By: Timothy J. Hope

The problem-oriented approach to policing and the situational approach to crime prevention have much in common, both arising from the search for more effective means of crime control. They share a common perspective in being targeted at specific crime problems and locations. This paper describes three case studies of problem-oriented policing carried out by officers of the St Louis (MO) Metropolitan Police Department, each concerned with reducing crime and disorder at locations where drugs were being sold. In each case, the individual officers played a pivotal role as catalysts in stimulating actions by the community and city agencies, and in achieving reductions in crime and disorder at the problem locations. The cases suggest that at the localized level at which it operates, problem-oriented policing can achieve the kind of coordinated action which may not be so easy at a broader level of community and organizational aggregation.

CRIME PREVENTION STUDIES, VOLUME 2, P 5-31, 1994

By: FERHAT TURA

Problem-oriented policing (POP) is one of the various proactive policing strategies that have been developed since the 1970s. It has been claimed that POP has had a considerable effect in reducing crime (Weisburd et al., 2010). However, its role in the crime drop that has been experienced in England and Wales and across the world since the 1990s (Tseloni et al., 2010) is not yet known (Weisburd and Majmundar, 2018). Therefore, this thesis explores the role of POP in the burglary drop at the police force area (PFA) level in England and Wales between 1988 and 2007/08.

The theories that underpin both POP and this study are opportunity-related theories (rational choice and routine activity theories), social disorganisation theory, and the new public management concept. The empirical component of the study is divided into three phases, where each phase employs different methods (e.g. multilevel negative binomial regression) to analyse a rich array of data sources (e.g. the Crime Survey for England and Wales). The results of this thesis can be summarised as follows:

1. A number of police forces in England and Wales were consistently committed to POP over time.

2. There seemed to be a relationship between POP and the fall in burglaries and repeat burglaries in a number of POP-committed PFAs between 1995 and 2007/08.

3. Although POP-committed police forces experienced fewer burglaries in 2003/04, POP did not result in a statistically significant reduction in burglaries between 1995 and 2003/04.

4. Conversely, POP-committed police forces saw a statistically significantly higher number of burglaries in 1997.

5. Police forces with a higher number of police officers per 1000 residents experienced a statistically significant reduction in burglaries in 2003/04.

In light of the above findings, this thesis sheds new light on the crime drop and policing literature. Consequently, the findings inform the theoretical and practical aspects of POP that can be used by police and other crime prevention agencies to reduce burglary victimisation.

Notttingham Trent University; November 2019

By: Michael S. Scott

What works in policing? David Weisburd, Cody W. Telep, Joshua C. Hinkle, and John E. Eck (2010, this issue) sought to answer this core question in their review of problem-oriented policing. Herman Goldstein proposed the problem-oriented approach in 197 as the means by which the police could achieve their objectives more effectively and, thereby, improve the overall police institution. Weisburd et al. set out to put the problem-oriented approach to the test some 30 years later. Given the ambitiousness of Goldstein’d proposal, it follows that Weisburd et al.’s study in equally ambitious and important. If problem-oriented policing is proven to work, then it would stand to reason that police and local governments should commit to the approach more fully. if it is proven not to work, then reconsideration of the approach—either to better understand why it is not working or to pursue alternative approaches to policing—would be warranted.

Criminology฀&฀Public฀Policy฀•฀Volume฀9฀•฀Issue฀1

By: Richard L. Glover

Community and Problem Oriented Policing (CPOP) is a multidimensional strategy used by police departments to control crime and improve the quality of life in targeted areas. This monograph presents CPOP as a possible solution to the problem of school violence. It identifies design components and process dimensions that can contribute to successful applications of CPOP. Five models have gained wide acceptance as strategies for school-based problem-solving around safety and security issues: the School Resource Officer model, student problem-solving, the public health model, the Child Development-Community Policing Program, and the collaborative problem-solving model. Eight components from these five models are fundamental to school-based CPOP: police-school partnerships, problem-solving approach, a collaboration that reflects full stakeholder involvement, organizational support, education and training of problem-solving group members, effective planning approaches, appropriate problem-solving group size, and use of memoranda of understanding. The process dimensions associated with successful implementation of CPOP in schools are partnering between schools and police, collaborative problem solving, implementation, and evaluation of the overall CPOP effort.

Information Analyses (070), 58p., 2002

By Nicolette Reyhani

From the Introduction:” Over recent years situational crime has gained considerable amount of support and recognition when determining what in society causes crime. Prior to the 1970s, the explanations for causes of crime revolved around the socio-economic effects society endured. The modern focus of criminological policy and theories began to change as attention turned to the potential environmental factors and effects they have on criminal activity (McGloin & O’Neil, 2007). The situational crime results from an offender, who under certain circumstances, commits a crime and is unlikely to repeat the offence or usually is not inclined to commit crimes, hence the emphasis on situational (Clarke, 1995). These crimes and offenders are best explained through theories that do not focus on the social causes of crime, rather the emerging prosperity of contemporary life and the rational human being.”

by Rana Sampson

Abstract: In the early 1990s, American policing, applying a problemoriented approach, displayed much creative energy in closing drug markets. This has not translated to a under range of quality efforts in tackling other common crimes, such as burglary, auto theft, and shoplifting. While few of the factors that combined to fuel wide exploration of creative solutions in drug markets are present for other crime and safety problems, there may be some simple ways to engage the police to further study and target other crimes. Three strategies are offered: identifying, understanding, and responding to snowball crimes; using a situational crime prevention approach to graded responses for repeat victimization; and examining privately-owned properties for disproportionate demands on police service with an eye towards shifting responsibility for crime-place management to these owners.

