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Policy essay on “Policing the Homeless
Author(s) -
Rowe Michael,
O'Connell Maria
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
criminology and public policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.6
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1745-9133
pISSN - 1538-6473
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-9133.2010.00678.x
Subject(s) - rowe , mental illness , mental health , citizenship , sociology , psychiatry , psychology , criminology , law , politics , political science , management , economics
Summary — Police officials across the United States are increasingly relying on place-based approaches for crime prevention. In this article, we examine the Safer Cities Initiative, a widely publicized place-based policing intervention implemented in Los Angeles’s “Skid Row” and focused on crime and disorder associated with homeless encampments. Crime reduction was the goal. The police division in which the program was undertaken provides 8 years of times series data serving as the observations for the treatment condition. Four adjacent police divisions in which the program was not undertaken provide 8 years time series data serving as the observations for the comparison condition. The data are analyzed using a generalized additive model. On balance, we find that this place-based intervention is associated with meaningful reductions in violent, property, and nuisance street crimes. There is no evidence of crime displacement. Policy Implications —This study provides further evidence that geographically targeted police interventions can lead to significant crime