Offender Perceptions of a Police Response in Long-Term Property Crime Hot Spots

• In Event: Assessing Hot Spots Policing Strategies

Abstract

This paper presents the findings from interviews of offenders as well as their spouses and parents who were the focus of offender-based police responses in long-term property crime hot spots. The interviews were done as part of the process and impact evaluation of multi-method research project funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance Smart Policing Initiative which was a year-long experiment testing offender-based police strategies in residential burglary and theft from vehicle long-term hot spots in Port St. Lucie, FL. The results focus on the perceptions of the offenders of the detectives who implemented the responses, the impact the program had on their criminal behavior, their views of police, as well as changes in their life circumstances and family relationships.

Authors

• Roberto Santos, Radford University

• Rachel Boba Santos, Radford University