Targeted policing has knock-on benefits

With the police service undergoing budget reductions, and calls for more officers on the streets, a new study offers some reassuring conclusions. Researchers at UCL's Department of Security and Crime Science found no evidence that successful police crime prevention activity, such as problem-oriented policing, results in problems being moved elsewhere (as sceptics argue). In fact, the study identified knock-on crime reduction benefits for nearby areas in some cases.

The new research, a systematic review* of 44 international studies commissioned on behalf of the Campbell Collaboration and supported by the National Policing Improvement Agency, addresses the common assumption that targeted policing to reduce crime in one area might just displace the problem to adjacent areas.

The study found no evidence that focusing on crime 'hot-spots' by undertaking high-profile foot patrol or problem-oriented policing (which involves careful examination of the crime problems and tailoring action to the specific context) resulted in the displacement of crime. Instead, targeted interventions sometimes led to reductions in crime and disorder not only in the areas targeted but also in those nearby – so-called 'diffusion of benefits'. Problem-oriented policing had the greatest positive effect on crime in nearby areas.

These findings are in line with theories that suggest offenders are not necessarily so determined to offend that they will simply 'move round the corner'. Interviews with offenders suggest not only that they prefer familiar environments, so if displaced are deterred from offending, but also that they might be unclear as to the scope of targeted police activity and believe police to be operating in a wider area – hence the 'diffusion of benefits' effect.

Author Dr Kate Bowers of UCL's Department of Security and Crime Science says: "This research adds weight to the view that criminal behaviour may be more 'normal,' in the sense that it is driven by satisfaction of fundamental needs and wants which are guided by cognitive reasoning, rather than by sociological or psychologically entrenched deviant 'propensities'."

The police service is being asked to do more with less. Evidence that targeted policing works and can have widespread benefits is good news for both police and the public purse.

The project was supported by the National Policing Improvement Agency (UK) and The Center for Evidenced-based Crime Policy at George Mason University, on behalf of the Campbell Collaboration. The study will appear in print, in the Journal of Experimental Criminology, in December.

Contact details
For further information contact Dave Weston in the UCL Press Office on +44 (0) 20 3108 3844 or d.weston@ucl.ac.uk

The article will appear in print in the Journal of Experimental Criminology in December. The full reference is:
Bowers, K.J., Johnson, S.D., Guerette, R., Summers, L., and Poynton, S. (2011). Do Geographically Focussed Police Initiatives Displace Crime or Diffuse Benefits? A Systematic Review, Journal of Experimental Criminology.
It is online at: http://bit.ly/pJgIjz

The Campbell collaboration review report can be accessed below:
Bowers, K.J., Johnson, S.D., Guerette, R., Summers, L., and Poynton, S. (2011). Spatial displacement and diffusion of benefits among geographically focused policing initiatives Campbell Systematic Review 2011.
http://campbellcollaboration.org/lib/download/1171/

*What is a systematic review?

• The purpose of a systematic review is to sum up the best available research on a specific question. This is done by synthesizing the results of several studies.
• A systematic review uses transparent procedures to find, evaluate and synthesize the results of relevant research. Procedures are explicitly defined in advance, in order to ensure that the exercise is transparent and can be replicated. This practice is also designed to minimize bias.
• Studies included in a review are screened for quality, so that the findings of a large number of studies can be combined. Peer review is a key part of the process; qualified independent researchers control the author's methods and results.

How do Campbell systematic reviews differ from other systematic reviews?

• Campbell reviews must include a systematic search for unpublished reports (to avoid publication bias).
• Campbell reviews are usually international in scope.
• A protocol (project plan) for the review is developed in advance and undergoes peer review.
• Study inclusion and coding decisions are accomplished by at least two reviewers who work independently and compare results.
• Campbell reviews undergo peer review and editorial review.

Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to admit students regardless of race, class, religion or gender, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine. UCL is among the world's top universities, as reflected by performance in a range of international rankings and tables. Alumni include Marie Stopes, Jonathan Dimbleby, Lord Woolf, Alexander Graham Bell, and members of the band Coldplay. UCL currently has over 13,000 undergraduate and 9,000 postgraduate students. Its annual income is over £700 million. Website: www.ucl.ac.uk