The effects of community-infused problem-oriented policing in crime hot spots based on police data: a randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: This randomized controlled trial (RCT) assessed the effectiveness of a community-infused problem-oriented policing (CPOP) intervention on reducing property/violent crime. Methods: In two mid-Atlantic cities, a total of 102 crime hot spots were randomly assigned to receive CPOP or standard patrol. Analyses examine changes in crime the year before, during, and one year after the intervention. We used hierarchical Poisson regression models. Results: We found no main effects for the CPOP intervention on property and violent crimes in either site. In site B, the violent crime count in low treatment hot spots was 200% higher than controls post-intervention but this likely reflected officers paying less attention to treatment locations with lower levels of crime. Conclusions: Our results suggest that CPOP was not effective in the unusual context of the COVID-19 pandemic and post-George Floyd killing. Given the challenges of implementing CPOP during this unique time, caution is needed in interpreting these findings.

Lógicas institucionais do policiamento comunitário: esquema analítico e agenda de pesquisa para o contexto brasileiro / Lógicas institucionales de la policía comunitaria: esquema analítico y agenda de investigación para el contexto brasileño / Institutional logics of community policing: an analytical framework and research agenda for the Brazilian context

Resumo Modelos de policiamento comunitário vêm sendo disseminados em diferentes países como resposta aos altos índices de criminalidade e violência. Apesar da ampla defesa da efetividade de tais modelos, há dúvidas acerca de sua efetividade e do que, de fato, se trata o policiamento comunitário. Olhando como fenômeno, o policiamento comunitário se mostra híbrido, multifacetado e com várias contradições entre o que é idealizado e o que é efetivamente posto em prática, dificultando sua compreensão. Neste ensaio, propomos um esquema analítico metateórico pautado na ideia de que o policiamento comunitário é regido por quatro tipos puros de lógicas institucionais - militar, profissional, gerencial e comunitário -, em que a interseção entre tais lógicas ajuda a compreendê-lo. Com base nesse esquema, enquadramos as pesquisas sobre o tema em elementos societários e culturais, ambientais, organizacionais, práticos e identitários, buscando delinear uma agenda de pesquisa acerca do policiamento comunitário.

Resumen Los modelos de policía comunitaria se han difundido en diferentes países en respuesta a los altos niveles de delincuencia y violencia. A pesar de la amplia defensa de la efectividad de tales modelos, existen dudas no solo sobre su efectividad, sino también sobre de qué se trata realmente la policía comunitaria. Mirándolo como un fenómeno, la policía comunitaria se ve como un híbrido, multifacético y con varias contradicciones entre lo que se idealiza y lo que efectivamente se implementa, lo que dificulta su comprensión. En este ensayo, proponemos un esquema analítico metateórico basado en la idea de que la policía comunitaria se rige por cuatro tipos puros de lógicas institucionales ‒militar, profesional, gerencial y comunitario‒ en el que la intersección entre tales lógicas ayuda a comprender cómo se manifiesta. Con base en este esquema, enmarcamos la investigación sobre el tema en elementos sociales y culturales; ambientales; organizativos; y, prácticos e identitarios, buscando esbozar una agenda de investigación sobre la policía comunitaria.

Abstract Community policing models have been disseminated in different countries in response to high levels of crime and violence. Despite the broad defense of such models, their effectiveness and concept are still unclear. The phenomenon of community policing is hybrid and multifaceted, with several contradictions between what is idealized and what happens in practice, making it difficult to understand. In this essay, we propose a metatheoretical analytical scheme based on the idea that community policing is based on four pure types of institutional logics - military, professional, managerial, and community - and the intersection of these logics helps to understand the phenomenon. We used this scheme to frame the studies on community policing considering societal and cultural, environmental, organizational, and practical and identity elements, seeking to outline a research agenda.

Impact of a community-policing initiative promoting substance use disorder treatment over criminal charges on arrest recidivism.

