Both those who study crime and those who fight it agree that crime is not spread evenly across city landscapes. Rather, clusters of crime--a few "hot spots"--host a vastly disproportionate amount of criminal activity. Even within the most crime-ridden neighborhoods, crime concentrates at a few locations while other areas remain relatively crime-free. So if police focus their limited resources at these problem places-a practice known as hot spots policing-they will be better positioned to lower citywide crime rates, and do it more efficiently. In Policing Problem Places, Anthony A. Braga and David L. Weisburd demonstrate that hot spots policing is a powerful and cost-effective approach to crime prevention. While putting police officers where crime happens most is an old and well-established idea, in practice it is often avoided or not properly implemented. Braga and Weisburd draw on rigorous scientific evidence to show how police officers should use problem-oriented policing and situational crime-prevention techniques to address the place dynamics, situations, and characteristics that cause a spot to be "hot." But the benefits of hot spots policing do not end with conserving public dollars and police resources. Illustrating how policing problem places can benefit police-community relations, especially in minority neighborhoods where residents have long suffered from high crime and poor police service, Braga and Weisburd show how police can make efforts to develop positive and collaborative relationships with residents and avoid the indiscriminant enforcement tactics that undermine the legitimacy of the police. A vital resource for police departments everywhere, Policing Problem Places offers a blueprint for rethinking what police should do and how they should do it.

Policing Problem Places: Crime Hot Spots and Effective Prevention (Studies in Crime and Public Policy)

Politics & Social Sciences

Braga, Anthony A.

Weisburd, David L.

Social Sciences

Oxford University Press

In many U.S. cities, gun violence is the most urgent crime problem. High rates of deadly violence make a city less livable, dragging down quality of life, economic development, and property values. The police are the primary agency tasked with controlling gun violence, yet advocates for gun violence prevention either ignore the police or only reference them as a part of the problem. But in fact, more effective policing is key to the success of any comprehensive effort to reduce community gun violence.\nThe stakes are high--gun violence is concentrated in low-income Black communities, and consequently these communities bear the brunt of the associated economic, social, and psychological burdens. Any successful strategy must overcome the current impasse where the residents of high-violence neighborhoods do not trust the police, having experienced both abuse and neglect in their dealings with officers. How can police departments find the right balance between over- and under-policing of high-violence areas? What are the best practices for police to preempt and deter gun violence, while engendering support and cooperation from the public?\nDrawing on fifty years of research and practical experience, Policing Gun Violence argues that it is possible for the police to create greater public safety while respecting the rights of individuals and communities. While gun violence can be attributed to various systemic causes that should remain on the public agenda--from widespread gun availability to poverty and racism--Anthony A. Braga and Philip J. Cook make the case that violence is itself a root cause of social disparity and future violence. Effective law enforcement is a vital component of a just society. They review and synthesize the evidence in several key areas: enforcement of gun laws, policing hot spots, controlling high-risk groups through focused deterrence, enhancing investigations to increase the arrest and conviction rate, preventing officer-involved shootings, and disrupting underground gun markets. Policing Gun Violence serves as a guide to how the police can better utilize their considerable resources to make 
cities safer.

Policing Gun Violence: Strategic Reforms for Controlling Our Most Pressing Crime Problem (STUDIES CRIME AMD PUBLIC POLICY SERIES)

Cook, Philip J.

Place Matters: Criminology for the Twenty-First Century

Over the last two decades, there has been increased interest in the distribution of crime and other antisocial behavior at lower levels of geography. The focus on micro geography and its contribution to the understanding and prevention of crime has been called the 'criminology of place'. It pushes scholars to examine small geographic areas within cities, often as small as addresses or street segments, for their contribution to crime. Here, the authors describe what is known about crime and place, providing the most up-to-date and comprehensive review available. Place Matters shows that the study of criminology of place should be a central focus of criminology in the twenty-first century. It creates a tremendous opportunity for advancing our understanding of crime, and for addressing it. The book brings together eighteen top scholars in criminology and place to provide comprehensive research expanding across different themes.

