The Dayton Foot Patrol Program: An Evaluation of Hot Spots Foot Patrols in a Central Business District

• Author: Wendy H. Stiver,Cory P. Haberman
• Date: 01 September 2019
• DOI: 10.1177/1098611118813531
• Published date: 01 September 2019
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

The Dayton Foot Patrol

Program: An Evaluation

of Hot Spots Foot

Patrols in a Central

Business District

Cory P. Haberman

1

and

Wendy H. Stiver

2

Abstract

This study evaluated the Dayton Foot Patrol Program (DFPP). The DFPP spanned

28 weeks. During the DFPP, patrol officers were asked to conduct foot patrol in six

hot spots located in the downtown business district for at least 2 hours a day but

used their discretion to determine when, which hot spot, how long, and in which

ways to patrol. On average, roughly 9 hours of foot patrol were conducted each day

during the DFPP. Pre–post comparison statistics and pooled time series count

regression models were estimated. The DFPP was linked to reductions in total

crime in initial analyses, but only disorder crime incidents were statistically signifi-

cantly reduced once the outcome was disaggregated into crime-specific outcomes.

A diffusion of crime control benefits to nearby areas was also observed. The study’s

implications are that foot patrol can be implemented with fewer personnel resources

and still produce crime reductions in downtown business districts.

Keywords

hot spots policing, place-based policing, foot patrol, police effectiveness

1

School of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati, OH, USA

2

Dayton Police Department, OH, USA

Corresponding Author:

Cory P.Haberman, School of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati, P.O. Box210389, 660H Teachers-

Dyer, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0389, USA.

Email: cory.haberman@uc.edu

Police Quarterly

2019, Vol. 22(3) 247–277

!The Author(s) 2018

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/1098611118813531

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Introduction

Scientifically evaluating policing strategies and tactics is the only way to

determine if they have their intended effects and develop evidence on “what

works” in policing (see Sherman, 1998). A study concluding that a policing

strategy/tactic implemented in a particular way in one setting reduced crime,

however, does not guarantee it will reduce crime when implemented differently

in another setting (see Shadish, Cook, & Campbell, 2002, pp. 83–90). Rather

evaluations of police strategies must be replicated across implementations and

settings, among other characteristics, to fully understand the strategy/tactic’s

effectiveness.

For example, foot patrol has been used since the inception of modern polic-

ing (Klockars, 1985), but evaluations of it illustrate how the results of policing

evaluations may vary across implementations and settings. Early evaluations of

foot patrol generally suggested it improved the public’s perceptions of the police

and crime but were inconclusive about its impact on actual crime levels when

implemented in large geographic areas, such as police beats (for a historical

overview, see Ratcliffe & Sorg, 2017, pp. 7–18). Alternatively, recent

evaluations have consistently shown foot patrol can reduce crime when

deployed in microlevel, crime hot spots at high dosages (Novak, Fox, Carr, &

Spade, 2016; Piza & O’Hara, 2014; Ratcliffe, Taniguchi, Groff, & Wood, 2011).

While recent foot patrol evaluations are promising, the resources needed to

implement foot patrol have long been a criticism of the tactic and a barrier to

its use (President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of

Justice, 1967, p. 54).

Moreover, downtown areas, or central business districts, are one unique set-

ting where police departments are under pressure to implement effective crime

reduction strategies. Many U.S. cities are attempting to revitalize their urban

cores after suburbanization, and improving perceived and actual crime levels is

one of the many issues these efforts face. Given foot patrol has improved the

public’s perceptions of crime and has been linked to crime reductions when

implemented in crime hot spots, it is a logical tactic to be used in downtown

areas. To date, however, very little research has tested the effectiveness of dif-

ferent policing strategies/tactics in downtown settings.

Therefore, the present study evaluated a hot spots policing (HSP) foot patrol

program in downtown Dayton, OH that sought to implement foot patrols using

a more resource-conservative framework. Specifically, patrol officers were asked

to conduct foot patrols within six crime hot spots located in the city’s central

business district during their discretionary time. Officers used their discretion to

decide when and in which hot spots foot patrols would be performed but were

asked to attempt at least 2 hours of foot patrol per shift. Overall, the program

linked to less crime, particularly disorder crime, and a diffusion of crime control

benefits was observed in nearby areas.

248 Police Quarterly 22(3)