BACKGROUND: Overdose deaths, addiction, and drug-related crime have increased in the United States over the past decade. Treatment improves outcomes, including reducing crime, but few individuals with addiction receive treatment. Here, we determine whether the Madison Addiction Recovery Initiative (MARI), a community policing program implemented by the City of Madison (Wisconsin) Police Department (MPD) that diverts adults who committed a non-violent, drug use-related crime from criminal prosecution to addiction treatment, reduces the risk of recidivism (i.e., an arrest) in the 6-month period following the index crime. METHODS: Observational data were collected by the MPD for 12 months before through 6 months after an index crime from participants in the MARI program (n = 263) who referred to MARI between September 1, 2017 and August 31, 2020 and a Historical Comparison group (n = 52) who committed a comparable crime between September 1, 2015 and August 31, 2016. Average effects were estimated using intention-to-treat (ITT), a per-protocol, and a complier average causal effects (CACE) analyses, adjusted for covariates. RESULTS: ITT analysis did not show that MARI assignment lowered adjusted odds of 6-month recidivism (aOR = 0.59 [0.32, 1.12], p = 0.11). Per-protocol analysis showed that completing MARI lowered the adjusted odds of 6-month recidivism (aOR = 0.23 [0.10, 0.52], p < 0.001). CACE analysis indicated that assignment to MARI among individuals who would complete the MARI program if assigned to the program lowered the adjusted odds of 6-month recidivism (aOR = 0.85 [0.80, 0.90], p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Diverting adults who committed a non-violent, drug use-related crime from criminal prosecution to addiction treatment may reduce 6-month recidivism.

Providing a safer passage: Perceptions about a neighborhood intervention program for disadvantaged youth.

"Safe Passage" is an after-school intervention program for disadvantaged youth in a medium-sized city in southern California. Led by local law enforcement, as well as the city's recreation and park department, the program's goal is to combine community policing with after-school care and tutoring to support children living in a large apartment complex with the highest rates of gang membership and crime in the city. This is an exploratory study that examines the perspectives of various stakeholders in the intervention program, including the community members, the local police, and Safe Passage staff members. Survey data from the community residents, program staff and law enforcement were collected. Findings indicate that there was some consensus across the various subpopulations on the challenges that have had the largest negative influence on youth in the community. The local police and the community members surveyed were also in agreement that police/community relations were largely positive. All stakeholders surveyed felt generally positive about the intervention program, but the community members were more skeptical of the program's ability to deter their children from trouble. Implications of our findings for the program and for future studies are discussed.

Pre-arrest diversion to addiction treatment by law enforcement: protocol for the community-level policing initiative to reduce addiction-related harm, including crime.

BACKGROUND: Despite evidence that treatment reduces addiction-related harms, including crime and overdose, only a minority of addiction-affected individuals receive it. Linking individuals who committed an addiction-related crime to addiction treatment could improve outcomes. METHODS: The aim of this city-wide, pre-arrest diversion program, Madison Addiction Recovery Initiative (MARI) is to reduce crime and improve health (i.e., reduce the overdose deaths) among adults who committed a minor, non-violent, drug use-related offense by offering them a referral to treatment in lieu of arrest and prosecution of criminal charges. This manuscript outlines the protocol and methods for the MARI program development and implementation. MARI requires its participants to engage in the recommended treatment, without reoffending, during the six-month program, after which the initial criminal charges are "voided" by the law enforcement agency. The project, implemented in a mid-size U.S. city, has involved numerous partners, including law enforcement, criminal justice, public health, and academia. It includes training of the police officer workforce and collaboration with clinical partners for treatment need assessment, treatment placement, and peer support. Program evaluation includes formative, process, outcome (participant-level) and exploratory impact (community-level) assessments. For outcome evaluation, we will compare crime (primary outcome), overdose-related offenses, and incarceration-related data 12 months before and 12 months after the index crime between participants who completed (Group 1), started but not completed (Group 2), and were offered but did not start (Group 3) the program, and adults who would have been eligible should MARI existed (Historical Comparison, Group 4). Clinical characteristics will be compared at baseline between Groups 1-2, and pre-post the program within Group 1. Participant baseline data will be assessed as potential covariates. Surveys of police officers and program completers, and community-level indicators of crime and overdose pre- versus post-program will provide additional data on the program impact. DISCUSSION: By offering addiction treatment in lieu of arrest and prosecution of criminal charges, this pre-arrest diversion program has the potential to disrupt the cycle of crime, reduce the likelihood of future offenses, and promote public health and safety.

Developing a model of perceptions of security and insecurity in the context of crime.

The current study was carried out as part of the CITYCOP project exploring fear of crime, risk perception and feelings of security and insecurity. Participants (n = 272) from 11 European countries answered a questionnaire exploring measures of risk perception, fear of crime, anxiety, trust in police and related behaviours. A seven-factor structure is proposed incorporating 'Signs of Social and Physical Disorder', 'Trust in Police', 'Trait Anxiety', 'Collective Efficacy', 'Perceived Risk of Victimisation', 'Fear of Personal Harm' and 'Fear of Property Theft'. Overall findings suggest that the measures associated with feelings of insecurity are negatively related to the measures associated with feelings of security. Efforts should be made to reduce feelings of insecurity through encouraging trust in law enforcement and community interaction and reducing signs of social and physical disorder.