Lum, Cynthia

Ratcliffe, Jerry H.

Weisburd, David

Groff, Elizabeth R.

Yang, Sue-Ming

Eck, John E.

Gill, Charlotte

Telep, Cody W.

Cave, Breanne

Bowers, Kate

Bruinsma, Gerben

Hibdon, Julie

Hinkle, Joshua C.

Johnson, Shane D.

Lawton, Brian

Rengert, George

Taniguchi, Travis

Cambridge University Press

This Element examines an increasingly important community crime prevention strategy - focused deterrence. This strategy seeks to change offender behavior by understanding underlying crime-producing dynamics and conditions that sustain recurring crime problems, and implementing a blended set of law enforcement, community mobilization, and social service actions. The approach builds on recent theorizing on optimizing deterrence, mobilizing informal social control, enhancing police legitimacy, and reducing crime opportunities through situational crime prevention. There are three main types of focused deterrence strategies: group violence intervention programs, drug market intervention programs, and individual offender programs. A growing number of rigorous program evaluations find focused deterrence to be an effective crime prevention strategy. However, a number of steps need to be taken to ensure focused deterrence strategies are implemented properly. These steps include creating a network of capacity through partnering agencies, conducting upfront and ongoing problem analysis, and developing accountability structures and sustainability plans.

A Framework for Addressing Violence and Serious Crime (Elements in Criminology)

Problem-oriented policing has been evaluated as effective in controlling a wide range of crime and disorder problems, ranging from burglaries and robberies, to prostitution, to various types of violence, according to this new book by Anthony A. Braga of Harvard University. Braga analyzes WHY problem-oriented policing interventions are effective and, thereby, intends to broaden the use of this approach in everyday policing. 
Problem-oriented policing directs attention and resources to the underlying problems that lurk behind many recurring crimes. Braga summarizes the extensive worldwide research literature on three types of interventions: (1) reducing opportunities for crime at problem-plagued PLACES (such as bars or housing projects) through enforcement-oriented and/or environmental measures; (2) targeting high-activity (repeat) OFFENDERS; and (3) protecting the VICTIMS of repetitive offenses. 
Braga concludes with ideas for correcting deficiencies in current approaches to problem-oriented policing. These suggestions address how to improve crime analysis, enhance the measurement of police performance, and secure productive police-community partnerships.

Problem-Oriented Policing and Crime Prevention

Willow Tree Pr

In recent years a new approach to preventing crime as opposed to reacting after offenses have occurred has gained support among police agencies worldwide. This new crime prevention strategy targets the underlying local problems that generate recurring offenses. According to Dr. Anthony Braga s comprehensive overview of worldwide research, this emerging problem-oriented policing approach has now been proven effective in reducing a wide range of crimes and disorders. The introduction explains why police have recently adopted the problem-oriented strategy to prevent crime, and Chapter 2 describes the specific steps involved in carrying out this approach. The next three chapters respectively analyze the results of problem-oriented projects centered on: (1) targeting high-crime places (such as drug dealing venues, violence-prone taverns, and abandoned sites that breed lawlessness); (2) deterring high-activity, repeat offenders; and (3) protecting victims of repeat offenses. Many of the most innovative projects effect changes in local environments in order to block opportunities for committing crime. Chapter 6 discusses how to improve problem-oriented policing in three critical areas: improving crime analysis, measuring program effectiveness, and securing productive partnerships with community residents and academic researchers. The author concludes with a chapter of final thoughts, and provides a comprehensive set of references. This is the only book recommended by the non-profit Center for Problem-Oriented Policing for use in all modules of its Model POP Curriculum, including courses for undergraduates and graduate students, and training programs for pre-service and in-service police personnel.

Lynne Rienner Publishers

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