NCJ Number
153730
Date Published
1995
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This presentation covers research findings concerning the role of community policing in reducing gun carrying and gun crime and summarizes the role of research and development and the crucial questions it can answer on this issue.
Abstract
The discussion notes that problem-solving is the essence of community policing. The presenter's research used the Scanning, Analysis, Response, and Assessment (SARA) model to study community policing as a response to gun violence in Kansas City and Indianapolis. The research indicated that careful selection of hot spots and the use of crime analysis can help establish law enforcement against gun carrying. Traffic law enforcement techniques, following case law regarding police legal limitations, were used to locate and seize unlawfully carried guns. The target area in Kansas City experienced a substantial increase in gun seizures in relation to the population, together with a 49-percent reduction in gun crime. In contrast, the control area experienced no change in either gun crime or gun seizures. Further analysis of these results suggested the effectiveness of the community policing approach used and indicated the factors affecting gun seizures. Findings indicated that a research and development partnership with the National Institute of Justice could determine whether gun seizures reduce gun crime, the best match of methods and communities, and the factors affecting the productivity of a gun seizure program. The speaker is the chief criminologist at the Indianapolis Police Department and a professor at the University of Maryland. Questions from the audience regarding research methods, training of the police involved, and other topics; answers from the speaker; and introduction by National Institute of Justice Director Jeremy Travis