Crime Prevention Studies, vol. 15 (2003), pp. 239-256..

By Vedat KARĞIN*

The effectiveness of crime prevention programs can be best understood through systematic analysis of the past studies that examined the effectiveness of crime prevention programs. The purpose of this paper was to show whether POP is effective in preventing crime and provide the most up-to-date information regarding the effectiveness of POP in crime prevention. Six of eight evaluation studies reviewed in this paper produced strong evidence that POP was an effective strategy in preventing all kinds of crime including serious violent and property crimes. Two evaluations found no positive impact of the programs on crime but these evaluations suffered from serious methodological problems. It is concluded that POP is an effective crime prevention strategy and should be continued to be supported.

Academia EDU. Polis Bilimleri Dergisi: 12 (3). 22p.

By Rachel Boba a and John P. Crank

Problem-oriented policing (POP) has emerged as a fertile area of innovative police research and practice. Its core ideas have existed for over 20 years; however, research suggests that POP has been routinized into the practice of few police departments. This paper argues that POP has not gained widespread adoption because of the inclination to make line officers the central actors in POP’s implementation. It presents an integrated model reconsidering how problems are defined, analysis is used, and how problem-solving accountability is distributed throughout an organization and builds upon the strengths of traditional policing – information-gathering, centralized command, and accountability structure.

Routledge. Police Practice and Research Vol. 9, No. 5, December 2008, 379–393

By Adrian Leigh, Tim Read and Nick Tilley

Much police work is incident-driven and officers frequently find themselves returning to deal with similar or related incidents they or their colleagues have faced in the past. The concept of Problem-Oriented Policing (POP) is about examining patterns of incident clusters to identify and tackle underlying problems within the community. The active involvement of the community and external agencies is often vital to the identification of problems and the development of strategies to solve them. The originator of the concept, Herman Goldstein, believes that the whole of the police service needs to be oriented to problems. The perceived benefits of POP include:

• a better-served public whose concerns are attended to at source;

• officers with enhanced job satisfaction from bringing the public real benefits; and,

• more manageable demands on the police because underlying problems are solved, reducing repeat calls.

Since POP was first proposed in 1979, it has been widely adopted in the United States. There have also been a number of efforts to implement it in England and Wales. Despite overlooking some elements of POP proposed by Goldstein, past initiatives have been labelled Problem-Oriented Policing because they have taken on board his most important tenet: that officers should tackle the root cause of related incidents, rather than repeatedly returning to them. Whilst forces have adopted a variety of approaches, most initiatives have been relatively small-scale and have affected only a small number of dedicated officers. All have recorded mixed success, although none has established a formal means by which to assess outcomes. In particular, none of the past POP initiatives in England and Wales has adopted a formal and systematic model linking incident identification and analysis with the construction of responses and subsequent assessment of the actions taken. At the time of writing, both Surrey and Thames Valley were intending to introduce POP on a much wider scale and in a form closer to that originally proposed by Goldstein.

London Home Office. Crime Detection and Prevention Series Paper 75. 1996. 72p.

By Colin Rogers

The Problem-Oriented Policing (or Partnership) approach is one that is used to underpin the current neighbourhood policing team approach in England and Wales. It relies upon a scientific approach which identifies problems and provides ethical and appropriate responses using the concepts of the Problem Analysis Triangle (PAT) and the SARA model. However, this approach has been in vogue since the mid and late 1990s and this article compares data from a current police service with that published in 1998. Comparison is made between this information to provide an indication of just how far the police have progressed in their use, application and understanding of the Problem-Oriented Partnership approach.

The Police Journal/2010, Volume 83/Issue 4. 6p.

David Weisburd

Problem-oriented policing has garnered a great deal of attention since it was first proposed by Herman Goldstein in 1979. The core of the model is a shift from police operating in a reactive, incident driven way (primarily responding to calls for service) to a model that requires the police to be proactive in identifying underlying problems that can be targeted to alleviate crime and disorder at their roots. Problem-oriented policing can be thought of as a process rather than a specific intervention. As such, problem-oriented policing can work independently or simultaneously with other modern policing innovations (hot spots policing, focused deterrence etc…) to address problems of crime and disorder. While the ability of problem-oriented policing to target an array of different issues makes it widely applicable, the plethora of different interventions that may qualify as problem-oriented policing make generalizing research on its effect difficult. The current study will provide an updated systematic review of the effectiveness of problem-oriented policing in reducing crime and disorder. An earlier Campbell review by three of the same authors covered studies published through 2006 (Weisburd, Telep, Hinkle & Eck, 2008; 2010); this updated review will add studies published from 2006 to 2018.

