By Illinois Crime Reduction Task Force

Background

To develop and propose policies and procedures aimed at reducing crime in Illinois, the Crime Reduction Task Force Act established the Crime Reduction Task Force (20 ILCS 3926/1-5). Task Force membership was statutorily mandated in the Crime Reduction Task Force Act. The Task Force was active from October 2022 through June 2024. Meetings were held virtually and were open to the public. Meeting content included:

• Testimony from subject matter experts.

• Input from community service providers.

• Reports and other documents submitted by Task Force members and other interested parties.

• Votes taken on submitted recommendations.

Recommendations

The approved recommendations are listed below.

• There should be a new legislation that mandates judges to order an abusive partner to complete a Partner Abuse Intervention Program (PAIP) when granting an Order of Protection for domestic violence in civil courts. This can help prevent domestic violence, and crime in general, because domestic violence offenders can pose a threat to a family as well as to the community. A PAIP focuses on power, control, and relationship dynamics. It helps people reflect on their relationship and take responsibility for one’s behavior.

• If the person fails to complete the PAIP, there should be a consequence, such as restrictions in child custody or supervised visitation of family members. Because taking a PAIP costs money and it lasts 26 weeks, there should be a financial support to complete a PAIP for low-income earners.

Chicago: Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority.. 2024. 52p.

By Nancy Sullivan, Sharyn Adams, Eva Ott Hill, Jessica Reichert

Introduction

A significant amount of police engagement involves persons with multiple service needs, such as substance use treatment or mental health services. A public safety and public health partnership encourages police to “deflect” individuals from the criminal justice system by referring them to treatment and other service providers (Charlier & Reichert, 2020; Lindquist-Grantz et al., 2021). Individuals may face several barriers to treatment and services, but deflection can reduce barriers such as social stigma, waiting lists, and limited ability to personally fund treatment (Charlier & Reichert, 2020).

We evaluated the action planning process for a deflection program in Southwestern Illinois, later named Choices. The program serves the following counties: Calhoun, Greene, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, and St. Clair. The development of the program began with guided action planning sessions during which community stakeholders agreed that the focus of this program will be substance use and mental health. The program was then developed based on results of the action planning sessions. The two facilitators of the sessions were from Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities’ Center for Health and Justice (TASC CHJ), and at least one researcher from the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) attended each session.

Methodology

In conducting an evaluation of the action planning process, researchers attempted to answer the following research questions:

• Who participated in the action planning process?

• What transpired during the action planning process?

• What feedback about the action planning process did participants provide?

• What was the content of the final action plan?

• To what extent was there collaboration among the participants?

• What areas of collaboration can be enhanced to produce the most effective outcomes?

In order to evaluate the action planning process aimed at developing the deflection program, researchers examined multiple data sources, including field observations, supporting documents (e.g., sign in sheets, handouts), and participant surveys. We conducted field observations and took field notes during six action planning sessions in October and December 2022. At the end of each session day, we administered a survey to all participants to obtain their feedback on the program and action planning process. On the final day of action planning, we administered a survey to gauge the level of collaboration among participants. One study limitation was that not all participants completed every action planning session survey. The number of participants and surveys varied by session. In addition, as Chicago-based researchers, we may not understand the intricacies of the community area.

Key Findings

The action planning process for the Southwestern Illinois deflection program took place over six days. Fifteen representatives from 13 different organizations participated in at least one session.

During observations of action planning, participants appeared unsure about the deflection model as well as the overall action planning process. Facilitators did the bulk of the talking, and participation was consistent but low. When they joined in, participants were engaged and discussed community issues, needs, collaboration, and program design. The participants completed the action plan document detailing objectives and action steps for the program implementation. However, the participants struggled to produce measurable objectives when finalizing the Solutions Action Plan (SAP).

Based on the results of the surveys, participants felt that collaboration was strong and that those who should have been at the action planning sessions were already there. By the conclusion of the final session, the majority in attendance reported that they were confident this program would help their community and positively rated the action planning process.

