Using Non-Warranted Police Community Support Officers in Hotspots of Crime and Disorder: The Birmingham South (UK) Foot Patrol Experiment

• In Event: Policing Hot Spots

Abstract

Ample evidence on the effect of “hotspot-policing” exists. Most studies suggest that uniformed police presence in geographic microdots result in moderate reductions in crime levels, compared to control conditions. However two broad concerns remain unanswered: First, hotspots-experiments were conducted in US-cities characterized by a grid-like street system. Little is known about police patrols in other topographical city layouts with “messy” terrains. Second, studies have looked exclusively at warranted and usually armed police officers, yet deterrence theory does not necessarily require such “force levels”. It can by hypothesized that any uniformed capable guardian can deter offenders.
We conducted a block-randomized-controlled-trial in Birmingham South (UK), by deploying single-crewed Community Support Police Officers (PCSOs) to half of the area’s top 80 hotspots of crime and disorder. PCSOs do not have arresting powers and are largely employed to provide community reassurance, through visible foot patrol. Over a period of 12 months, PCSOs patrolled the hotspots 3 times per day for 15 minutes at a time. We measured calls for service before and during the experimental period, as well as dosage levels using GPS trackers. We will present some of our results, which suggest significant reductions in both calls-for-service and crime compared to control conditions.

Authors

• Joanna Louise Smallwood, Cambridge University / West Midlands Police

• Barak Ariel, Cambridge University / Hebrew University

• Neil Wain, University of Cambridge