Hot Spot Policing

Most people are aware that certain areas have higher crime rates than others. Throughout the years of policing, there have been different tactics used to stop crime and disorder from occurring in these areas. One of the tactics being used is offender-focused hot spot policing. This type of tactic focuses on small places or groups of people in small places, and tailor specific solutions to problems using careful analysis of local conditions. This tactic has been used as an effective way to reduce violent crimes (cite). This paper will describe the goals of offender focused hot spots policing and provide evidence that this form of policing is effective. With every policing strategy, the main goal is always to reduce crime, this strategy is know different. This type of policing focuses on original law enforcement strategies. However, in this policing technique, police can focus its limited resources in areas where crime is most likely to occur (cite). This
OF policing is a deterrence-based strategy targeting high-risk offenders. OF policing’s main goal is to reduce crime by targeting high-risk offenders in the areas where the most crimes are taking place. Targeted offenders were identified by intelligence analysts based on data from several police departments. This form of policing was implemented in 20 hot spot crime areas in Philadelphia. This was part of a field experiment testing different policing tactics in the small, high-crime areas. The study found that at the offender focused policing tactic sites there was a 42% reduction in all of violent crime, and a 50% reduction in violent felonies compared with their control places. Also, this study found that foot patrol and problem-oriented policing did not reduce violent crime or violent