Recommendations

Based on the findings of the evaluation, we offer four recommendations for future action planning sessions. First, increased collaboration is necessary in order to have an effective action planning session and, down the line, a successful implementation of the program. Team building as well as community engagement are recommended to improve collaboration among both groups. Second, increased participation is essential to the success of the action planning sessions. Not only is the number of participants important, but their diversity, as well. Moreover, action planning participants should be representative of the local communities they are serving. Third, it is essential that all participants in action planning have a thorough understanding of both deflection and the action planning process. Ensuring that all participants fully understand both of these items at the start of action planning will reduce the time spent explaining them throughout the sessions, resulting in more engagement and participation in actual planning. Finally, it is essential that all objectives created by participants are reasonably measurable. The use of a logic model is recommended to keep participants on track and to make sure that each objective is measurable and attainable.

Conclusion

We conducted an evaluation of the action planning process to develop a deflection program, Choices, to help persons with substance use and/or mental health disorders in Southwestern Illinois. The action planning sessions for the program identified community issues and discussed community needs, collaboration, and resources in order to draft the program’s structure, design, and implementation. These discussions led to the final action plan document, which laid out objectives and action steps for the implementation phase of the program. The program employs a police-led deflection model, with the help of multijurisdictional drug task forces, to refer individuals to services in their community. We recommend increased engagement of diverse community members, more clarity on the purpose of the action planning process, and the creation of measurable objectives.

Chicago: Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, 2024. 57p.

By Joanna Shapland, Jamie Buchan, Steve Kirkwood and Estelle Zinsstag

This report summarises key findings from our project which was funded by the Scottish Government, in support of the Scottish Government’s Restorative Justice Action Plan (Scottish Government 2019). In particular, we seek to support the expansion of restorative justice in Scotland to include its use in response to more serious offending and more difficult cases.

Our objectives were to develop a sense of what factors were perceived by facilitators as risky in any restorative justice process, how they assessed risks, and what measures have been used to prevent and mitigate these risks, with a view to informing the development of practice and policy in Scotland. By ‘risk’ we mean not (just) risks to safety but any factors that might jeopardise the success of the process, i.e. the participants being able to communicate safely. To this end, we interviewed 30 restorative justice facilitators in 11 European jurisdictions. The extent to which restorative justice was ‘established’, and how it was organised, varied considerably between these. Our questions roughly followed the timeline of a restorative justice process: we began by talking about the referral process and how facilitators decide to move forward (or not), before considering facilitators’ definitions of ‘risk’, approaches to assessment, and measures they used to mitigate specific risks in restorative justice. Finally, we asked them about their training and measures for capacity building, including co-facilitation, mentoring and reflective practice.

Key Findings

• The restorative justice risks described by our interviewees attach to individual people and cases. Some cases are risky, but this is because of individual factors, not because of the type of case or person. This is essentially different to the actuarial/statistical mode of risk assessment found in many criminal justice settings.

• It is impossible to predict the risks of a case before engaging with the individuals involved, because different people experience ‘risk’ factors in very different ways. Furthermore, the seriousness of the harm in a given case may not tally with the legal categories imposed on it by the criminal justice system.

• Aside from unwillingness to engage or attempts to coerce others on the part of either party, only two types of risk were seen as ruling out restorative justice entirely: where the person responsible is unable or unwilling to acknowledge the harm (which does not necessarily entail admitting criminal guilt), and where either party is unable to comprehend the proceedings, usually because of substance use or severe mental disorder. Even these may be amenable to change over time. 

• Most facilitators agreed that certain difficult cases, particularly those involving sexual offending and domestic/intimate partner abuse, presented particular challenges related to trauma and power imbalance. There was no sense however of them being qualitatively different to other cases in terms of how they were approached from a practice perspective - they just require additional care and preparation.

• Capacity to facilitate more challenging cases comes with experience. In Scotland, many facilitators are less experienced with these types of case, so are more concerned about risk and their capacity to facilitate these; facilitators in other jurisdictions with experience around facilitating in cases involving more severe harm are much more confident taking on more difficult cases. 

• Facilitators rarely used formal risk assessment processes, and none appeared to use, or have, validated risk assessment tools in relation to restorative justice, although some may use informal ‘checklists’ of factors. Professional judgment and a case-by-case approach, sometimes with advice and support from other professionals, was the key element in assessing and mitigating risks. Given this, and the individual nature of ‘risk’, it was usual to consider risks and mitigating measures simultaneously, not sequentially. In assessing risk, they focus on risks related to the restorative justice process itself, rather than more general risks, such as risk of re-offending. They would also adopt a restorative approach to assessing risk, such as through raising and discussing potential risks and their mitigation with participants. 

