NCJ Number
251990
Journal
Translational Criminology, Fall 2013 Volume: Fall 2013 Dated: 2013 Pages: 18-21
Date Published
2013
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article profiles the features and uses of "Case of Places," a conceptual tool and method for focusing police investigative and other resources on problem places as a means of facilitating and institutionalizing in-depth problemsolving approaches at these locations.
Abstract
Case of Places stems from the Matrix Demonstration Project (MDP) developed by Cynthia Lum and Christopher Koper, which focuses on how police research can be institutionalized into daily police practices. Case of Places is a means of translating place-based research on crime into the operational and cultural realities ingrained in policing, so they focus on those places where crime is concentrated. In developing Case of Places, Lum and Koper worked with personnel in the Richmond Police Department (Virginia) in creating a case folder process with the concepts and terminology of place-based crime prevention. There are three principles underlying Case of Places. First, law enforcement agencies should devote as many resources to investigating problem places as they do in investigating crime suspects. Second, using existing cultural and organizational structures and status associated with detective work may be an effective approach in developing a better orientation to place-based policing. Third, place-based policing is a crime-prevention concept supported by research. Case of Places is designed to support place-based policing by facilitating efforts to track the history of crime problems, actors, and police actions at hot spots (places where crime is concentrated). 3 figures and 10 references