A field experiment on community policing and police legitimacy.

Despite decades of declining crime rates, longstanding tensions between police and the public continue to frustrate the formation of cooperative relationships necessary for the function of the police and the provision of public safety. In response, policy makers continue to promote community-oriented policing (COP) and its emphasis on positive, nonenforcement contact with the public as an effective strategy for enhancing public trust and police legitimacy. Prior research designs, however, have not leveraged the random assignment of police-public contact to identify the causal effect of such interactions on individual-level attitudes toward the police. Therefore, the question remains: Do positive, nonenforcement interactions with uniformed patrol officers actually cause meaningful improvements in attitudes toward the police? Here, we report on a randomized field experiment conducted in New Haven, CT, that sheds light on this question and identifies the individual-level consequences of positive, nonenforcement contact between police and the public. Findings indicate that a single instance of positive contact with a uniformed police officer can substantially improve public attitudes toward police, including legitimacy and willingness to cooperate. These effects persisted for up to 21 d and were not limited to individuals inclined to trust and cooperate with the police prior to the intervention. This study demonstrates that positive nonenforcement contact can improve public attitudes toward police and suggests that police departments would benefit from an increased focus on strategies that promote positive police-public interactions.

The City of Brockton's "Champion Plan": The Role of Police Departments in Facilitating Access to Treatment.

The City of Brockton (Massachusetts) initiated The Champion Plan (TCP) in February 2016 as part of a community-wide effort to redefine the public safety sector's approach to policing the drug crisis. TCP program model allows those suffering from addiction to walk into a police station and ask for treatment. Early evidence suggests substantial successes for this approach to addressing addiction. Data show 523 individuals walked into the Brockton Police Department 818 times looking for help during the first 24 months of operation. Program staff were able to secure placement beds, on average, within 90 minutes of making contact with clients. Program clients report high levels of satisfaction with the program model, and early data indicate that a substantial number of clients retain engagement with services beyond intake. Findings from this study indicate police-centered treatment-on-demand programs may be viable strategies for getting those suffering from the disease of addiction into treatment.

A national study of sustained use of force complaints in law enforcement agencies.

PURPOSE: This article examines how community and departmental characteristics relate to the number of sustained use of force complaints in a law enforcement agency. METHODS: Using national-level data from Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics 2007, Uniform Crime Reports 2007, American Community Survey 2009 and bivariate and multivariate techniques, we investigate whether sustained uses of force vary across 1) community and regional characteristics in the U.S. and across departmental 2) policies, 3) training tendencies, and 4) hiring practices. RESULTS: Controlling for region, crime rate, and area median income, results demonstrate that sustained complaints increase when departments serve large, nonwhite populations. Regarding departmental policies, results are alarming: Departments with independent civilian complaint review boards, agencies which engage in community policing, and departments that implement personality tests when hiring sustain significantly higher numbers of use of force complaints. However, departments that screen for volunteer and community service histories in officer candidates have over one third fewer sustained complaints than departments that do not use this hiring screen. CONCLUSIONS: In order to significantly reduce the amount of sustained complaints against a department, results suggest that agencies should assess community service and volunteer histories for potential officer candidates.

"Ruim com ela, pior sem ela": o desejo de continuidade das UPPs para além das Olimpíadas / "Malo con ella, peor sin ella": el deseo de continuidad de las UPPs más allá de las Olimpiadas / "Bad with it, worse without it": the will for continuity of the UPPs (pacifying police units) beyond the Olympics

Resumo Neste trabalho utilizamos a literatura de avaliação de projetos de policiamento comunitário e modelos de regressão logística para identificar quais variáveis explicam o desejo de continuidade das UPPs após as Olimpíadas. Neste sentido, apresentamos a análise de um survey domiciliar e probabilístico realizado com 2 mil residentes. Na primeira rodada, aplicamos o survey em 10 favelas que receberam UPPs na fase inicial de implementação do programa e, na rodada seguinte, em outras 10 favelas quando o processo de "pacificação" já indicava sinais de crise. Os resultados indicam que jovens pretos e pardos apresentam elevado grau de rechaço a essa modalidade de policiamento e, por outro lado, que a capacidade da polícia em reconstruir a legitimidade de sua ação nas comunidades faz com que os indivíduos endossem a continuidade da UPP, desejando-a para além do projeto de cidade olímpica.