• Facilitators valued the advice of other professionals, such as prison officers, social workers and psychiatrists, and (in some cases) these professionals’ work supporting parties in restorative justice meetings. However, in making decisions about restorative justice, facilitators’ own judgment and the views and needs of the parties (principally the person harmed) were seen as more important. 

• Facilitators use a range of measures to mitigate potential risks. The single most important measure is simply preparation with the people involved, through a series of ‘pre-meetings’. All facilitators used these meetings to prepare each party for the restorative justice process, and identify and mitigate particular risks; more difficult cases were generally seen as requiring more pre-meetings. 

• Communication difficulties which could affect the process included language barriers as well as those related to mental illness or the youth of the parties. Facilitators used a range of methods to overcome these, including interpreters and supporters as well as non-verbal communication techniques. 

• While some types of case, such as those involving young people, communication difficulties or large groups, might require extra preparation, these cases (like more difficult cases) were not seen as fundamentally different to any others. 

• Many participants want supporters present at face-to-face meetings, and so facilitators invited these people into the restorative justice process as ‘supporters’. These could be friends and family of the participants or sometimes professionals (e.g. therapists or social workers). While this was seen as useful, care was needed in order to avoid power imbalances or inappropriate interventions from supporters. 

• There was varied evidence on the practice of using follow-up measures after the meeting, though this was seen as very desirable. While some facilitators iv check in with the participants afterwards, others are content simply to provide contact information and solicit feedback. 

• It was common for facilitators to work in pairs on a given case, particularly where the case is risky, complex or involves many people. This ‘co facilitation’ is particularly valuable for gaining complementary perspectives as well as for training newer or less experienced facilitators, who can ‘shadow’ a senior colleague. 

• The physical space in which a meeting occurs is very important. Preferably this would be an accessible and neutral space with no links to criminal justice or to either of the parties, and conducive to an atmosphere of safety and calm. It should have at least one ‘breakout room’ for parties to prepare and take breaks. 

• Facilitators generally felt that their training had prepared them adequately for facilitating restorative justice, but this training had not always been well evaluated. 

• Restorative justice is not suitable for all people or all cases. However, it is worth remembering that for some people harmed by offences, the risks of not engaging in restorative justice may outweigh the risks of doing so.

Suggestions 

• We do not advise the adoption of formal risk assessment processes in restorative justice. This would risk compromising the individual-focused ethos of restorative justice, and could have harmful consequences by imposing risk categories ‘top down’ on cases. Tools should particularly not be imported from other criminal justice processes, where the aims and purposes are likely to be different. There must be an acknowledgement that every case is different - the most serious offences may be relatively straightforward in restorative justice terms, while apparently minor crimes may hide unexpected risks. However, checklists, tailored to the specific restorative justice services, may function as a useful aide memoire for practitioners in considering the types of issues and factors that should be considered when assessing and mitigating risks. 

• ‘Pre-meetings’ are the key measure for identifying and mitigating risks. Without introducing undue delay, adequate time must be allowed for a preparatory meeting or meetings ahead of the restorative justice process. This is particularly true for more difficult cases. 

• Restorative justice services will need to be flexible in accepting referrals at different stages of the criminal justice process and afterwards, to allow for cases of serious offending where the person responsible is serving or has served a custodial sentence. 

• Where necessary, resources should be made available for communication support in restorative justice (interpreters and/or supporters). Non-verbal tools such as picture cards may also be helpful for supporting communication.

Edinburgh: Edinburgh University, 2022. 98p.

