Auto Theft: A Tale of Two CitiesZIP

Regina had the reputation as Canadas auto theft capital and a number of the drivers of the stolen vehicles had adopted dangerous driving behaviors, risking their own and others lives, and even attempting to injure responding police officers. The Regina Police Service coordinated an initiative involving prosecution and corrections agencies, the automobile insurance industry, the school divisions, the media, and members of the public. The adopted strategy resulted in a reduction in stolen auto of over 25 percent. In Chula Vista (CA), a city with one of the highest auto theft rates in the U.S., the Police Department focuses on high-risk parking lots. In the example they will share in this workshop, they examined auto theft in one target area, identifying three large commercial parking lots experiencing repeat theft. They calculated the auto theft rate per parking spot, and working with lot managers, developed a strategy to reduce auto theft by protecting both the lots and the risky vehicles parked there.

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Loud Parties/Risky Drinking: Two Problems for the Price of OnePDF

NU Directions is a project aimed at reducing high-risk drinking by college students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The project is one of several campus-community coalitions funded at universities nationwide by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJ). The national project, managed for RWJ by the American Medical Association, is entitled A Matter of Degree. The Lincoln Police Department plays a key role in the project. Lincoln Police Chief Tom Casady co-chairs the coalition with a University Vice Chancellor. The approach is part of an effort to change, redefine and codify community standards. The Police Department is deeply involved in the effort and one of its roles is to help reduce the number and impact of off-campus drinking parties. The Lincoln Police Department participated in the analysis of the problems of risky drinking and loud parties and is now also part of the solution. Deborah Weisel, Assistant Research Professor, North Carolina State University, facilitates this session.

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A Hot Street and Its Corners: Cincinnati Citizens and Police Take on a Problem AreaZIP

Fergus Street in Cincinnatis Northside neighborhood had been the site of drug dealing, loitering, and disorderly/unsupervised youth for a number of years. Citizens, the police, and the Community Police Partnering Center formed a problem-oriented policing team to reduce the problem. Community members developed and administered a survey, finding that 59 percent of area residents stated they were considering moving and 82 percent would not buy property on Fergus Street. Through a collaborative effort using a variety of strategies, the group took on the corner liquor store where most of the activity was taking place, as well as other problem properties and activities. The results included a significant reduction in loitering, drug dealing, and even littering and improved non-criminal uses of nearby public and private properties.

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The Art and Science of Policing the Main Street Beat: Managing Uses of Public Space

Many cities and towns have a main or central street that presents particular challenges for the police. Oftentimes, along this one street you see police trying to wade through an array of behavior problems, such as panhandling, loud musicians or drinkers, erratic behavior from mentally ill individuals, the homeless sleeping, theft from businesses, risky drinking, and loitering. Some of these behaviors bring with them legal freedoms and rights that the police must consider, including free speech and freedom of assembly. At the same time, there may be issues of community tolerance and intolerance for some of the behaviors. Navigating these difficulties is more complex than many communities assume. In this workshop, Madison police officers and their crime analyst will talk about policing State Street, and they will be seeking input from the audience about this type of challenge.

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Graffiti: Art It's NotPDF

In the early 1970s, a new form of graffiti emerged in New York City. It grew into a structured youth subculture. By the mid 1980s, it surfaced in urban centers throughout the world, representing approximately 70 to 90 percent of the graffiti problem. This new phenomenon, referred to as Hip Hop graffiti, has been documented in a variety of forms. Understanding the range in motivation within the graffiti subculture helps to structure the responses of service providers in the criminal justice system and municipal governments. Vancouver police worked in partnership, developing a comprehensive graffiti management strategy, achieving an 80 percent reduction of graffiti from 2002 to 2005. Vancouver continues to achieve good results with its strategy. The workshop will focus on aspects of the graffiti subculture, developing comprehensive responses, and maintaining results over a longer period of time.

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Metal Theft: Cooling a Hot CommodityPDF

After experiencing a dramatic increase in metal theft, Puyallup (WA) Police undertook an investigation, identifying some of the most active metal thieves. They also met with area recyclers, found unsound practices at the scrap/recycling yards, established an area wide group, developed a preventive approach, including seeking new legislation. Across the country, a different police department focused on a discrete part of the metal theft problem. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police identified theft of metal beer kegs as a rising problem. A review of reported incidents showed over $60,000 worth of beer kegs had been stolen in approximately 6 months. After further analysis, officers developed prevention strategies for the primary keg theft locations and then addressed the problem of the resale of these kegs at scrap metal yards. As a result, the problem has been greatly reduced.

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Saving Lives by Rethinking RoadsPDF

After experiencing a dramatic increase in metal theft, Puyallup (WA) Police undertook an investigation, identifying some of the most active metal thieves. They also met with area recyclers, found unsound practices at the scrap/recycling yards, established an area wide group, developed a preventive approach, including seeking new legislation. Across the country, a different police department focused on a discrete part of the metal theft problem. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police identified theft of metal beer kegs as a rising problem. A review of reported incidents showed over $60,000 worth of beer kegs had been stolen in approximately 6 months. After further analysis, officers developed prevention strategies for the primary keg theft locations and then addressed the problem of the resale of these kegs at scrap metal yards. As a result, the problem has been greatly reduced.

