Smart Policing Initiative Final Report Submitted by: Jerry Ratcliffe Elizabeth Groff Cory Haberman Evan Sorg Note: This project was supported by Grant No. 2009-DG-BX-K021 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Office for Victims of Crime. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. 1 Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 5 The Smart Policing Initiative experimental results ....................................................................................... 7 Selecting target areas ................................................................................................................................. 7 What did the officers do? ........................................................................................................................... 7 When did each initiative take place? .......................................................................................................... 8 What research activities took place? .......................................................................................................... 8 How were the results analyzed? ................................................................................................................. 8 What was the result of the experiment? .................................................................................................... 9 How do we explain the results? .................................................................................................................. 9 Wave 1 Police Officer Survey Full Results ................................................................................................... 10 Summary ................................................................................................................................................... 10 Most effective and ineffective strategies ................................................................................................. 11 Crime strategy effectiveness..................................................................................................................... 12 The strategy for the Philadelphia Police ................................................................................................... 13 How the officers feel about the community ............................................................................................. 14 How the officers feel about their job ........................................................................................................ 15 About the officers ..................................................................................................................................... 16 About the survey ....................................................................................................................................... 16 Wave 2 Police Officer Survey Full Results ................................................................................................... 17 Most effective and ineffective strategies ................................................................................................. 17 The strategy for the Philadelphia Police ................................................................................................... 18 How the officers feel about the community ............................................................................................. 19 Community Survey Response Summary ...................................................................................................... 20 Summary ................................................................................................................................................... 20 The survey ................................................................................................................................................. 21 Opinions of Neighborhood and Officers who work it ............................................................................... 23 Opinions of The PPD’s Effectiveness ......................................................................................................... 24 About the respondents ............................................................................................................................. 25 About the survey ....................................................................................................................................... 25 Appendix 1: Journal article submitted for publication ................................................................................ 26 Does What Police Do at Hot Spots Matter?: The Philadelphia Policing Strategy Experiment .......... 26 Abstract ..................................................................................................................................................... 26 2 Theoretical basis for hot spots policing .................................................................................................... 27 Evidence of the effectiveness of police efforts at hot spots ..................................................................... 28 Foot patrol ............................................................................................................................................ 29 Problem oriented policing .................................................................................................................... 29 Offender focus strategy ............................................................................................................................ 30 Experimental Design ................................................................................................................................. 31 Background to the <City> policing strategies experiment .................................................................... 31 Selection of hot spot areas for random assignment ............................................................................. 31 Treatment provided to target areas ......................................................................................................... 33 Foot Patrol ............................................................................................................................................ 33 Study period .......................................................................................................................................... 34 Analysis ..................................................................................................................................................... 34 Outcome Measures ............................................................................................................................... 35 Modeling strategy ................................................................................................................................. 36 Results ....................................................................................................................................................... 36 All violent crime .................................................................................................................................... 36 Violent felonies ..................................................................................................................................... 37 Pedestrian stops .................................................................................................................................... 37 Automobile stops .................................................................................................................................. 37 Narcotics crime ..................................................................................................................................... 37 Displacement ............................................................................................................................................ 37 Limitations ................................................................................................................................................ 39 Discussion.................................................................................................................................................. 39 Focusing on offenders in hot spots reduced violent crime .................................................................. 40 Problem-solving and foot patrol failed to reduce violent crime .......................................................... 41 Differences in the volume of officer activity by type of intervention .................................................. 42 Implications for Research ..................................................................................................................... 43 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................. 44 Figures ......................................................................................................................................................