By Scottish Government, Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs

Although many countries have now introduced domestic homicide reviews, there remains little evidence on their effectiveness in creating system change and improving organisational practice. Taking the learning forward from reviews and ensuring recommendations are implemented is of crucial importance and at the very core of the purpose of the process, yet there is little evidence of how and whether this works in practice. A lack of evaluation of the effectiveness of domestic homicide reviews internationally makes it difficult to establish a consensus for best practice and develop a model with this in mind (Scottish Government, 2023). Still, where problems have been identified and mechanisms have been introduced to attempt to overcome these issues, we can consider these when developing a domestic homicide and suicide review (DHSR) model for Scotland. This will help to ensure that the process created does not repeat the same mistakes, and instead is constructed in a way that will enable lessons to be learned effectively from reviews. In doing so, Scotland’s model will facilitate the system changes and improvements that are the core purpose of conducting reviews, and will ensure that practitioners and victims’ families can have faith in the process and see value in their participation. This report builds on a working paper by Professor John Devaney, which introduces key points to consider for the implementation of learning from reviews to generate service improvement. This report outlines 15 aspects of good practice to be considered in the development of a domestic homicide and suicide review model for Scotland. The report then discusses the rationale behind these points in more detail, identifying existing challenges with implementing recommendations from reviews, exploring examples of good practice, and considering how to define and measure success and impact. This report was prepared by Justice Analytical Services for the DHSR Model Development Sub-Group. As the key points presented in this report have been generated at an early stage of development of the model, they are designed to be considered as general principles of good practice, and may require further refinement and deliberation as the details of the model are established. The information presented in this report is drawn from academic literature on domestic homicide reviews and other similar review processes, consideration of responses to the Scottish Government’s targeted engagement consultation, and consultation with British and international DHR experts (see Annex 1 for a description of the methodology).

Edinburgh: Scottish Government, Justice Directorate, 2024. 27p.

By SHEYLA A. DELGADO, GINA MORENO, FIDEL OSORIO, RICHARD ESPINOBARROS, JEFFREY A. BUTTS JOHN JAY COLLEGE RESEARCH AND EVALUATION CENTER

Researchers at the John Jay College Research and Evaluation Center (JohnJayREC) investigated transit fare evasion in subway stations and station complexes throughout New York City between 2018 and 2023. The study was conducted as part of the New York City Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Plan, overseen by the New York City Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ). The research team analyzed associations between fare evasion and arrests reported by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and considered the social and economic characteristics of the neighborhoods surrounding each transit station. The study found no statistically significant associations between fare evasion enforcements and total arrests for felonies and misdemeanors. Fare evasion enforcement, however, was most prevalent in stations whose neighborhoods were characterized by high socioeconomic disadvantage. The statistical interaction of crime rates, fare evasion enforcement, and socioeconomic disadvantage underscores the role of social factors in public safety.

New York: JOHN JAY COLLEGE RESEARCH AND EVALUATION CENTER, 2024. 15p.

By Nick Sawhney

Fare Evasion and its enforcement is an ever-more relevant issue in New York City. In this paper, a data set of fare evasion arrests and weighted census data is created and analyzed using a difference-in-differences regression model in order to understand the impact of the Manhattan District Attorney’s 2018 policy to curtail the prosecution of those arrested for fare evasion in the New York City Subway. Results suggest that, despite an overall reduction in arrests, Black and Hispanic communities still saw an increase in fare evasion policing. Income inequality is suggested as an indicator of the number of arrests as well. Furthermore, the proportion of Black arrests was found to increase following the implementation of the policy, especially in areas which contain greater Black and Hispanic populations.

Published 2020.

