Hot Spot Policing

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Introduction In a country where inhabitants expect a certain level of safety in their community it is no surprise that homicide rate trends and crime trends in general are a constant topic of discussion and analysis. In particular, Philadelphia holds some notoriety as one of America’s most dangerous cities and is a city where new policing strategies could prove very beneficial. In 2009 the FBI Uniform Crime Report ranked Philadelphia the city with the fifth highest violent crime rate even though there had been significant reduction in crime from 2007 onwards. While the general trend of homicide rate and crime rate in Philadelphia has been on the decline an apparent rise in homicide rates in 2011 has incited interest into what more the…show more content…
and Mazerolle et al.’s studies show that the use of hot spot policing as a form of problem oriented policing resulted in a reduction in crime in Jersey City and I think a similar result could be seen if used in Philadelphia. Hot spot policing seems to have positive results in reducing crime. In a recent study in Jacksonville, Florida in 2011 Taylor et al. found that hot spot policing when used as part of problem oriented policing was associated with a 33 percent reduction on street violence and concluded that the implementation of problem oriented policing could lead to lasting violent crime reductions within violent hot spots which is encouraging as a model for Philadelphia. While there is some concern that hot spot policing may only be effective in reducing in a small area and may cause crime displacement and diffusion many studies have shown that there is not a huge increase in crime in surrounding areas when hot spot policing is introduced. For example in the Kansas City study a small increase in gun crime was recorded in surrounding areas to the hot spot that was targeted but was nowhere near the decrease recorded within the hotspot. There is further evidence that hot spot policing does not simply displace crime in Weiberg’s 1920 study on prostitution and drug crimes. Figures 4 and 5 from this study clearly show that hot spot policing had a significant effect on reducing both these crime categories and that the surrounding area did not have a…show more content…
While the increase in homicide rate from 2010 to 2011 may seem small there are certainly many schemes that the Philadelphia Police Department should be looking into in order to ensure that no further increase occurs. Problem oriented policing is an effective way to handle and prevent specific problems such as homicide and it is clear that other cities like Boston, Jersey City, Kansas City and Jacksonville have been met with success when they have implanted such schemes. For Philadelphia’s specific problem of gun crime specialized patrol could prove valuable and effective in reducing homicide rate as homicide is so closely tied to firearm availability and use. However, I do not think that one scheme in isolation will be the most effective plan in long term reduction which is why hot spot policing would add further success to a problem oriented policing scheme for Philadelphia. Specialized patrols for guns and hot spot policing are only two suggestions of how to implement problem oriented policing and tackle the homicide rate but the true advantage of implementing problem oriented policing is that it can and should be reviewed periodically and changed based on where the city’s major problems lie. This kind of policing is so
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