Preventing Residential Burglary – A Randomized Controlled Experiment Investigating the Utility of Notification By Uniformed Volunteers

• In Event: Assessing Hot Spots Policing Strategies

Abstract

Research has shown that once a burglary occurs on a street, the homes on that street and on nearby streets are at a much higher risk of burglary over the next one to two weeks. Tests of the efficacy of citizen notification at the meso level showed promise in the United Kingdom but similar interventions remain untested in the United States. This work examines micro level near repeat residential burglary patterns via randomized controlled field trial conducted in Baltimore County, Maryland and Redlands, California to test whether citizen notification by uniformed police department volunteers is an effective crime prevention strategy. We discuss implications for practice.

Authors

• Elizabeth Groff, Temple University

• Travis Taniguchi, RTI International