The Differing Effect of Police Enforcement Actions Across Spatial Contexts

• In Event: Spatial Risk Assessment, I

Abstract

Crime hot spots have received considerable attention from criminologists. Research has consistently found that this geographic concentration of crime is largely due to the presence of what are commonly referred to as crime generators and attractors in the literature. Despite this vast body of research, less is known about the effect specific police actions have in mitigating crime at hot spots. While Hot Spots Policing and Problem-Oriented Policing have a demonstrated record of success, these strategies cover an array of police activities, including order maintenance, narcotics operations, and various situational strategies. Precisely how the effect of these activities compare to one another remains largely unknown. Furthermore, researchers have yet to explore whether the effect of police actions are influenced by the environmental features that influence crime. Said differently, whether the effect of certain enforcement activities differs across spatial contexts is largely unknown. This study seeks to address this gap in the literature. Through a panel regression model incorporating crime and police activity data in Newark, NJ, we measure the effect of enforcement activities conducted by street-level police officers. Risk Terrain Modeling and Conjunctive Analysis were further used to test whether the effect of the enforcement activities vary across spatial contexts.

Authors

• Eric Piza, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

• Andrew Gilchrist, University of Cincinnati