2010 POP Conference Presentations

A Guide to Analyzing Crime Displacement and Diffusion PDF

Presenters / Facilitators:

  • Rob Guerette, Associate Professor, Florida Atlantic University

One of the most common criticisms of problem-oriented policing efforts is that crime will simply relocate to other places since the macro level causes of crime were not addressed or because offenders may remain on the streets after certain crime opportunities are reduced. The research evidence on this phenomenon referred to as crime displacement, however, has persistently shown that when displacement does occur it tends to be inconsequential and the opposite of displacement, diffusion of benefits, is just as likely to occur. Misconceptions surrounding crime displacement stem from people's view the amount of crime that is prevented in one area will equally and automatically relocate someplace else. In reality, there are many dimensions to consider when thinking about crime displacement. This session will examine the many dimensions of crime displacement and diffusion of benefits, what is known about their occurrence, and the implications that this has for carrying out problem-oriented policing initiatives. It will also discuss methods for analyzing and measuring the presence of any displacement or diffusion effects in relation to potential crime reductions achieved by problem-solving projects.

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Addressing Juvenile ViolencePDF

Presenters / Facilitators:

  • Inspector Bryan Schafer, Minneapolis (MN) Police Department

In 2003, faced with mounting budgetary shortages, the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) made the decision to dissolve its Juvenile Investigations Unit, re-routing cases involving juveniles to other investigative units and dispersing the Juvenile Unit investigators to the precincts. By 2006, the City began seeing alarming upward trends in juvenile crime. Forty three percent of homicide victims in Minneapolis were between the ages of 15-24 years old. The City was infamously given the name "Murderapolis" by the national media. In response, the Department re-established the Juvenile Unit but with a new understanding that youth violence is a public health concern. Public and private sectors organizations partnered with the MPD in a series of initiatives to address youth violence. Their efforts resulted in a significant downturn in overall juvenile crime and recidivism.

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Goldstein Award Finalist!

Houston (TX) Police Department

Chronic Consumer Stabilization Initiative: Reducing Deadly Encounters with Mentally Ill PersonsPDF

Presenters / Facilitators:

  • Lieutenant Mike Lee, Houston (TX) Police Department
  • Sergeant Patrick Plourde, Houston (TX) Police Department
  • Officer Rebecca Skillern, Houston (TX) Police Department
  • Kim Kornmayer, LCSW, Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County
  • Ann MacLeod, LPC, Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County
  • Lead Judge: Gary Cordner, Professor, Kutztown University

In 2007, the Houston Police Department had three deadly force encounters with persons with a history of severe mental illness and numerous prior contacts with officers. Statistical data was used to identify a small number of problematic mental health consumers with a disproportionately high number of encounters with police. A partnership was formed between the Houston Police Department, Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County, and the City of Houston Health and Human Services Department to form the Chronic Consumer Stabilization Initiative (CCSI). During the first six months of this program, there was a 70% reduction in contacts with these persons with serious mental illness and the Houston Police Department.

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Community-Oriented Policing and Intelligence-Led PolicingPDF

Presenters / Facilitators:

  • Amy Schapiro, Senior Social Science Analyst, COPS Office
  • Facilitator: Deputy Chief Ron Glensor (ret.), Reno (NV) Police Department

This presentation will address the array of policing innovations that have emerged over the past three decades including community policing, problem oriented policing, broken windows, intelligence-led policing, Compstat, third-party policing and hot spots. While advocates of each have sought to convince policing for their particular perspective as a new direction or era, this session will argue that community policing with its emphasis on problem solving, partnerships and organizational transformation continues to provide policing an overarching philosophy. The most effective way to integrate each of these into a community policing model will also be addressed.

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Crime Analysis for Problem-Solvers in 60 StepsPDF

Presenters / Facilitators:

  • Julie Wartell, Consultant, Center for Problem-Oriented Policing

Traditionally, crime analysis in a public safety agency has been broken down into administrative, tactical, and strategic approaches. With the advent of Problem Oriented Policing, there is a need for a different type of analysis - problem analysis. This session will provide an overview of problem analysis and how it fits in a policing agency - from analyst through police chief, from patrol officer to investigative supervisor. An excellent resource, "60 Steps to Problem Analysis," will be discussed and participants will have an opportunity to talk about the benefits and challenges to implementing crime analysis for problem solving.

