The Extent and Correlates of Public Support for Deterrence Reforms and Hot Spots Policing

Content Retrieval and General Information

  • Source: Law & Society Review, Vol. 52, No. 2 (June 2018)

    • Authors: Christi Metcalfe and Justin T. Pickett

    • JSTOR Details: Article accessed on 04 June 2022.

    • Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/45093916

    • Publisher: Wiley on behalf of the Law and Society Association

Introduction to Policing Reforms

  • Current Approach to Reform:

    • The recommendation is to downsize prison populations.

    • Shift focus toward policing strategies emphasizing preventative measures.

    • Key Strategies: Reallocation of resources to focus on sentinel patrols and hot spots interventions.

Public Attitudes Toward Policing Reforms

  • Study Objective: Evaluate public support for suggested reforms in policing during the current crisis.

    • Key Findings:

      • Majority of the population perceives policing as more cost-effective than incarceration.

      • Support for sentinel and hot spots policing strategies exists but varies by demographic groups.

      • Lower support for hot spots policing among blacks, Hispanics, and lower-income individuals.

Theoretical Background

Context of Criminal Justice System

  • For decades, reliance on incarceration as a primary crime-control method.

    • Issues highlighted:

      • Economic burdens of high incarceration rates.

      • Limited crime prevention efficacy and disproportionate impacts on communities of color.

  • Key Research Insights:

    • Diminishing returns observed with increased imprisonment.

    • Increased imprisonment sometimes leads to minimal crime reduction or even criminogenic effects.

    • Shift towards prison downsizing and new approaches to crime control is suggested due to political changes.

    • Citing Bushway (2016); Petersilia and Cullen (2015); Durlauf and Nagin (2011).

Resource Allocation and Policing Strategies

Recommended Changes in Policing

  • Focus on Preventive Patrols:

    • Sentinel-style police work is proposed.

    • Involves increased preventive patrols, especially in high-crime areas (hot spots).

    • Hot spots interventions include:

      • Increased police presence, offender-focused policing, and situational prevention.

Deterrence Doctrine

  • Premise of crime prevention through perceived risk of apprehension, rather than punitive severity (citing Nagin et al. 2015).

    • Advocates view reform as an organizational challenge for police agencies.

    • Lack of research focusing on public receptivity to these suggested changes is acknowledged.

The Influence of Public Opinion

Importance of Public Support

  • Recent events (e.g., Ferguson incident, Black Lives Matter movement) influence public confidence in policing.

    • Public attitudes may impact police legitimacy and community relations.

    • Disfavored policies can create distrust and damage police-community relations.

Demographic Variances in Support

  • Evidence shows that the public broadly supports prison downsizing but not all demographics support the same changes in policing.

    • Implications: Policy changes, especially those targeting low-income and minority neighborhoods, may be met with resistance and distrust.

Survey Design and Methodology

Data Collection

  • Research Method: Nationally representative survey administered by GfK Group.

    • Sample of adult Americans (18+ years).

    • Utilized an internet panel for data collection to ensure broad representation.

    • Survey’s total sample consisted of close to 1,000 respondents, adjusted for demographic benchmarks.

Survey Questions

  1. Cost-effectiveness Judgment:

    • Perceptions of cost-effectiveness of policing versus incarceration.

      • Asked respondents: Which prevents more crime per dollar spent?

  2. Focus of Police Work:

    • Preferences for police to be apprehension agents versus preventive patrols.

  3. Support for Hot Spots Policing:

    • Overall support for concentrating police resources in identified hot spots.

  4. Ranking of Policing Strategies:

    • Respondents ranked hot spots policing strategies, including aggressive policing, offender monitoring, increased patrols, and situational prevention.

Results and Findings

Public Evaluations of Cost-effectiveness

  • Key Findings:

    • 68% of Americans believe policing is more effective at preventing crime per dollar than incarceration.

    • Support exists across demographics: blacks, Hispanics, Whites, differing ages and income levels.

Public Preferences for Police Focus

  • 76% of participants prefer police focus on patrolling over solving past crimes.

    • Preferences stable across demographic splits in most groups.

Hot Spots Policing Preferences

  • 61% support policing hot spots rather than equally distributing policing resources.

    • Notably, some demographic groups (like blacks and Hispanics) showed lower support for hot spots policies.

Most Supported Hot Spots Strategies

  • Preferred Strategy: Situational interventions (41%) vs. aggressive order-maintenance policing (8%).

    • This aligns with research indicating situational prevention is more effective.

Discussion and Conclusion

Overall Public Sentiment

  • Majority support for shifts to crime-control policy focused primarily on policing strategies that emphasize situational prevention.

    • Cautions raised concerning differentiation in support across racial and socioeconomic lines.

Considerations for Policymakers

  • Policymakers should heed community perceptions to maintain police legitimacy.

    • Misinformed or resisted shifts may exacerbate community relations and perpetuate cycles of distrust.

A Call for Further Evaluation Studies

  • Emphasize the need for rigorous analysis of hot spots policing's effectiveness and community impact to inform future policies.

    • Previous studies show limitations in existing data, reiterating the need for future research.