AJ – 58 Community and Human Relations

Chapter 8 –

Problem-Solving and

Community Policing

Traditional, Reactive Response

Citizen calls for help– Limited assistance from Dispatcher

Patrol officer responds/investigates Handles call according to investigation

– Take report/give advice– Warn/advise or arrest suspect

Back on patrol, awaiting next call with no real thought about underlying problem

May lead to repeat calls, recurring problem

Benefits of Problem-Solving Approach

Reactive model has little impact on…– Reducing crime– Keeping order– Number of calls for service– Community problems

Dealing with underlying problems proactively should have positive impact on all of the above

Police as Social Agents

Police deal with social problems on a daily basis despite existence/efforts of other social agencies

Societal problems closely linked to crime– Economy, poverty, unemployment– Lack of social bonding, inferior living conditions– Politics, social policies

These conditions may lead to criminal acts that police have to deal with, then move on to next

CP focuses on causes rather than incidents!

Problem-Solving as a Tactic

Prevent Crime, Improve Conditions– Focus on specific problems, not just random distribution of

resources

Recognize Social Conditions that Contribute to Crime/Disorder

– Analyze conditions and develop specific responses to each, not just calls for service

Realize Some Problems Outside Police Control– Cooperate with other agencies to develop unified strategy

Geographical Policing

Certain areas of any community seem to be “high crime areas” or “hot spots”

Usually account for large percentage of calls for service

– Bars, liquor stores– Neighborhoods/Apartment complexes– Parks – Gathering spots for…

Gangs Teens Drug use/sales Homeless

SARA Model of Problem-Solving

Scan

Analyze

Respond

Assess

Scanning

Departments examine their jurisdiction for– Specific problems– Hot spots

Identified by – Calls for service/citizen complaints– Criminal activity/arrests

Scanning should include assistance from Community to include their input!

Analysis

Collection of information related to specific problem, area, etc.

Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? May include other contributing factors

– Sales of drugs/alcohol from particular location

Analysis should attempt to focus on specific problem/area without too much overlap

Response

Focus on cause of problems rather than symptoms– Example: sales to minors

May be police alone or multi-agency Police may refer problem to other agencies Must be aware of additional subsequent

problems that may result from response

Assessment

Was the response effective? Did it solve the problem or just reduce or transfer it

elsewhere? If outcome less than desirable, police must return to

Analyze for new Response Is dislocating a problem a successful outcome?

– Traditional answer = yes– Community Policing answer = no

Identifying Problems: Officer Observations and Experience

Patrol officer has intimate knowledge of beat– Problem residences, neighborhoods, bars…– Able to coordinate resources

DV services, Crime Prevention Units, ABC

Able to identify problem individuals– PR contacts, FI’s

Get to know members of community– More likely to cooperate/provide information to

familiar officer

Identifying Problems:Citizen Complaints & Community Groups

Departments look at aggregate of calls to determine trends Citizens concerned with problems that affect them directly or

regularly– Traffic– Loitering– Panhandling

Neighborhood meetings in central location– Citizens get to voice concerns– Police gather information, develop positive relations– Follow-up response is crucial!

Service-Club organization meetings

Identifying Problems:Crime Mapping

Technological advances– CAD & RMS– Valuable information from each call

Location, Time, Nature of call Response Time Outcome of Incident

Information used to “Map” crime trends– Specific time, area, location, address– Specific call-type, incident, crime

Identifying Problems:Police Reports/Calls for Service

Types of police reports– Offense/crime– Incident– Arrest– Follow-Up/Supplemental

Crime Analysis Unit – Analyze data from reports – Produce summaries of information

Crimes, offenders, deployment plans Pin maps, daily bulletins by area/beat Modus Operandi, commonalities in day/time/location

Identifying Problems

Geographic Concentration Pattern– Identify certain hot-spots by concentration of crimes over

certain time period

Similar Offense Patterns– Compare similarities in crime, suspect, victim, time,

location, MO to identify trends

Citizen Surveys– Questions regarding crime, fear of crime, attitude towards

police/police services– Good prelude to a neighborhood meeting!

Police Problem-Solving

Drug sales– NYPD

Citizens help police find stashed drugs– Lexington, KY

Police remove basketball hoops– San Diego, CA

Increased-enforcement threat, rehab programs

Residential Burglaries– Crime prevention safety checks

Obstacles to Problem-Solving

Lack of analytical skills/training

Lack of problem-solving framework in department

Resistance to change Sufficient time for

proper analysis Lack of Community

involvement and/or cooperation

Lack of support from local government

Unclear answers as to what strategies work best

Linear thinking for a non-linear problem

Lack of information about the problem