Resumen En este trabajo utilizamos la literatura de evaluación de proyectos de policiamiento comunitario y modelos de regresión logística para identificar qué variables explican el deseo de continuidad de las UPPs después de las Olimpiadas. En este sentido, presentamos el análisis de un survey domiciliar y probabilístico realizado con 2 mil residentes. En la primera ronda, aplicamos el survey en 10 favelas que recibieron UPPs en la fase inicial de implementación del programa y, en la ronda siguiente, en otras 10 favelas cuando el proceso de "pacificación" ya indicaba signos de crisis. Los resultados indican que jóvenes negros y pardos presentan un alto grado de rechazo a esta modalidad de policía y, por otro lado, que la capacidad de la policía para reconstruir la legitimidad de su acción en las comunidades hace que los individuos endosen la continuidad de la UPP, deseando más allá del proyecto de ciudad olímpica.

Abstract This article uses the literature on community policing projects and logistic regression models to identify which variables explain the wish for the UPPs (pacifying police units) continuity after the Olympics. Analysis of a household and probabilistic survey carried out with 2,000 residents was conducted. In the first round, the survey was applied to 10 favelas that received UPPs in the initial phase of the program's implementation and, in the next round, in another 10 favelas when the "pacification" process already indicated signs of crisis. The results indicate that young black and pardo individuals present a high degree of rejection to this mode of policing and that the police's ability to rebuild the legitimacy of their actions in the communities causes individuals to endorse the continuity of UPPs, and the Olympic city project.

Police Use of Force by Ethnicity, Sex, and Socioeconomic Class.

OBJECTIVE: Disparities in police responses to Black and White people have received significant research and public attention in recent years. This study examines self-reported accounts of exposure to and perceptions of police use of force among Black and White ethnic groups by sex and income level. METHOD: Using bivariate and multivariate approaches, we analyzed data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics 2011 Police-Public Contact Survey, a measure administered to a nationally representative sample of U.S. residents. Participants were asked a series of questions about their most recent contact with police during a 12-month period. Our analyses were limited to Black (n = 59; mean age 28.8 years) and White (n = 366; mean age 34.6 years) participants whose most recent involuntary contact with police included a street stop. RESULTS: For Black residents, being male and having an income under $20,000 significantly increased the risk for exposure to police use of force during a street stop. For White residents, being male, having an income under $20,000, or being age 35 or older significantly increased the risk for exposure to police use of force during a street stop. CONCLUSIONS: Future research will benefit from additional attention to the cumulative impact of police use of force and how experience with police use of force shapes U.S. residents' understanding of and expectations for procedural justice.

Mental health outreach and street policing in the downtown of a large French city.

CONTEXT: Marseille, the second largest city in France, has a large population of homeless persons. A mental health outreach team was created in 2005 as a response to high rates of mental illness among this group. In a national political context where security is a government priority, a new central police station was created in Marseille in 2006 to address robberies, violence and illegal traffic in the downtown area of the city. While not directly related to such crimes, police also are responsible for public safety or behavioral issues related to the presence of individuals who are homeless in this area. OBJECTIVE: This report on a two-year pilot study (2009-2011) addresses collaborative work between a mental health outreach team and the police department responding to the clinical needs of persons who are homeless with serious psychiatric disorders. It also describes the homeless persons' interactions with, and perceptions of the presence of, police and mental health professionals on the streets. METHODS: Investigators adopted a mixed-methods approach. Data were collected on 40 interactions using brief standardized report for each interaction. Focus groups were conducted with police officers, outreach team members, peer workers, and service users. Minutes of partnership meetings between police officers and outreach workers also served as a source of qualitative data. RESULTS: Outreach workers initiated just over half (n=21) of the encounters (n=40) between police and outreach workers. Interactions mainly involved persons with psychosis (77%), the vast majority (80%) of which involved persons in an acute phase of psychosis. Two key themes that emerged from data analysis included the violent nature of life on the streets and the high percentage of ethnic minorities among subjects of the interactions. In addition, it was found that the practices of the outreach workers are sometimes similar to those of the police, especially when outreach workers use coercive methods. "Users" (homeless persons) described police as sometimes using less coercion than the outreach team, and noted that they were more fearful of psychiatrists than police. CONCLUSION: Formal initiatives between mental health outreach teams and police departments involve some common street practices. This study demonstrates the potential for closer working relationships between the two parties to help persons who are homeless with mental illnesses receive needed care, and to reduce inappropriate coercion including involuntary hospitalization and arrests.