Chapter 5 Flashcards
Problem Solving
Explain what is meant by problem oriented policing and how it differs from traditional reactive, incident driven policing.
Problem oriented policing: grounded in principles different from community oriented policing, but, they are complementary. Problem oriented policing is a strategy that puts the philosophy of community policing into practice. Advocates that police examine the underlying causes of recurring incidents of crime and disorder.
Recognize that incidents are often merely overt symptoms of problems that require that officers take a more in depth interest in incidents by acquaint themselves with some of the conditions and factors that cause them.
Describe the four steps of the SARA problem solving process.
- Scanning
- Analysis
- Response
- Assessment
- Scanning: problem identification (look for patterns or persistent repeat incidents)
- Heart of the problem solving process. Purpose is to learn as much as possible about problems in order to identify their causes; officers must gather information from sources inside and outside their agency about the scope, nature, and causes of problems.
- Response- to the problem.
- Assessment- officers evaluate the effectiveness of their response. Did the problem decline? Did the response cause the decline? Did the response occur as planned? Did the problem decline enough for you to end the effort and apply resources elsewhere?
Review in detail what kind of activities are involved in the analysis stage of the SARA process, as well as tools that are available for performing an in depth analysis
ACTIVITIES:
1. Analysis is based on common sense
2. There is no one way to do analysis
3. Individual problems require individual analysis
4. Analysis requires creativity and innovation
5. Analysis does not need to be complex
TOOLS:
1. Crime Analysts
2. Records management system
3. Mapping/geographic information systems
4. Technical assistance
The three elements of the problem analysis and graffiti problem triangles
An offender, a victim, and a location
Graffiti problem triangles:
The place: marked buildings and areas immediately around them.
Victims: owners and users of the buildings
Offenders: writers of the graffiti
Removing one or more of the elements will remove the problem.
Three types of roles of third parties in the problem analysis triangle
Handlers: people who, acting in the best interests of the potential offenders, try to prevent them from committing crimes (handlers of gang members might be parents, adult neighbors, peers, teachers, and employers
Guardians: people or things that can exercise control over each side of the triangle so that crime is less likely (drug dealing in a house and the offender side of the triangle includes dealers and buyers, then a list of guardians would include police, parents of the dealers/buyers, probation and parole officers, landlords, city codes, health and tax departments, and neighbors.
Managers: people who oversee locations (apartment managers can help prevent or solve problems by installing security equipment in their buildings, screening tenants carefully, and evicting troublemakers or criminals
Five potential solutions to problems
1) totally eliminate the problem 2) reducing the number of incidents the problem creates 3) reducing the seriousness of the harms 4) dealing with a problem better 5) removing the problem from police consideration
Six potential difficulties with problem solving
- Police officers do not have the analytical skills required to analyze problems.
- Police mangers and supervisors do not know how to foster problem solving.
- Police agencies resist change.
- Police workloads prevent anything but superficial analysis.
- There is too little involvement of communities
- Little is known about what works under what circumstances.
Example of how problem oriented policing may function in a situation involving night time robberies or delivery of trucks
Scanning questions:
1. Victims, locations, offenders
Analysis:
Party areas are in the vicinity of the robberies, alcohol is served at the parties, and there are indications of underage drinking at the parties
Response:
The two most victimized stores might be asked to stop delivery at midnight and require customers to pick up their take out between midnight and 2AM, the stores could ask customers what bill denotation will be used to pay for the food, so that delivery people could carry the minimum amount of change required, the stores might refuse to deliver an order if it means walking by a large crowd that is loitering in the area
Common responses that may be not feasible or helpful-
1. Increase patrol cars or foot patrols during 10PM-2AM (costly)
2. Increase lighting in the problem area (unless the robberies have occurred in areas that are dimly light, this strategy would probably have little effect.
Considerations in tailoring problem solving strategies to neighborhoods
What stage the neighborhood is in (dependence, conflict, or interdependence) and what type of neighborhood is it (strong, vulnerable, anomic, responsive).
Research has shown that problem oriented policing can work in different types of neighborhoods.
True or false:
Problem solving by police is new, with their only recently learning how to solve community problems.
False
True or false:
It may be said that problem oriented policing is a strategy that puts the philosophy of community policing into practice.
True
True or false:
When engaged in problem solving, Goldstein argued that police should not conduct an extensive, uninhibited search for the most effective response to problems; doing so requires too much time and too many resources.
False
True or false:
The heart of any problem solving effort by police is analysis, which is critical to the success of any problem solving effort.
True
True or false:
All neighborhoods are essentially the same, so the same problem solving efforts can be deployed anywhere,
False
