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16 - Advocate Evidence-based policing for crime prevention

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2009

By
Brandon C. Welsh
Edited by
David Weisburd  and
Anthony A. Braga
Brandon C. Welsh
Affiliation:
Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice University of Massachusetts Lowell
David Weisburd
Affiliation:
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Anthony A. Braga
Affiliation:
Harvard University, Massachusetts
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Summary

Introduction

In recent weeks Big City has experienced an increase in young people selling drugs on the street. The police chief directs one of his managers to organize a small group of officers to look into the matter and report back with a plan of action. One of these officers is tasked with researching what works to address the problem of street-level drug sales. The officer carries out literature searches, contacts other police departments and police research organizations such as the Police Foundation, and follows up with some of the researchers involved in evaluation studies. The most rigorous evaluations are coded according to the outcomes of interest, results are analyzed, and a report is prepared that shows what type of intervention works best. Detailed observational and other information on the problem gathered by the other officers is used to assess the applicability of the “best practice” to the local context and conditions. On the basis of this information, the chief authorizes the needed resources for a program to be implemented to address street-level drug sales, and introduces a monitoring and evaluation scheme to aid in-house policy and for dissemination purposes.

This fictitious scenario, while brief on details, is an example of evidence-based policing in action. Evidence-based policing involves the police using the highest quality available research evidence on what works best to reduce a specific crime problem and tailoring the intervention to the local context and conditions. This approach likely holds wide appeal.

Type
Chapter
Information
Police Innovation
Contrasting Perspectives
 , pp. 305 - 321
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2006

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