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Cutting Crime Opportunity from the Loop: Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) for the POP PractitionerPDF

Presenters / Facilitators:

  • Greg Saville, Director, Alternation, LLC

No POP practitioner should approach problem-solving without a full tool box. Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) has been part of successful Goldstein POP award submissions for over a decade. Clearly, CPTED is one of the most effective and practical tools available to you today. In this interactive session you will learn about modern CPTED and its many tactics including proxemics, natural surveillance and turf control. You will see how it has evolved from basic 1st Generation to advanced 2nd Generation CPTED. You will hear how POP practitioners apply CPTED. You will also discover CPTED resources, POP guides, websites such as the International CPTED Association. Finally, you will learn how CPTED is evolving into new forms of urban planning called SafeGrowth and the role POP practitioners can play in community development in the years to come.

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Goldstein Award Winner!

Colorado Springs (CO) Police Department

HOT Team Homeless Outreach InitiativePDF

Presenters / Facilitators:

  • Commander Kurt Pillard, Colorado Springs (CO) Police Department
  • Bob Holmes, Executive Director, Homeward Pikes Peak
  • Officer Dan McCormack, Colorado Springs (CO) Police Department
  • Lead Judge: Deborah Lamm Weisel, Associate Research Professor, North Carolina State University

Since June 2008, the City of Colorado Springs, Colorado experienced a dramatic increase in the number of homeless camps. More than 500 of these camps were located on public land adjacent to recreational trails and creek beds. Law enforcement personnel were challenged to balance the individual freedoms of homeless people while improving the overall health, safety and welfare of the community. A Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) which consisted of three officers was formed to coordinate efforts among a large number of advocacy groups and service providers. Under the HOT leadership and collaboration with other agencies 574 homeless now have shelter; 145 were reunited with family and friends, 105 are now self-sufficient and 131 people are employed.

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How to Implement POP in Your OrganizationPDF

Presenters / Facilitators:

  • Michael Scott, Director, Center for Problem-Oriented Policing
  • Stuart Kirby, Chief Superintendent (Ret.) and Associate Professor, Lancaster University

This session explores the various administrative, organizational, political, and leadership steps necessary to implementing problem-oriented policing throughout a police agency, to include: preparing and assessing the organization for change, integrating problem solving with other policing functions, communicating and "selling" organizational changes, structuring the organization, teaching requisite skills, promoting interagency and community collaboration, and developing accountability systems. The facilitators have extensive experience implementing POP in various sized police agencies in the United States and the United Kingdom. They are also co-producing a manual on the subject which they will preview at the session, soliciting feedback from the audience.

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Introduction to Problem-Oriented PolicingPDF

Presenters / Facilitators:

  • Michael Scott, Director, Center for Problem-Oriented Policing

Are you new or relatively new to problem solving and problem-oriented policing (POP)? This is the workshop for you. Hear, at warp speed, what you need to know about problem solving and POP. This workshop will also give you the information you need to help you decide which workshops you should go to at this conference.

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Introduction to Situational Crime PreventionPDF

Presenters / Facilitators:

  • Ronald Clarke, Professor, Rutgers University

This session explains the basic principles and methods of situational crime prevention, a set of crime control theories that connect well with the problem-oriented policing approach. Situational crime prevention aims to reduce opportunities for crime by focusing on highly specific forms of crime, changing the way the immediate environment or target of the crime is managed or designed so that the risk or the effort required to commit the offense is increased, the rewards are reduced, or the triggers removed from the environment.

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Neighborhood Says "Sayonara" to Violent CrimePDF

Presenters / Facilitators:

  • Officer Scott Farnsworth, Citrus Heights (CA) Police Department
  • Sergeant Alex Turcotte, Citrus Heights (CA) Police Department
  • Facilitator: Greg Saville, Director, AlterNation LLC

For several decades, a three block multi-housing area of Sacramento County called Sayonara Drive has experienced high crime. This street of 40 homes accounted for 32 percent of all calls for service for the entire city of Citrus Heights. The problems included open air drug markets, gangs, shootings, stabbings, robberies, and burglaries. In 2004, the city of Citrus Heights created its own police Department and immediately established strong partnerships between police, city staff, code enforcement, and neighborhood associations to combat the violence on Sayonara Drive. Four years later calls for service were reduced 90 percent. Problem solving responses included modernizing streetscapes, updated lighting, appropriation of federal funds to purchase buildings and the demolition of dilapidated structures. Later this year, the City of Citrus Heights is gearing up for a full "reveal" of the newly designed street. Along with the neighborhood's new face will come a new name - one that declares: "goodbye Sayonara!"