By Kathleen Patterson, District of Columbia Auditor and PFM Group Consulting

Over 18 months, PFM collected the most reliable data available to form its conclusions. This involved benchmarking reported crime, levels and types of agency staffing, specialized functions, and unique responsibilities with six other police agencies. The PFM team also engaged with MPD and Department of Forensics Sciences (DFS) personnel, conducted numerous interviews, and led group discussions throughout MPD to ensure a comprehensive understanding of MPD operations. The PFM team included experts in police staffing and organization with substantial experience working with other departments to develop workforce strategies, improve operations and increase department efficiencies. To review the findings, please consider the context of MPD’s staffing as of October 1, 2023. At that time, MPD had 4,000 filled and vacant sworn positions. Of these: 47.3% (2,257) of the positions were allocated to Patrol Services (PS). 11.5% (547) of the positions were allocated to the Investigations Services Bureau (ISB). The remaining 41.2% (1,196) positions were allocated to other, primarily support, sections of the Department, including Professional Development (652), Homeland Security (244), Executive Office of the Chief (60), Technical and Analytical Services (19), Youth and Family Engagement (161), and Internal Affairs (60). The study’s primary focus was on patrol services and investigations, the backbone of MPD’s operations and crucial to every community. Other sections of the Department were examined primarily for the impact of their work on PS and ISB. We found that MPD data were insufficient for a robust analysis of current and historical staffing levels by bureau, division, rank, and positions. The Study concluded that the department’s Patrol Services is adequately staffed at its current level of 1,340 officers. However, it also identified ways in which patrol personnel’s current placement and shift assignments do not align with the study’s workload-based staffing model. Additionally, the study found a shortage of 65 Investigators (primarily District Detectives) based on the workload of the Investigations Bureau. Patrol Services and Investigation Services Bureau staffing and personnel placement recommendations used PFM’s workload-based staffing model, which is based on analytical methods and peer-reviewed research developed for the U.S. Department of Justice. Additional findings include: MPD urgently needs to gather more comprehensive data on how PS and ISB personnel spend their time. Better understanding time consumed by activities such as guarding arrestees and prisoners at hospitals, performing homeland security-related duties, and engaging in various proactive policing activities could significantly improve future staffing needs assessments. MPD’s proportion of professional (non-sworn) personnel is less than that of the benchmarked agencies and comparably sized agencies tracked in the FBI data tables. Better success with civilianization could free sworn personnel to do more work that explicitly requires their skills. The Department’s time and attendance system needs improved functionality to collect, monitor, and report comprehensive information to track and analyze overtime use. This information impacts the agency’s ability to make timely and thoughtful staffing decisions. MPD’s use of officers from patrol and non-patrol assignments to fulfill special details, such as large scale events and the movement of dignitaries, impedes these personnel’s ability to do their primary jobs and merits a data-based analysis of long-term Homeland Security Bureau staffing needs. A key conclusion is that staffing decisions will inevitably change as work requirements tied to Department goals and community expectations evolve. This dynamic nature of staffing decisions underscores the need for adaptability and flexibility. In responding to the draft report MPD states that in the last five years use of overtime indicated the need for “500 or more officers to meet community needs” but included no data to support that assertion. This underscores the need for accurate and comprehensive data collection to inform future studies and to more critically assess staffing adequacy, policing effectiveness, and community satisfaction. As a result, workload-based data should be regularly reviewed and incorporated into short-, medium-, and long-term strategies and staffing plans

Washington, DC:Office of the District of Columbia Auditor , 2024. 459p.

By Melissa Young & Nia West-Bey

On January 4, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a Training and Employment Notice providing local workforce boards, American Job Centers (AJCs), workforce development partners, and grantees with information on supporting community violence intervention (CVI) strategies that include an employment or workforce component. In this brief, the Center for Law and Social Policy offers recommendations for supporting the design and implementation of community violence interventions based on research and practice evidence. Background on Community Violence Community violence (sometimes called group violence) is interpersonal and can include shootings, stabbings, and other aggravated assaults between individuals not involved in familial or intimate relationships. Community violence differs from other forms of violence where weapons may be used. It often includes young people and is frequently conducted in a public setting. Roughly half of all gun homicides in the United States occur in just 127 cities— comprising less than a quarter of the total U.S. population. Black and brown Americans make up less than a third of the total population, but account for nearly three-quarters of all gun homicide victims in the United States. Gun violence overwhelmingly harms people in communities that have been economically marginalized. Community violence should be understood in the context of a community or neighborhood ecosystem. Neighborhoods with high levels of violence routinely face multiple compounding challenges arising from, and exacerbated by, structural inequity and racist policies, such as segregation; limited availability or access to quality jobs; a lack of safe and affordable housing; lack of affordable, quality health and mental health services; and histories of divestment. Moreover, significant research on the interactions of place and violence, along with a robust body of evidence, demonstrates the connection between state-sponsored racial segregation and rates of violence today. For example, an analysis of historically red-lined areas has found that, even after adjusting for the socio-demographic factors, “the same places that were imagined to be areas unworthy of economic investment by virtue of the races, ethnicities, and religions of their residents are more likely to be the places where violence and violent injury are most common almost a century later.” Often today, these communities are over-policed. The overreach of the criminal legal system, particularly in Black and brown urban communities, results in many people being barred from education, employment, and housing (sometimes for life) as a result of the collateral consequences—sometimes called “permanent punishments”—that follow criminal legal system involvement. Behind every act of community violence there are families, friends, and communities left to grapple with the aftermath of trauma and, all too often, injury or loss of life. Exposure to violence and the ripple effects of trauma and grief puts enormous strain on families, children, schools, employers, hospitals, government systems, and entire communities. In particular, being a victim of violence in adolescence is associated with a “chain of adversity,” which can compromise academic performance, educational attainment, labor force participation, occupations, and earnings into adulthood

Washington DC: CLASP, 2022. 18P.

