1st Edition

Problem-Oriented Policing Successful Case Studies

Edited By Michael Scott, Ronald Clarke Copyright 2020
    326 Pages 43 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    326 Pages 43 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Problem-Oriented Policing: Successful Case Studies is the first systematic and rigorous collection of effective problem-oriented policing projects. It includes more than twenty case studies from among the thousands of projects submitted for the Herman Goldstein Award for Excellence in Problem-Oriented Policing. The volume describes in detail the case studies and explains the wider significance of each for effective, efficient, and equitable policing.

    This book explores a wide range of problems that fall under five general categories: gang violence; violence against women; vulnerable people; disorderly places; and theft, robbery, and burglary. The case studies tell stories of how police, in collaboration with others, successfully tackled real-world policing problems fairly and effectively. The authors have also drawn out of the case studies the cross-cutting themes and issues they illustrate. The authors prove that the concept can work, bring to life the context in which police and communities addressed these vexing problems, and, ideally, will inspire future problem-oriented police work that builds on these reported successes.

    Written in a clear and direct style, this book will appeal to students and scholars of policing, criminology, and social studies; police practitioners and crime analysts; and all those who are interested in learning more about the reality of police problem-solving.

    Contents

    1 Introduction

    MICHAEL S. SCOTT AND RONALD V. CLARKE

    Part One

    Gang violence

    2 Youth gang gun violence in Boston, Massachusetts

    ANTHONY A. BRAGA

    3 Gun violence in Cincinnati, Ohio

    TAMARA D. HEROLD AND JOHN E. ECK

    4 Gang violence in Enfield, London

    LISA TOMPSON AND KATE BOWERS

    5 Gang violence and street disorder in Portland, Oregon

    KRIS HENNING AND GREG STEWART

    6 Gang violence in Aurora, Illinois

    BRANDON R. KOOI

    Part Two

    Violence against women

    7 Domestic violence in High Point, North Carolina

    DAVID M. KENNEDY

    8 Domestic violence in Chula Vista, California

    KARIN SCHMERLER, DEBORAH LAMM WEISEL AND JULIE WARTELL

    9 Sexual assault of women by illegal-taxicab drivers in London

    STEVE BURTON, MANDY MCGREGOR AND GLORIA LAYCOCK

    10 Sexual assault of women by illegal-taxicab drivers in Tønsberg, Norway

    JOHANNES KNUTSSON

    11 Assaults with glasses in bars and clubs in Lancashire, England

    RONALD V. CLARKE

    Part Three

    Vulnerable people

    12 Accidental drownings of migrant laborers in Morecambe Bay, England

    NICK TILLEY

    13 Traffic injuries and fatalities in farm-labor vehicles in California

    GARY CORDNER

    14 Repeat callers to police in Lancashire, England

    STUART KIRBY

    15 Opioid abuse in Reno, Nevada

    EMMANUEL P. BARTHE, STACY WARD, DEENA R. DEVORE

    Part Four

    Disorderly places

    16 Disorderly day laborers in Glendale, California

    ROB T. GUERETTE

    17 Crime and disorder at a budget motel in Oakland, California

    RONALD V. CLARKE

    18 Crime and disorder at budget motels in Chula Vista, California

    GISELA BICHLER AND KARIN SCHMERLER

    19 Disorderly homeless encampments in Eureka, California

    SHARON CHAMARD

    20 Crime and disorder in a residential neighborhood in Austin, Texas

    MARCUS FELSON

    Part Five

    Theft, robbery and burglary

    21 Robberies of convenience stores in Houston, Texas

    NANCY LA VIGNE AND NKECHI ERONDU

    22 Construction-site theft and burglary in Port St. Lucie, Florida

    RACHEL B. SANTOS AND ROBERTO G. SANTOS

    23 Burglary of storage units in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina

    JOSEPH B. KUHNS

    24 Auto theft in Winnipeg, Manitoba

    RICK LINDEN

    Part Six

    Reflections

    25 Problem-oriented public safety

    DAVID M. KENNEDY

    Index

    Biography

    Michael Scott is clinical professor at Arizona State University’s School of Criminology & Criminal Justice and director of the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing, which produces and disseminates information about how police can effectively and fairly address specific public-safety problems. He was formerly a clinical professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School; chief of police in Lauderhill, Florida; special assistant to the chief of the St. Louis, Missouri, Metropolitan Police Department; director of administration of the Fort Pierce, Florida, Police Department; a senior researcher at the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) in Washington, D.C.; legal assistant to the police commissioner of the New York City Police Department; and a police officer in the Madison, Wisconsin, Police Department. In 1996, he received PERF's Gary P. Hayes Award for innovation and leadership in policing.

    Ronald V. Clarke is university professor at the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice and associate director of the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing. Before coming to the United States, he worked for fifteen years in the British government’s criminological research department, the Home Office Research and Planning Unit. While there, he led the team that originated situational crime prevention and is now considered to be the leading authority on that approach. In 2015, he was awarded the Stockholm Prize in Criminology. His current research focuses on wildlife crimes.

     

    ‘Mike Scott and Ron Clarke have made an important contribution to the literature on problem-oriented policing by bringing together successful case studies and making them available to the field. These case studies are an excellent way to share successful ideas with police officers who are always looking for solutions to the persistent problems they encounter in their work. They also reinforce a thoughtful process for identifying, understanding and responding to problems.’

    Darrel W. Stephens, chief of police (Ret.), Charlotte-Mecklenburg (North Carolina), St. Petersburg (Florida) and Newport News (Virginia), and former executive director, Police Executive Research Forum and Major Cities Chiefs Association

    ‘This book is an indispensable resource from masters of the field, showing generations of police yet to come how they can do problem-oriented policing with insight, imagination and precision.’

    Lawrence Sherman, professor of criminology, University of Cambridge

    ‘Sir Robert Peel fathered the first professional police force in 1829, stressing that "the basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder." This book provides inspirational worked examples of how to do that. Sir Robert would have loved it.’

    Ken Pease, professor of policing, University of Derby

    ‘This book will prove invaluable because Ron, Mike and the authors of the case studies have re-visited the initiatives, sometimes decades later. This is the acid test of problem orientation. Some chapters reveal resilient and resounding results, others more ephemeral success. However, the analysis and insights of success or ultimate failure allow the reader to learn and hopefully deliver a policing service focused on prevention and wisdom.

    Michael Barton, chief constable (Ret.), Durham Constabulary and visiting professor, Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science, University College London