NCJ Number
204055
Date Published
2003
Length
19 pages
Annotation
After an overview of the basic concept of problem-oriented policing, this introductory chapter discusses the rationale for implementing problem-oriented policing, its techniques, its implementation, and its impact in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Abstract
The term "problem-oriented policing," which was coined by Herman Goldstein (1979, 1990), broadly describes a framework for improving the way police service operates. Its basic premise is that the core of policing should be to deal effectively with underlying police-relevant problems rather than simply reacting to incidents one by one as they come to the attention of the police. Problem-oriented policing is being implemented in police agencies throughout the United States and the United Kingdom because it is a cost-effective means of allocating and deploying police resources. Two techniques have evolved to dominate the ways in which problem-oriented policing is conducted in practice. One is called SARA, which is an acronym for the technique of scanning, analysis, response, and assessment. "Scanning" describes work undertaken to identify problems that call for attention; "analysis" refers to efforts to find the underlying conditions that cause the problem; "response" describes the strategy and tactics used to address the problem; and "assessment" pertains to measurement of the impact on the problem. The second technique is called "PAT," an acronym for the problem analysis triangle. This technique analyzes policing problems in terms of their location, the offenders or those whose behavior is creating the problem, and the victims or complainants. Since all three conditions are needed for a crime, manipulation of each element offers preventive opportunities. Significant reductions in crime have been achieved through the adoption of problem-oriented policing. Examples include the Boston Gun Project, which successfully reduced gang-related shootings in Boston; the Kirkholt Burglary Reduction Project, which substantially reduced the overall domestic burglary rate by focusing on repeat victimization; and the reduction of thefts of white goods from construction sites in Charlotte, NC, by non-installation of appliances before new dwellings were occupied. This chapter also identifies some typical difficulties in implementing problem-oriented policing and cites some misconstructions of problem-oriented policing. One section of the chapter provides an overview of the British Targeted Policing Initiative (TPI) under that nation's Crime Reduction Programme. The TPI is specifically associated with problem-oriented policing. The details of the implementation of the TPI are presented, and evaluation efforts are described. 2 tables and 19 references