By: Sudeep Dasgupta

In Television Studies: A Short Introduction, Jonathan Gray and Amanda D. Lotz argue for ‘television studies as an approach to studying media’ rather than as ‘a field for the study of a singular medium’. The critique of ‘Quality TV’, I argue, furthers the disciplinary lure of medium singularity by recourse to essentializing notions of ‘the people’ and by extension ‘popular culture’. A simplistic equation between aesthetics, audiences, and programs produces an imaginary construction of both television and the people. Interrogating television studies and the policing of the people is crucial for developing a critical and historically nuanced mode of approaching a shifting cross-medial landscape as well as the politics of culture in general. Given the Leavisite-inspired hostility to ‘mass culture’ and the accompanying discourse of elitism, sexism, and class disapproval, television studies and its recourse to the people was both necessary and critically important. However, the actual construction of the popular in television studies as a concept forecloses on the critical study of television, first of all through the risk of essentializing a static, simplified, and often patronizingly benevolent notion of popular culture; and second, by responding defensively rather than proactively to the historical shifts in programming, genre-hybridization, and television production.

NECSUS – European Journal of Media Studies (2012) Volume 1/1

By: ANTHONY A. BRAGA, DAVID L. WEISBURD, ELIN J. WARING, LORRAINE! GREEN MAZEROLLE, WILLIAM SPELMAN & FRANCIS GAJEWSKI

Over the past decade, problem-oriented policing has become a central strategy for policing. In a number of studies, problem-oriented policing has been found to be effective in reducing crime and disorder. However, very little is known about the value of problem-oriented interventions in controlling violent street crime. The National Academy of Sciences’ Panel on the Understanding and Control of Violent Behavior suggests that sustained research on problem-oriented policing initiatives that modify places, routine activities, and situations that promote violence could contribute much to the understanding and control of violence. This study evaluates the effects of problem-oriented policing interventions on urban violent crime problems in Jersey City, New Jersey. Twenty- four high-activity, violent crime places were matched into 12 pairs and one member of each pair was allocated to treatment conditions in a randomized block field experiment. The results of the impact evaluation support the growing body of research that asserts focused police efforts can reduce crime and disorder at problem places without causing crime problems to displace to surrounding areas.

CRIMINOLOGY VOLUME 37 NUMBER 3 1999

By: Timothy J. Hope

The problem-oriented approach to policing and the situational approach to crime prevention have much in common, both arising from the search for more effective means of crime control. They share a common perspective in being targeted at specific crime problems and locations. This paper describes three case studies of problem-oriented policing carried out by officers of the St Louis (MO) Metropolitan Police Department, each concerned with reducing crime and disorder at locations where drugs were being sold. In each case, the individual officers played a pivotal role as catalysts in stimulating actions by the community and city agencies, and in achieving reductions in crime and disorder at the problem locations. The cases suggest that at the localized level at which it operates, problem-oriented policing can achieve the kind of coordinated action which may not be so easy at a broader level of community and organizational aggregation.

CRIME PREVENTION STUDIES, VOLUME 2, P 5-31, 1994

By: Fedor Gal and Pavol Fric

Problem-oriented participative forecasting (POPF) is an autonomous and evolving concept. It aims not only to provide early signals of threats to development or to identify opportunities for development, but also to articulate interests and mobilize different social groups to act in a manner conducive to the elimination of such threats and exploitation of such opportunities. This concept of the function of forecasting has major factual and methodological implications. The focus of this article is primarily on the forecasting process as a way of active social learning and anticipatory behavior. It attempts to synthesize the problem-oriented and participative approaches to forecasting into a single methodology, which it documents by a specific example of its application in science forecasting in the Slovak Socialist Republic.

Futures, Volume 19, Issue 6, December 1987, Pages 678-685

By: Lorraine Green Mazerolle, Justin Ready, William Terrill, & Elin Waring

This paper examines the impact of a problem-oriented policing project on serious crime problems in six public housing sites in Jersey City, New Jersey. Representatives from the police department and the local housing authority, social service providers, and public housing tenants formed six problem-solving teams. using systematic documentation of the teams’ activities and calls for police service, we examine changes in serious crime both across and within the six sites over a 2 1/2-year period. We find that problem-oriented policing, as compared with traditional policing strategies used before the problem-oriented policing project, led to fewer serious crime calls for service over time and that two public housing sites in particular succeeded in reducing violent, property, and vehicle-related crimes.

