Kevin Petersen & David Weisburd & Sydney Fay & Elizabeth Eggins & Lorraine Mazerolle, 2023. "Police stops to reduce crime: A systematic review and meta‐analysis," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(1), March.

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