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Day Laborer Sites: Working Out the ProblemsPDF

In 1995, in one part of Montgomery County, a day laborer center was opened in response to day laborers gathering. Recently, with changing mobility patterns, more Latino families moved to the Gaithersburg/Germantown, another part of Montgomery County that offers more affordable housing and nearness to ethnic markets and stores. Two different parts of Montgomery County have faced issues related to day laborers, each responding in different ways to it.

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Structuring Responses to Problem Properties: A City Attorney's Office PerspectivePDF

Do you have a house, motel, apartment complex or other building in your city that is a chronic crime location? Hear how city attorneys can help you in the fight against chronic problem properties. Learn how to interest your city attorney in problem properties, how to make cases, successes (and failures) of evidence collection, and case strategy in criminal nuisance cases. Also hear about a few of Oaklands best practices in fighting problem properties, and its use of the innovative Neighborhood Law Corps, a program which recruits rookie attorneys to prosecute problem properties and its partnering with Oakland Police Departments problem solving officers to improve the quality of life in Oakland's neighborhoods.

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Disorderly Youth in Public Places: Fair and Effective PolicingPDF

Many cities and towns have problems of youth congregating and sometimes engaging in disorderly behavior. This behavior poses challenges for the police and sometimes creates fear in the community. Over 50,000 youth use the Massachusetts Bay public transit system each day during the school year. The Transit Police had been using a zero tolerance approach to disorderly youth, examined the consequences of that approach, and decided to adopt a different approach to reduce harms from groups congregating and engaging in disorderly behavior. The results were fewer arrests of youth, closer connections between youth and the other transit riders, and the sharing of responsibility for youth riders with other organizations who are more capable of working with youth to make them aware of the effect of their behavior on others. Success with this project led the Transit Police to work on a truancy reduction project, which will also be discussed in this session.

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Helping the Homeless Help ThemselvesPDF

In 2003, the City of Myrtle Beach conducted a survey of the downtown area. It revealed increasing concern about the growing population of homeless individuals and suspicion about their involvement in criminal activity and nuisance-related incidents. In response, the Myrtle Beach Police Department tasked community team officers to specific areas to address community concerns and develop ways to assist the homeless population. After evaluations and field interviews with the homeless, community team officers developed the Help Us Help You program, a collaboration with local businesses, associations and government agencies geared towards more effectively changing homelessness in the Myrtle Beach community by providing the means to assist individuals and reduce homelessness.

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Turning around a Youth Heroin Problem: Stopping a Bad TripPDF

Plano (TX) Police historically treated drug overdose deaths as accidental deaths. After several teens died from heroin overdoses, the Department took a problem-solving approach to the problem. When they looked at hospital records, they discovered that there had been nearly 70 recent non-fatal heroin overdoses in Plano. In other words, the problem was much larger than the Police Departments own data revealed. The narcotics unit interviewed prior overdose victims discovering some very surprising information. This led the narcotics unit and others in the Department to develop a completely new response to the problem.

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Burglaries in Student Residence Halls: Breaking Off OpportunityPDF

Burglaries of college residence halls are a common problem across the United States. Georgia State University (GSU) was no exception. At just one of GSUs residence hall apartment complexes, there were 44 burglaries in one year. Taking a problem-oriented policing approach, an officer analyzed the problem carefully and developed responses to reduce the problem that included target hardening and student behavior modifications. In addition, the officer developed an innovative way to limit access of outsiders into the complex. In the year following implementation of the project, burglaries dropped by 39 percent and the value of the property stolen dropped by 49 percent. The University decided to use the officers approach in designing a new residence hall complex on the campus.

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Domestic Violence: What's Love Got to Do With It?ZIP

Presenters from two police agencies will talk about how they have improved their response to domestic violence. In devising their approach, the Police Service of Northern Ireland first looked to see what the research said about ways to reduce domestic violence to help inform them while the Cleveland Police focused on improving dispatcher response to victims calling about domestic abuse. Also, in this session, attendees will hear about the new domestic violence POP guide and how it can help improve your departments effectiveness in reducing domestic violence.

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Fear of Crime in Public Places: Getting Reassurance RightPDF

Fear of crime is an important driver of public behavior and it impacts the use of public spaces. It also contributes to how the public views the success of policing and crime reduction strategies and ultimately the viability of public space. Having town centers, public transit systems, parks and other public spaces that are perceived to be safe and secure is vital for the image of urban areas, economic success, and the quality of life for communities. This session is an interactive workshop that examines the idea of fear of crime and how this can be measured and assessed by policing agencies. It will cover how effective strategies for dealing with fear of crime can be developed through a problem solving approach and how this can then be effectively implemented on the ground.

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Sexual Exploitation of Teens: What They Didn't Know Hurt ThemPDF

After the tragic disappearance and murder of a young girl, police discovered that in Britains largest seaside resort, some men were luring teens into sexual exploitation. After the initial investigation, Lancashire Constabulary used a problem-oriented approach to investigate the problem and try to prevent further tragedies. The investigation uncovered that certain types of places were repeat settings for sexual exploitation and there were patterns to the people offending in these places. Also, certain victim vulnerabilities led the teens to these places and made them more susceptible to this predatory behavior. Working with other concerned entities, police designed a multidimensional response, which included engaging victims, targeting offenders, and making these locations safer.

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COMPSTAT and POP: Complement or Conflict? PDF

This session will explore the key elements of problem-oriented policing and Compstat and consider whether the two concepts are compatible or in conflict with one another, either in theory or in practice. Many police agencies report that they endorse and put into practice both concepts.

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