Evaluating Place-Based Policing Strategies
| DOI | 10.1177/1098611113497046 |
| Published date | 01 September 2013 |
| Author | Cory Schnell,Anthony A. Braga |
| Date | 01 September 2013 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
research-article2013
PQX
Article
Police Quarterly
16(3) 339 –357
Evaluating Place-Based
© 2013 SAGE Publications
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DOI: 10.1177/1098611113497046
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Learned from the Smart
Policing Initiative in Boston
Anthony A. Braga1,2 and Cory Schnell1
Abstract
In response to an increase in violent crime during the mid-2000s, the Boston Police
Department implemented the Safe Street Teams program to control “hot spots”
that generated a disproportionate amount of violence in Boston through the use of
community and problem-oriented policing interventions. Like many police programs,
the Safe Street Teams strategy was not implemented with a commitment to conduct
a program evaluation. The Smart Policing Initiative provided the Boston Police
with an important opportunity to partner with academic researchers to perform
retrospective process and impact evaluations. Quantitative and qualitative methods
were used to analyze the concentration and stability of violent crime in targeted
places, examine the integrity of program implementation, and conduct a rigorous
quasi-experimental analysis of program impacts. These research products established
the crime control effectiveness of the Safe Street Teams and assisted the Boston
Police in strengthening the implementation of the program.
Keywords
police effectiveness, crime hot spots, problem-oriented policing, smart policing
Introduction
A small but growing body of research evidence suggests that place-based police inter-
ventions focused on crime “hot spots” generate significant crime control gains (Braga,
Papachristos, & Hureau, 2012; Braga & Weisburd, 2010). This movement toward
1School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA
2Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
Corresponding Author:
Anthony A. Braga, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 79 John F. Kennedy Street,
Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Email: Anthony_Braga@harvard.edu
340
Police Quarterly 16(3)
place-based policing has been facilitated in many police departments by the adoption
of strategic innovations such as Compstat (Weisburd, Mastrofski, McNally, Greenspan,
& Willis, 2003) and the rapid diffusion of crime mapping technology (Weisburd &
Lum, 2005). While place-based policing strategies have been adopted by a majority of
U.S. police departments, very few agencies make a priori commitments to rigorous
evaluations of these programs. As such, our existing scientific knowledge base on the
effectiveness of these programs remains modest despite the ubiquity of hot spots
policing programs across the United States.
The U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Smart Policing Initiative (SPI) pro-
vides police departments with funds to collaborate with academic researchers to ana-
lyze recurring crime problems, develop innovative responses to targeted problems,
and evaluate the impact of implemented programs (http://www.smartpolicinginitiative
.com/). In 2007, the Boston Police Department (BPD) implemented its Safe Street
Teams (SST) program that used community and problem-oriented policing interven-
tions to control violent crime hot spots. Like many police programs, this place-based
policing strategy was launched without any formal plans for evaluation during initial
program planning and implementation. In 2009, the BPD received a SPI grant to work
with academic researchers to conduct a rigorous evaluation of the SST program. As
described in this article, the evaluation revealed that the targeted hot spots represented
some of the most persistently violent places in Boston, SST officers implemented a
variety of community problem-solving responses to address problems in the targeted
locations, and the program resulted in significant reductions in violent crimes in the
targeted places without displacement violent crime problems to nearby areas.
Although it is best to include evaluation as a part of the planning, development, and
implementation of police programs, the Boston SPI experience showed that rigorous,
retrospective evaluation can still be carried out effectively. The Boston SPI team suc-
cessfully addressed the challenges associated with building a solid, after-the-fact pro-
gram evaluation, and the study produced findings that are of considerable value to
BPD and other law enforcement agencies across the United States. Indeed, this experi-
ence shows that the ideals and principles of evidence-based policing are compatible
with the realities of police program development and implementation as currently
practiced in the field.1
Program Evaluation and the Value of Police–Academic
Researcher Partnerships
Evidence-based policing is a part of a larger and increasingly expanding movement in
social policy to use scientific research evidence to guide program development and
implementation (Sherman, 1998). In general terms, this movement is dedicated to the
improvement of society through the utilization of the highest quality scientific evi-
dence on what works best (Sherman, Farrington, Welsh, & MacKenzie, 2002). Many
police departments, unfortunately, adopt new strategic innovations without con-
sidering evaluation (National Research Council, 2004). Police executives exist in
high-pressure, political environments that require immediate responses to rapidly
Braga and Schnell
341
unfolding events and crisis situations. In response to troubling increases in crime,
some police departments implement reactionary strategies such as mobilizing satura-
tion patrols of large problem areas or establishing a new specialized unit to focus on
the issue of concern.
Other police departments quickly review the available professional literature on
“best practices” in crime control and prevention or may talk with colleagues in other
police agencies that received positive news coverage for a promising program, and
then implement their version of whatever program, at face value, seems to fit the prob-
lem they need to address. Program evaluation, at best, is an afterthought. These
approaches to program development and implementation do not well position police
departments to determine whether the adopted strategies are actually generating the
desired outcomes. More broadly, it hinders the police profession from developing a
scientifically based body of knowledge on “what works” in crime control and preven-
tion (Weisburd & Neyroud, 2011).
This reality of police program development and implementation is not incompati-
ble with an evidence-based policing model. While it is ideal to make evaluation plans
before a program is implemented, rigorous evaluation remains a very important exer-
cise after police programs have commenced. However, there needs to be the ongoing
commitment within the police department to developing a practical knowledge base
on newly implemented programs that is rooted in rigorous scientific methodology.
Strong police–academic research collaborations are also essential in conducting high-
quality analyses of program operations and effectiveness.
Program Evaluation
The evaluation of police programs is important for at least two different reasons. The
first is to ensure that police remain accountable for their performance and for their use
of resources. Citizens and their representatives want to know how the money and free-
dom they surrendered to the police are being used and whether important results in the
form of less crime, enhanced security, or increased citizen satisfaction with the police
have been achieved. A second reason assessment is important is to allow the police to
learn about what methods are effective in dealing with particular problems. Unless the
police check to see whether their efforts produced a result, it will be hard for them to
improve their practices. The evaluation of programs is a key element in facilitating an
active exchange of “what works” among police departments (Eck, 2002). As Clarke
(1998, p. 319) suggests, “if law enforcement agencies do not have a mechanism to
learn from others’ mistakes and assist others to learn from their experiences, they will
always be reinventing the wheel.”
When assessing police crime control measures, evaluation is a scientific process for
determining whether the implemented strategies caused any observable decline in the
targeted problem (for an excellent overview of program evaluation work, see Rossi,
Lipsey, & Freeman, 2004). An impact evaluation focuses on questions of crime pre-
vention effectiveness (e.g., Did the problem decline? If so, did the implemented
response cause the decline?), while a process evaluation focuses on questions of
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Police Quarterly 16(3)
accountability and integrity in response implementation (e.g., Did the response occur
as planned? Did all the response components work?). A process evaluation focuses on
the resources that were employed by the program (inputs) and the activities accom-
plished with these resources (results), but it does not examine whether the response
was effective at reducing the problem (outcomes) (Clarke & Eck, 2005; Moore, 2002).
If the program was properly implemented and there was no observable decline in the
problem, it would suggest that the police program was not effective. Similarly, if the
response was implemented as planned and the problem declined, this could be consid-
ered credible...
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