Police Crackdowns: Initial and Residual Deterrence (From Crime and Justice: A Review of Research, Volume 12, P 1-48, 1990, Michael Tonry and Norval Morris, eds. -- See NCJ-125003)

• NCJ Number: 125004
• Author(s): L W Sherman
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 48 pages
• Grant Number(s): 85-IJ-CX-61
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ); US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Sale Source: University of Chicago Press
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: NIJ Reprint

Annotation

Of 18 case studies of police "crackdowns" (sudden increases in officer presence, sanctions, and threats of apprehension either for specific offenses or for all offenses in specific places), 15 showed initial deterrent effects, including two examples of long-term effects.

Abstract

For most long-term crackdowns having apparent initial deterrence, however, the effects began to recede after a short period, sometimes despite the continued injection of a police presence or even an increase in police sanctions. Five studies involving post-crackdown data showed continued deterrence well after the crackdowns ended. In two cases, such residual deterrent effects lasted for a longer period than the crackdown itself. These findings of initial waning of deterrent effect and residual deterrence suggest that crackdowns might be more effective if they are limited in duration and rotated across targets. Although such a policy raises ethical and legal questions, these should not preclude experimental research to establish the residual deterrent effects of short crackdowns across a range of police tactics, offense types, and places. This study proposes a research design for testing the intermittent-crackdown hypothesis and provides an example of its implementation in Minneapolis. 4 figures, 1 table, 72 references. (Author abstract modified)