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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 2:10 am
Time: 2:10 am
Results for crime hot-spots
2 results foundAuthor: Willis, Dale Title: Place and Neighborhood Crime: Examining the Relationship between Schools, Churches, and Alcohol Related Establishments and Crime Summary: The objective of this research is to determine the degree to which neighborhood crime patterns are influenced by the spatial distribution of three types of places: schools, alcohol establishments, and churches. A substantial body of research has examined the relationship between places and crime. Empirically, this research indicates that there is more crime at certain types of places than at others (Sherman, Gartin, and Buerger, 1989; Spelmen, 1995; Block and Block, 1995). The criminological literature also provides several potential theoretical explanations for these patterns. The routine activity perspective (Cohen and Felson, 1979) argues that crime occurs when motivated offenders converge with potential victims in unguarded areas. Places that promote this convergence are expected to have elevated crime rates, while places that prevent or reduce this convergence are expected to have lower crime rates. The social disorganization perspective (Shaw and McKay, 1942; Bursik, 1988; Krivo and Peterson, 1996) argues that communities with more collective efficacy (in the form of internal social networks and access to external resources and values) are likely to have less crime, while communities lacking in efficacy are likely to have more crime. Places that promote the formation of positive social ties and grant the community access to external resources are expected to reduce crime, while places that inhibit positive social ties and separate the community from external resources are likely to increase crime. Much of the literature on place and crime has focused on the influence of bars on neighborhood crime rates, with a substantial body of research indicating that bars are associated with elevated crime rates (Roncek and Bell, 1981; Roncek and Pravatiner, 1989; Sherman, Gartin, and Buerger, 1989; Roncek and Maier, 1991; Block and Block, 1995). Sherman, Gartin, and Buerger (1989), for example, found that bars can account for upwards of 50% of police service calls in a given area. Here we examine the relationship not only between bars and crime rates, but other types of liquor establishments as well (e.g., liquor stores and restaurants that serve alcohol). In addition to the literature that characterizes bars as hot spots for crime, a smaller, yet growing, body of literature indicates that the presence of schools (Roncek and Lobosco, 1983; Roncek and Faggiani, 1985; Roman, 2004; Kautt and Roncek, 2007, Broidy, Willits, and Denman, 2009, Murray and Swatt, 2010) is also associated with neighborhood crime. The most recent of this research suggests that while high schools are associated with increased crime at the neighborhood level, elementary schools may have a protective influence. Research on churches and crime is limited relative to research focused on schools and bars, but suggests that churches may help protect neighborhoods from crime (Lee, 2006; Lee 2008; Lee 2010). Furthermore, there are theoretical reasons to suspect that churches, like schools and liquor establishments, may be an important type of place to consider when examining crime at the neighborhood level. The current research contributes to a criminological understanding of place and crime by examining whether and how all three location types operate to influence crime rates both independently and relative to one another. Details: Albuquerque, NM: New Mexico Statistical Analysis Center, 2011. 46p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 28, 2011 at: nmsac.unm.edu/ Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 122927 Keywords: Alcohol Related Crime, DisorderChurchesCommunities and CrimeCrime AnalysisCrime Hot-SpotsCrime PatternsNeighborhoods and CrimeSchools |
Author: Bond, Brenda J. Title: Lowell, Massachusetts, Smart Policing Initiative: Reducing Property Crime in Targeted Hot Spots Summary: From 2007 through 2008, the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, experienced a 15 percent increase in property crime, driven by surges in car theft (12 percent), burglary (14 percent), and larceny (21 percent). Much of the increase was tied to drug offenders who committed crimes to support their addictions. The Lowell Smart Policing Initiative (SPI), funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), sought to address drug-related property crime through problem-oriented policing and the SARA model: Scanning, Analysis, Response, and Assessment. A Steering Committee composed of department staff and researchers who were well versed in advanced problem solving led the Lowell SPI. In order to avoid some of the traditional problems with SARA implementation, the Lowell SPI team employed a more sophisticated problem-solving process that assessed the congruence or "fit" among the targeted crime problems and the different elements of the SPI strategy. As part of the analysis phase, the Lowell SPI team collaborated with the city Health Department to examine the background and history of all individuals who died as a result of a drug overdose in Lowell from 2005 through 2008. Results confirmed the strong link between drug use and property crime. The SPI team then identified 12 property crime hot spots across three sectors, most of which were near known drug markets. Lowell crime analysts identified comparison hot spots that were matched to targeted hot spots using a matched-pair design. Captains in each of the three sectors generated response plans which were discussed, modified, and monitored at the bi-weekly SPI Steering Committee meetings. Sector Captains also completed bi-weekly surveys which systematically captured the strategies and tactics that were employed in the targeted hot spots. The survey results documented a high degree of congruence between the targeted crime problems and the selected crime reduction strategies. Results from the assessment phase indicate that each sector experienced significant declines in property crime from the pre-intervention period (9/2009-10/2010) to the intervention period (9/2011-12/2012). These crime declines ranged from 16 to 19 percent, though specific hot spots experienced much larger drops in certain crime types (e.g., from 40-50 percent in some hot spots). In the East and West Sectors, the crime declines were notably different from crime patterns in the matched comparison hot spots. In the North Sector, crime declined significantly in both the targeted hot spots and the comparison hot spots. Taken together, these findings provide compelling evidence that the Lowell SPI led to substantial reductions in drug-related property crime. The Lowell SPI highlights the importance of accessing non-traditional data to extend the problem analysis process. The Lowell experience also demonstrates the importance of near-real time monitoring of the problem-solving model, with a focus on achieving alignment or fit between identified crime problems and response strategies. The emphasis on congruence between problems and responses can allow law enforcement agencies to avoid "shallow" problem solving, which has often emerged in problem-oriented policing projects and can limit the potential for successful crime reduction. Details: Arlington, VA: CNA Analysis & Solutions, 2014. 18p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 11, 2014 at http://www.cna.org/sites/default/files/research/SPILowellSpotlight.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.cna.org/sites/default/files/research/SPILowellSpotlight.pdf Shelf Number: 132441 Keywords: Crime Hot-SpotsDrug Abuse and CrimeGeospatial AnalysisProblem-Oriented Policing (Massachusetts)Property Crime |