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Police Training Officer Program - Next Generation FTOPDF

Presenters / Facilitators:

  • Deputy Chief Steve Pitts, Reno (NV) Police Department

This session will present a new model for post-academy field training designed to provide officers the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitude for today's law enforcement environment. In 1999, the COPS Office funded the Reno (Nevada) Police Department and the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) to develop an alternative national model for field training that would incorporate community policing and problem solving principles. Their collaboration resulted in a new training program called the Police Training Officer (PTO) Program. It incorporates contemporary methods of adult education and a version of the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) method of teaching adapted for police. The program can be tailored to each agency's unique needs. Its flexibility allows future changes in policing to be easily incorporated. An important long-term benefit to the agency is the further institutionalization of community policing and problem solving. This new approach to training is the foundation for life-long learning that prepares new officers for the complexities of policing today and in the future.

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Policing to Reduce Fear of CrimePDF

Presenters / Facilitators:

  • Gary Cordner, Professor, Kutztown University (PA)

This session will discuss the pros and cons of targeting fear of crime, comparing it to other types of problems. Tools and techniques will be presented that can be used for scanning, analysis, response, and assessment specifically related to fear of crime, including surveys, environmental audits, strategic communication, and the fear of crime matrix. The session presenter authored the recent COPS manual "Reducing Fear of Crime: Strategies for Police."

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Preventing Crowd ViolencePDF

Presenters / Facilitators:

  • Tamara Madensen, Assistant Professor, University of Nevada Las Vegas
  • Deputy Chief Gary Schofield, Las Vegas (NV) Metropolitan Police Department

Large crowds pose serious challenges for police tasked with maintaining public safety. This session demonstrates how to use crime prevention frameworks and principles to reduce opportunities for crowd violence. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's New Year's Eve crowd management strategy represents a highly successful application of these concepts. An overview of this strategy is provided along with related arrest and injury statistics. This case study illustrates the effectiveness of using problem-specific situational tactics to prevent crowd violence.

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Goldstein Award Finalist!

Dayton (OH) Police Department

Reclaiming the Corner of ChaosPDF

Presenters / Facilitators:

  • Chief Richard Biehle, Dayton (OH) Police Department
  • Officer Bill Parsons, Dayton (OH) Police Department
  • Officer Shawn Huey, Dayton (OH) Police Department

The RTA transit center is located in center of Dayton's central business district and is the main transfer point for all buses in the region including. The RTA also is the primary carrier for all Public School students. As a result of these factors a large number of individuals from a broad set of socioeconomic backgrounds are brought together in a relatively small space, creating an optimum environment for various kinds of crime to occur including assault, robbery, drug use and sales and disturbances. The problem persisted over a ten year period of time and proved resistant to a variety of policing strategies which caused the media to dub it "The Corner of Chaos." Police researched the problems from a variety of perspectives and concluded through environmental changes, better place management and partnering with various government and nongovernment agencies the problem could be reduced. Over a one year period crime in virtually every category dropped and the perception of safety in the area increased significantly.

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Responding to Public Sex in Olin ParkPDF

Presenters / Facilitators:

  • Sergeant Jim Dexheimer, Madison (WI) Police Department
  • Officer Michelle Walker, Madison (WI) Police Department

Olin Park is a beautiful gem of a park located on Lake Monona within view of the State capitol and containing a 65 acre natural area on Turville Point. Until 2009 it had been taken over by individuals who engaged in anonymous public sex. Madison Police Officer Michele Walker and Sgt Jim Dexheimer have taken the lead on an unorthodox strategy to confront this common and intractable problem. Taking considerable time to study and measure the problem, officer decided to define the problem in a unique way. Walker and Dexheimer insisted this was not a gay issue but one of inappropriate behaviors in this location that were not confined to any one sexual orientation. They recognized the limited usefulness and negative impact of enforcement. Solutions based on design were seen as sustainable and more acceptable to the community. Partnerships were sought with city agencies, all users groups and the citizens, in particular those of the Bay Creek Neighborhood. The biggest challenge was changing citizen perceptions of the problem, convincing everybody that it was solvable and replacing a more than twenty year reputation with a vision of the park as a safe place for families.

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Goldstein Award Finalist!

