Directed and Saturated Patrol

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FINDING

Methodology in both social experiments were similar in respect to the desired outcome: Crime reduction. However, their implementation and procedure differed. Both studies identified areas to receive intervention (treatment) via intensive patrol tactics, compared to the areas within the scope of the study that did not (control).

Operation Impact, on many levels, was considered a success relative to the surrounding areas. Violent crime offenses went down 42% in comparison to the control area. Aggravated assaults, (including incidents with a firearm) went down 60%. However, incidents of armed robbery were unchanged from pre-intervention efforts (Piza & O'Hara, 2014). Crime displacement was measured according to two criteria: Temporal and spatial displacement. Temporal displacement was somewhat evident during operational hours of 6pm and 2am within the treatment zone. During these times, officers were engaging in enforcement activities during peak times. This allowed offenders to examine, reassess, and ‘redeploy’ in other unlawful activities outside of the designated control area. While foot patrol officers were in a certain area, criminals simply waited for law enforcement to complete their specified and determinate patrol period. When this occurs, the criminals return and reengage. The latter would be defined as spatial displacement. Logically, violent typically occurs when two major criteria are present; motivated offenders and suitable targets. The chances for crime displacement drops when one is removed from the equation. In addition, crime displacement actually decreases when the offender is forced to move out of their familiar territory (Piza & O'Hara, 2014). Offenders candidly stated they were hesitant in continuing to commit offenses in areas they were not familiar with (Piza & O'Hara, 2014). As if to treat their criminal enterprise like a legitimate business, offenders would cite familiar economic reasons to a business relocating to another location, such as relearning area clientele and knowing area competition, as well as law enforcement habits and protocol of enforcement in a specific area (Piza & O'Hara, 2014). Ultimately, displacement was readily apparent in instances of armed robbery. The immediate and cautious nature of robbers most likely would be unfazed by relocating due to police presence. To these individuals, suitable targets are readily available regardless of the familiarity with a location (Piza & O'Hara, 2014).

Circumstances with the Newark, NJ directed patrol intervention were slightly different, with a very noticeable change as well. As mentioned earlier, directed patrol is more exact and specific in their scope of enforcement. Each designated area (or ‘hot-spot’) were assigned control and treatment areas (Rosenfeld, Deckard, & Emily Blackburn, 2014). Patrols were instructed to notify dispatch when entering a designated area (Rosenfeld, Deckard, & Emily Blackburn, 2014). Supervisors informed designated patrols to remain in specific intersections located within these specific areas for a determinate time of 15 minutes. Officers in one area were told to drive through the area slowly and not to engage in self-initiated enforcement tactics, unless explicit circumstances were involved (such as citizen safety or crimes-in-progress). Officers assigned to another designated area were instructed with the same directives, but in addition, while present in a designated hot-spot, deploy into self-initiated enforcement protocol. Each time this protocol was engaged, officers were directed to check-in with dispatch upon completion (Rosenfeld, Deckard, & Emily Blackburn, 2014). To be clear, officer discretion was authorized with the enforcement tactics they were to engage in. This empowerment contributed to the data reflecting a noticeable effect of directed patrol intervention in regard to firearm violence (Rosenfeld, Deckard, & Emily Blackburn, 2014). Firearm assaults in the designated treatment areas fell dramatically. However, unlike saturation patrol tactics, there was very little evidence of any type of firearm crime displacement, whether spatial or temporal (Rosenfeld, Deckard, & Emily Blackburn, 2014). One marked similarity with both patrol tactics (directed and saturation patrol) was the ineffectiveness of dealing with robbery offenses. Regardless with or without the use of a firearm, proactive intervention tactics had little to zero measurable effect in the prevention of armed robberies. This anomaly is puzzling, considering the close intimate nature robbers engage in when committing this offense (Rosenfeld, Deckard, & Emily Blackburn, 2014). Either these offenses are being committed in the shadows of the streets or offenders are unaffected by the increased police presence found in most intervention efforts.

CONCLUSION

Patrol studies have found that any positive impact they have in reducing crime and disorder tends to disappear (or decay) rather quickly, and occasionally even before the intervention has concluded. The effect can wear off for various reasons, including the tendency for law enforcement implementation to become less rigorous over time and for offenders to adapt to the heightened presence. Whatever short-term reductions in crime and disorder they might provide, any type of patrol tactic does not address any of the physical or social conditions that often contribute to crime and disorder, either in general or specific locations. These methods are not ineffective, yet it is believed they should have a greater effect than they actually do on the community that is being affected by the pervasiveness of crime. While patrol intervention strategies do not inevitably lead to displacement of crime and disorder, it does occur in some cases. The same rationality that police count on to deter some offenders causes others to adapt to police tactics and continue offending at the same rate. Depending on the extent and direction of displacement, police risk criticism for creating problems in areas previously unaffected. Displacement, where and when it does occur, rarely occurs at 100 percent. The key is to be aware of the various possibilities for displacement and counteract it, if possible. Without proper planning and supervision, increased patrol interventions hold the potential for abuse of police authority. If officers are excessively pressured to make arrests and prevent violent crime, some might be tempted to take shortcuts that can compromise due process. When officers conduct a patrol in a target area they are not normally assigned to, there is a heightened risk that they will not be able to distinguish the truly suspicious from the ordinary as effectively as beat assigned officers. Obviously,