The Ecology of Policing Places: The Influence of Street Segment Context on Police Behavior

• In Event: Crime and Place: Police at the Micro Level

Abstract

Previous theory and research on how environments affect police activity has largely focused on areal units such as neighborhoods, communities, and police beats (see e.g., Klinger, 1997; Kirk and Matsuda, 2011; Sung, 2002; Wilson and Kelling, 1982). The current study uses an environmental criminology perspective to apply theories of policing previously tested at the neighborhood level to micro places.  Such theories are also extended by examining the effects of variability of citizen perceptions of the police at the street segment level.   Data are drawn from a large NIH study of community health and anti-social behavior at street segments (Weisburd, Lawton and Ready, 2012).  Data from a survey of 3700 residents on 450 high crime and lower crime street segments in Baltimore City, Maryland is combined with calls for service data provided by Baltimore City Police Department, to assess how characteristics of places such as social disorganization, collective efficacy, crime, and citizen's perceptions of police legitimacy relate to day to day patrol activities. 

Author

• Breanne Cave, George Mason University