JUSTICE QUARTERLY, Vol. 17 No. 1, March 2000

By: Lorraine Green Mazerolle & William Terrill

Finding effective methods for controlling crime and disorder problems in public housing has been a principal concern for policy makers, researchers, and local agency representatives for many years. Nonetheless, research continues to show that rates of drug and non-drug crime are considerably higher in public housing sites than in other areas of a city (Dunworth and Saiger, 1994; Weisburd and Green, 1995). In Jersey City, for example, public housing sites are chronically identified as being the worse drug markets (Weisburd and Green, 1994, 1995; Weisburd, Green and Ross, 1994) and having the highest levels of violent crime problems in the city (see Center for Crime Prevention Studies, 1994).

Efforts to make public housing safer places to live date back to the 1960s when policy makers found that high-rise public housing projects built in the late 1950s were social and security disasters (see Annan and Skogan, 1992). Since this time, a wide variety of strategies have been implemented to target the persistent crime and social problems that characterize public housing sites. These strategies have included traditional enforcement tactics (Skogan and Annan, 1994; Weisel, 1990a) and changing the physical design of public housing with security issues in mind (Newman, 1973). More recently local police departments, in partnership with local housing authorities, have started to implement problem-oriented policing programs to reduce drug and crime problems (see Dunworth and Saiger, 1994; Gajewski, Green, and Weisburd, 1993; Weisel, 1990b).

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, Vol. 20 No. 2, 1997, pp. 235-255.

By: Terry L. Whiting

Simple Summary: In any federation of states, societal oversight of farm animal welfare (agriculture policy arena, prevention) is more difficult to achieve than providing punishment of individuals abusing of companion animals (post injury). The constitutional division of powers and historical policy related to animal agriculture and non-government organization policing cruelty of companion animals may be entrenched. With changing societal expectations of agriculture production, each level of government may hesitate to take the lead, due to financial or ideological beliefs and simultaneously, obstruct the other government level from taking the lead, based on constitutional grounds. The tradition of private policing of companion animal abuse offences may be unworkable in the provision of protection for animals used in industrial production.

Abstract: In recent European animal welfare statutes, human actions injurious to animals are new “offences” articulated as an injury to societal norms in addition to property damage. A crime is foremost a violation of a community moral standard. Violating a societal norm puts society out of balance and justice is served when that balance is returned. Criminal law normally requires the presence of mens rea, or evil intent, a particular state of mind; however, dereliction of duties towards animals (or children) is usually described as being of varying levels of negligence but, rarely can be so egregious that it constitutes criminal societal injury. In instrumental justice, the “public goods” delivered by criminal law are commonly classified as retribution, incapacitation and general deterrence. Prevention is a small, if present, outcome of criminal justice. Quazi-criminal law intends to establish certain expected (moral) standards of human behavior where by statute, the obligations of one party to another are clearly articulated as strict liability. Although largely moral in nature, this class of laws focuses on achieving compliance, thereby resulting in prevention. For example, protecting the environment from degradation is a benefit to society; punishing non-compliance, as is the application of criminal law, will not prevent the injury. This paper will provide evidence that the integrated meat complex of Canada and the USA is not in a good position to make changes to implement a credible farm animal protection system.

Animals 2013, 3, 1086-1122; doi:10.3390/ani3041086

By: GARY CORDNER & ELIZABETH PERKINS BIEBEL

Interviews and surveys were used to measure the extent of problem-oriented policing (POP) by individual police officers in the San Diego Police Department. Officers tended to engage in small-scale problem solving with little formal analysis or assessment. Responses generally included enforcement plus one or two more collaborative or nontraditional initiatives.

VOLUME 4 NUMBER 2 2005 PP 155–180

By: Michael J. DeValve and Elizabeth Quinn

This essay argues for a more formal relationship between policing and mindful practice as taught by the Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh. The paper explores the value of Nhat Hanh’s teachings for improving the daily implementation of police services by individual officers, and the transformation of the suffering witnessed and experienced by those officers. Practical tools for the cultivation of mindfulness for officers are provided.

