Justifying the Moral Propriety of Experimentation - A Case Study (From Police Leadership in America, P 430-435, 1985, William A Geller, ed. See NCJ-98325)

• NCJ Number: 99263
• Author(s): G L Kelling
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 6 pages
• Sale Source: Praeger Publishers
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper examines the ethical issues posed by a Kansas City experiment that tested the effectiveness of proactive, preventive police patrol by withdrawing preventive patrol from randomly selected sections of the city without informing residents.

Abstract

Since preventive police patrol had long been accepted Since preventive police patrol had long been accepted as a necessary crime prevention and crime control measure in Kansas City, although the belief had not been tested there or elsewhere, many officers and supervisors questioned the moral propriety of conducting an experiment that left citizens without the benefit of such patrol. They were further disturbed by the random selection of districts that would not receive the patrol, since some high-crime areas might be selected for nonpatrol. The researchers persuaded managers and line officers to conduct the experiment by arguing that many police authorities doubted the efficacy of preventive patrol and that an abundance of literature questioned the impact of police patrol on crime prevention and control. The researchers ensured police officals that reported crime statistics would be monitored weekly in the affected areas. The experiment was accepted on the promise that it would be terminated if crime rates in the nonpatrolled areas soared.