NCJ Number
180614
Editor(s)
Barry Webb
Date Published
1999
Length
44 pages
Annotation
This report reviews literature on situational crime prevention and drug law enforcement, applies situational crime prevention methods to policing drug hotspots in Great Britain, specifies six elements of successful initiatives aimed at disrupting local drug markets, and highlights the importance of effective interagency cooperation.
Abstract
Four themes central to situational policing of drug markets are: (1) the necessity of identifying and analyzing drug hotspots, (2) the relevance of police crackdowns to situational initiatives, (3) strategies of place management that can modify the environments of drug dealing sites, and (4) the potential problem of crime displacement. The analysis discusses these themes with respect to a study of a crime analysis program in New Bedford, Mass., to identify addresses with repeated drug activity; a study of the effects of New York City's tactical narcotics teams, which conducted short-term, intensive narcotics enforcement in designated areas; and the case of Operation Welwyn, the police contribution to a multi-agency crime prevention initiative in King's Cross, London, England. The analysis concludes that the six crucial elements of successful multi-agency preventive initiatives against local drug markets are: (1) appropriateness of intervention, (2) intensity of intervention, (3) leverage, (4) sustained action, (5) sensitivity to community relations, and (6) evaluation. Case examples, tables, and 34 references