Contemporary Justice Review, 13: 2, 191 — 205

By: William Spelman and John E. Eck

Many calls to police are repeated requests for help. They have a history and a future-sometimes tragic. Rather than treat the call as a 30-minute event and go on to the next incident, police need to intervene in the cycle and try to eliminate the source of the problem. A wealth of research sponsored by the National Institute of Justice has led to an approach that does just that. The problem-solving approach to policing described in this Research in Brief represents a significant evolutionary step in helping law enforcement work smarter not harder. Rather than approaching calls for help or service as separate, individual events to be processed by traditional methods, problem-oriented policing emphasizes analyzing groups of incidents and deriving solutions that draw upon a wide variety of public and private resources. Careful followup and assessment of police performance in dealing with the problem completes the systematic process.

But problem-oriented policing is as much a philosophy of policing as a set of techniques and procedures. The approach can be applied to whatever type of problem is consuming police time and resources. While many problems are likely to be crime-oriented, disorderly behavior, situations that contribute to neighborhood deterioration, and other incidents that contribute to fear and insecurity in urban neighborhoods are also targets for the problem-solving approach. In devising research to test the idea, the National Institute wanted to move crime analysis beyond pin-maps. We were fortunate to find a receptive collaborator in Darrel Stephens, then Chief of Police in Newport News, Virginia. The National Institute is indebted to the Newport News Police Department for serving as a laboratory for testing problem-oriented policing. The results achieved in solving problems and reducing target crimes are encouraging. Problem-oriented policing integrates knowledge from past research on police operations that has converged on two main themes: increased operational effectiveness and closer involvement with the community. The evolution of ideas will go on.

Under the Institute's sponsorship, the Police Executive Research Forum will implement problem-oriented policing in three other cities. The test will enable us to learn whether the results are the same under different management styles and in dealing with different local problems. This is how national research benefits local communities by providing tested new options they can consider. The full potential of problem-oriented policing still must be assessed. For now, the approach offers promise. It doesn't cost a fortune but can be developed within the resources of most police departments. Problem-oriented policing suggests that police can realize a new dimension of effectiveness. By coordinating a wide range of information, police administrators are in a unique leader- ship position in their communities, helping to improve the quality of life for the citizens they serve.

National Institute of Justice, January 1987

By: Graham Farrell

What follows proposes a means by which to improve and accelerate police work so that it has an emphasis upon the rights and needs of victims. Using a term such as victim-oriented policing sounds like a proposal to compete with community policing or problem-oriented policing, but it is not. As proposed here, it would be entirely the fact that the concerns of victims should underpin a great deal of police work - more so than they do at present. it would be a complement to, rather than a substitute for, such approaches to policing.

The main proposal of this paper is that a simple means to promote victim-oriented policing (the term is broadly defined later) may be via an emphasis upon the policing and prevention of repeat victimization. For present purposes, repeat victimization is defined as the repeated criminal victimization of a person or place, or a target however defined. it is now well known that a small proportion of victims experience a significant proportion of all crime because they experience repeat victimization (see e.g. Skogan 1999; Friedman and Tucker 1997; Davis, Taylor, and Titus 1997; Pease 1998). Hence, to cut a long story short, preventing repeat victimization holds the potential to prevent crime. it helps victims in a practical and fundamental manner: Ezzat Fattah suggests that “Healing, recovery, redress, and prevention of future victimization are the primary objectives of most crime victims” (Fattah 1997: 270)

The focus here is upon the implications for police work with victims. While the phenomenon of repeat victimization presents a potentially wide range of implications for research and practice, for different areas of the criminal justice system, the work of community agencies and individuals, these areas are not the focus here.

International Symposium on Victimology, pp. 196-212

By: Michael S. Scott

Police agencies have, for the most part, not yet integrated the principles and methods of problem-oriented policing into their routine operations. This is so for several reasons. First, many police officials lack a complete understanding of the basic elements of problem-oriented policing and how problem-solving fits in the context of the whole police function. Second, the police have not yet adequately developed the skill sets and knowledge bases to support problem-oriented policing. And third, the police have insufficient incentives to take problem-oriented policing seriously. This paper begins by articulating what full integration of problem-oriented policing into routine police operations might look like. It then presents one framework for integrating the principles and methods of problem-oriented policing into the whole police function. The paper then explores the particular skill sets and knowledge bases that will be essential to the practice of problem-oriented policing within police agencies and across the police profession. Finally, it explores the perspectives of those who critically evaluate police performance, and considers ways to modify those perspectives and expectations consistent with problem-oriented policing.

Crime Prevention Studies, vol. 15 (2003), pp. 49-77