Month: October 2018

Crime victimization in 2016 | Modern Policing

BJS has released its revised 2016 victimization report, available here. Long-term, the violent crime victimization rate has been fairly flat since 2010 and it is 75% lower than in 1993. The serious violent crime rate decreased 3% in 2016 over the previous year, while property crime was up 7%. There was a significant 31% decrease…
— Read on gcordner.wordpress.com/2018/10/30/crime-victimization-in-2016/

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx Wants Justice for Chicago | The Marshall Project

Here is an example of the possible impact that a State’s Attorney or a District Attorney can have on crime and a community. This is one part of a several part series. Check for more in the future.

After the fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald, can a new state’s attorney bring real reform to Chicago?
— Read on www.themarshallproject.org/2018/10/29/the-hustle-of-kim-foxx

Problem-oriented policing: matching the science to the art | Crime Science | Full Text

Dr. Sparrow is one on my favorite Criminal Justice authors.

This paper is an edited version of the Jerry Lee Lecture delivered at the Stockholm Criminology Symposium in 2018, the year in which Professor Herman Goldstein was awarded the Stockholm Prize in Criminology in recognition of his contribution to public safety through the development of problem-oriented policing. This paper examines the significance of a problem-oriented approach and seeks to establish the right balance among, and appropriate role for, a broad range of diverse contributions that scholars and analysts can make to support effective problem-solving. It explores the distinctive contributions of experimental criminology and program evaluation to problem-oriented work, and contrasts the inquiry techniques typically employed by social scientists and by natural scientists. The goal of this paper is to usefully “round out” the role that scholars are prepared to play in advancing effective problem-solving practice.
— Read on crimesciencejournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40163-018-0088-2

D.C.’s Aggressive Confiscation Of Illegal Guns Leaves Residents Feeling Targeted : NPR

This video is an excellent example of “demand side” tactic for reducing guns. It also show how a policing strategy impacts a community.

The police department in Washington, D.C., has seized thousands of illegal weapons, but an investigation finds that 4 out of 10 cases of illegal gun possession are dismissed in court.
— Read on www.npr.org/2018/10/24/659980871/d-c-s-aggressive-confiscation-of-illegal-guns-leaves-residents-feeling-targeted

On problem-oriented policing: the Stockholm lecture | Crime Science | Full Text

Dr.  Goldstein is one of my favorite Criminal Justice Authors.

This paper is an edited version of the speech given upon being awarded the 2018 Stockholm Prize in Criminology. After a brief introduction, the paper describes the concept of problem-oriented policing (POP), first proposed in 1979. It goes on to assess the extent to which the police have adopted POP, and its current status. POP is, in the immediate sense, aimed at a reduction in the incidence or severity of the problem on which attention is focused, and, in the broader sense, at improving the fundamentals of policing in a democratic society.
— Read on crimesciencejournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40163-018-0087-3

Research Central: Risk Assessment and Behavioral Health Screening for Youth in Probation

OJJDP’s Risk Assessment and Behavioral Health Screening Project, cofunded in 2014 with the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, examined whether using a risk assessment for reoffending coupled with mental health and substance use screening protocols improves case processing, service allocation, and recidivism rates.

The study encompassed multiple probation offices in Arkansas and Rhode Island. Both states administered a risk assessment instrument in conjunction with the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument-Version 2 (MAYSI-2) for mental health screening and the CRAFFT substance use screening tools. As one component of the study, the researchers examined service referral, how services were used, and recidivism outcomes of youth. They also studied if and how services and outcomes were influenced by the potential behavioral health needs identified in MAYSI-2 and CRAFFT.

Overall, the researchers found that mental health services were used more often than risk-reduction services in most sites and had little influence on recidivism. There was some evidence that substance abuse treatment reduced recidivism among youth identified in CRAFFT as having a substance use problem.

This is a link to the OJJDP website: https://www.ojjdp.gov/newsletter/252069/sf_6.html?utm_source=NewsAtAGlance102218&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NewsAtAGlance&utm_content=ResearchCentral

Link to the REPORT: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/grants/251912.pdf

Crime victim vs. public nuisance | Modern Policing

This article points out an apparent flaw in many public nuisance laws — they can penalize crime victims. In the case of domestic violence, some victims who have called the police multiple times have crossed a threshold that put their home into the public nuisance category, particularly risky when renting from a landlord. Others have…
— Read on gcordner.wordpress.com/2018/10/13/crime-victim-vs-public-nuisance/

Run-down, abandoned buildings pose problems for law enforcement – News – The Topeka Capital-Journal – Topeka, KS

A 2016 study of blight on 32 Topeka city blocks found an increase in number of police calls, code violations and dollars spent when there were abandoned buildings in an area.The study, conducted by Wichita State University, found that about $31,100 in additional personnel resources were needed to complete code violation cases in city blocks with abandoned housing present rather than those without.The effects of abandoned housing in those areas were significant: police response frequency to city
— Read on www.cjonline.com/news/20181014/run-down-abandoned-buildings-pose-problems-for-law-enforcement

The Wichita State 2016 REPORT