Lancashire Constabulary (UK)

Smashing Time - Or Not?: Preventing Glass Related Injuries and Assaults in BarsPDF

Presenters / Facilitators:

  • Acting Inspector Richard Hurt, Lancashire Constabulary (UK)
  • Police Constable Steve Hardman, Lancashire Constabulary (UK)
  • Dave Rigby, Paramedic Sector Manager, North West Ambulance Service (UK)
  • Lead Judge: Gisela Bichler, Associate Professor, California State University, San Bernardino

Broken glass is a key factor in a number of serious assaults and contributes to accidental injuries sustained both within licensed premises and the public areas of towns and cities. In 2006-2007 across Lancashire some 154 criminal offences were recorded where glass was used as a weapon and more locally in Western Division, this figure was 41. With each injury costing the hospitals upwards of 184,000 ( approx $276,000) this was an issue that needed attention. In 2007, Lancashire Police and a number of interested partners used a fully holistic approach and POP to address this issue head on. However, a number of hurdles needed to be overcome to gain both the licensed trade and public's support. This project highlights those concerns and demonstrates the work undertaken to resolve the issues. Over the past 3 years there has been a significant reduction in glass injuries, saving the Primary Care Trusts (Hospitals) over 3.5 million ($5.23 million), the criminal justice system 800,000 ($1.2 million) not to mention a reduction to victims physical and psychological injuries.

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Spatial Significance Hotspot Mapping Using the Gi* StatisticPDF

Presenters / Facilitators:

  • Spencer Chainey, Director of Geographical Information Science, Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science

Significance testing is a process that is fairly common in statistical analysis, yet in practice the application of significance testing on mapped crime data is very much under-developed. Significance testing of spatial data can be used to help determine if the data reveals particularly unusual patterns. These include nearest neighbour analysis techniques such as the Nearest Neighbour Index and the Getis and Ord Gi and Gi* statistics. In this class we explore the use of the NNI for helping to determine when to use a hotspot mapping technique (based on the volume of data that is available and whether any clustering does actually exist) and the GI* statistic for the purpose of spatial significance mapping. We suggest that the Gi* is a method that goes beyond kernel density estimation because it can identify (in map form) those areas where the clustering of crime points is significant. That is, it can determine areas that can be statistically defined as hot from those that are not, plus rank each hotspot according to their level of statistical significance. We illustrate the use of these two methods using free software (CrimeStat and Rook's Case), ArcGIS, and how the outputs from Rook's Case can be displayed in other GIS packages.

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Truancy...Ditching a Life of CrimePDF

Presenters / Facilitators:

  • Investigator Ed Arevalo, Anaheim (CA) Police Department
  • Tracy Rinauro, Senior Deputy District Attorney, Orange County District Attorney's Office
  • Zitlalic Romero, G.R.I.P. Project Coordinator, Community Service Programs, Inc.

In the state of California, 76 percent of inmates in the state prison system have truancy as their first law violation. Furthermore, on average, inmates in California have a seventh grade level of education. Studies have shown that those who fail to attend school on a regular basis have a difficult time adjusting to social norms and are at a greater risk of delinquency. In 2008, collaborative team made up of various public, private and non-profit organizations developed a plan to address truancy and campus discipline in the city of Anaheim. This session will be presented by those directly responsible for the daily implementation of the program. The presentation will include information about the successes achieved as well as insight into the challenges and lessons learned.

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Understanding HotspotsPDF

Presenters / Facilitators:

  • Spencer Chainey, Director of Geographical Information Science, Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science

A number of methods and techniques exist for mapping crime and identifying hotspots. Different methods produce different results, with some being more suitable than others for understanding where hotspots of crime occur. The session will explore the utility of point mapping, thematic mapping of geographic administrative areas (e.g. output areas), grid thematic mapping, and kernel density estimation for identifying crime hotspots. We also explore the principles of significance testing against spatial data and the application of the Getis and Ord Gi and Gi* statistics for the purpose of spatial significance mapping. We suggest that the Gi* is a method that goes beyond kernel density estimation because it can identify (in map form) those areas where the clustering of crime points is significant. That is, it can determine areas that can be statistically defined as hot from those that are not, plus rank each hotspot according to their level of statistical significance. We illustrate the use of this method using ArcGIS, and demonstrate how the Gi* statistic can also be calculated using free software (Rook's Case) with the outputs imported into other GIS software. The session will be fully interactive, gets delegates to consider the advantages and disadvantages between the techniques and the theory that underpin them.

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Yakama Nation Fatal Collision Reduction ProjectPDF

Presenters / Facilitators:

  • Acting Captain Michael Turcott, Washington State Patrol
  • Facilitator: Julie Wartell, Consultant, Center for Problem-Oriented Policing

Since 2004 the Washington State Patrol noticed a marked increase in the number of fatal vehicle collisions occurring within the Yakama Reservation. The ensuing POP project's objective was to reduce the number of fatal collisions on the Reservation involving Yakama Nation tribal members. The project included a public education campaign and enhanced traffic law enforcement. The project led to a substantial reduction in the involvement of Yakama Nation tribal members killed in reservation collisions.

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