NCJ Number
53540
Journal
Australian Police Journal Volume: 32 Issue: 4 Dated: (OCTOBER 1978) Pages: 207-219
Date Published
1978
Length
13 pages
Annotation
FOLLOWING AN HISTORICAL AND THEORETICAL DISCUSSION OF POLICE PREVENTIVE PATROLS, THIS PAPER DESCRIBES AN EXPERIMENT WITH PATROLS IN KANSAS CITY, MO., AND PROPOSES A SIMILAR EXPERIMENT FOR VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA.
Abstract
PREVENTIVE POLICE PATROLLING IS A WELL-ESTABLISHED INSTITUTION, HAVING BEGUN IN ENGLAND AS EARLY AS 1829. IT IS BASED ON THE IDEA THAT THE PRESENCE OF POLICE IN PUBLIC PLACES WILL DETER POTENTIAL CRIMINALS BY INCREASING THEIR RISK OF BEING CAUGHT, HEIGHTENING ANXIETY ASSOCIATED WITH CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR, AND SHORTENING THE TIME GAP BETWEEN AN ACTUAL CRIMINAL EVENT AND THE ARRIVAL OF LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL TO THE CRIME SCENE. THE BENEFITS OF PATROL HAD BEEN REPEATEDLY QUESTIONED DURING THE TURBULENT 1960'S IN AMERICA, AND MANY PERSONS BELIEVED THAT THE PRESENCE OF POLICE IN PUBLIC ACTUALLY BROUGHT OUT ANTAGONISM IN CITIZENS RATHER THAN FEELINGS OF SECURITY. IN 1973, THE KANSAS CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT CONDUCTED THE POLICE PREVENTIVE PATROL EXPERIMENT TO ANALYZE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ROUTINE PREVENTIVE PATROL. FIFTEEN BEATS WERE SELECTED, MATCHED BY COMPUTER ON BASES OF CRIME DATA CALLS FOR POLICE SERVICE, RACIAL CHARACTERISTICS, MEDIAN INCOME, AND HOW TRANSIENT WERE THEIR POPULATIONS, AND DIVIDED INTO FIVE GROUPS OF THREE BEATS EACH. DURING THE EXPERIMENT NO ROUTINE PATROLS WERE CONDUCTED IN THE THREE BEATS DESIGNATED AS 'REACTIVE,' NORMAL PATROLS WERE CONDUCTED IN THREE 'CONTROL' BEATS, AND TWO TO THREE TIMES THE NORMAL PATROLS WERE CONDUCTED IN THREE 'PROACTIVE' BEATS. RESULTS SHOWED THAT NEITHER INCREASING OR DECREASING PATROLS HAD A SIGNIFICANT EFFECT ON CITIZEN FEAR OF CRIME, CRIME RATES, COMMUNITY ATTITUDES TOWARD POLICE, POLICE RESPONSE TIME, OR TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS. THE VALIDITY OF THE EXPERIMENT IS REDUCED, HOWEVER, BECAUSE MANY VARIABLES WERE NOT CONTROLLED AND SOME ASSUMPTIONS WERE MADE ON QUESTIONABLE EVIDENCE. FOR EXAMPLE, EVEN THOUGH POLICE PATROLS WERE NOT CONDUCTED IN THE REACTIVE AREAS, POLICE 'AVAILABILITY' WAS CLOSELY MAINTAINED. ALTHOUGH RESEARCHERS WERE NOT TESTING THE EFFECTS OF RESPONSE TIME OF ALTERING PATROLS, A CONCLUSION WAS PUT FORTH. IF A SIMILAR EXPERIMENT WERE CONDUCTED IN VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA, A LARGER AREA MUST BE USED TO PREVENT SIGHTINGS OF POLICE OUTSIDE THE IMMEDIATE AREA, ANSWERS TO CALLS FOR POLICE SERVICE SHOULD BE ANSWERED IN UNMARKED CARS, AND A CLOSE WATCH SHOULD BE KEPT ON CRIME FIGURES FOR THE STUDIED AREA DURING THE EXPERIMENT. A BIBLIOGRAPHY IS PROVIDED. (DAG)