The Campbell Collaboration. 2019. 42p.

Gary Cordner, Elizabeth Biebel

Problem-oriented policing was first introduced in an article by Herman Goldstein in 1979. It was formally field-tested in the 1980s in Baltimore County (Cordner, 1986) and Newport News (Eck and Spelman, 1987), given a wider audience through an Atlantic Monthly magazine article in 1989 (Wilson and Kelling), and systematically described and explained in Goldstein's 1990 book. Today, it is widely regarded as the most analytical and intellectually challenging strategy in the police arsenal.

Questions linger, however, about the implementation and practicality of problemoriented policing (POP). The SARA process (scanning, analysis, response, assessment) for carrying out POP is analytically and creatively demanding, as well as time-consuming. Some observers question whether police have the knowledge and skill to implement the SARA process properly. Police officers often question whether they have the time to do so.

The research reported here carefully examined problem-oriented policing in practice by ordinary police officers in one agency - the San Diego, California Police Department. The objective was to discover and describe the reality of everyday, streetlevel POP as practiced by generalist patrol officers. San Diego was chosen because of its reputation as a national leader in problem-oriented policing.

U.S. Department of Justice.. 2003. 28p.

By Gloria Laycock

This guide is about embedding POP in your organisation. It is written primarily for senior officers and managers and is intended to complement a sister guide on problem-solving in practice. This guide is not a step-by-step manual - there is no single road to or recipe for implementing POP. Instead, what follows is a review of what is known about implementing and sustaining POP, with recommended resources provided at the end. The guide has three parts. The first part outlines the core features of POP. The second part makes the business case for POP as an operating model for contemporary policing. The third part discusses three conditions conducive to the successful implementation of POP – leadership, understanding and infrastructure – and provides examples of good and poor practice. The guide ends with a self-assessment tool to help you determine your organisation’s readiness for and progress in implementing POP.

London. College of Policing. 2020. 26p.

Michael S. Scott.

Abstract: Police agencies have, for the most part, not yet integrated the principles and methods of problem-oriented policing into their routine operations. This is so for several reasons. First, many police officials lack a complete understanding of the basic elements of problemoriented policing and how problem solving fits in the context of the whole police function. Second, the police have not yet adequately developed the skill sets and knowledge bases to support problemoriented policing. And third, the police have insufficient incentives to take problem-oriented policing seriously. This paper begins by articulating what full integration of problem-oriented policing into routine police operations might look like. It then presents one framework for integrating the principles and methods of problem-oriented policing into the whole police function. The paper then explores the particular skill sets and knowledge bases that will be essential to the practice of problem-oriented policing within police agencies and across the police profession. Finally, it explores the perspectives of those who critically evaluate police performance, and considers ways to modify those perspectives and expectations consistent with problem-oriented policing.

Crime Prevention Studies. Vol. 15. 2003. pp. 48-97

Michael S. Scott

In the last three decades, several concepts have been advanced to structure efforts to improve policing. Among them have been team policing, neighborhood policing, community policing, problem-oriented policing, and, most recently, quality-of-life policing. With much overlap, each concept, as reflected in its name, emphasizes a different need, relegating other commonly advocated reforms to a secondary role, shaped to support that need. This volume traces the efforts to implement problem-oriented policing.

The emphasis in problem-oriented policing is on directing attention to the broad range of problems the community expects the police to handle–the problems that constitute the business of the police–and on how police can be more effective in dealing with them. A layperson may think this focus elementary on first being introduced to it. Indeed, laypeople probably assume that police continually focus on the problems they are expected to handle. But within policing, this focus constitutes a radical shift in perspective.

Problem-oriented policing recognizes, at the outset, that police are expected to deal with an incredibly broad range of diverse community problems–not simply crime. It recognizes that the ultimate goal of the police is not simply to enforce the law, but to deal with problems effectively–ideally, by preventing them from occurring in the first place. It therefore plunges the police into an in-depth study of the specific problems they confront. It invites consideration of a wide range of alternatives, in addition to criminal law, for responding to each specific problem. Thus, problem-oriented policing draws the police away from the traditional preoccupation with creating an efficient organization; from the heavy investment in standard, generic operating procedures for responding to calls and preventing crime; and from heavy dependence on criminal law as the primary means for getting their job done. It looks to increased knowledge and thinking about the specific problems police confront as the driving force in fashioning police services.

This publication was supported through Grant #98CKWXK052 from the Office of Community-Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions expressed herein are the author's and do not necessarily represent the official position of the U.S. Department of Justice. October 2000. 46p.

Aiden Sidebottom (University College London) Karen Bullock (Surrey University) Rachel Armitage (University of Huddersfield) Matt Ashby (University College London) Caitlin Clemmow (University College London) Stuart Kirby (Crime Insights Limited) Gloria Laycock (University College London) Nick Tilley (University College London).

‘Problem-oriented policing’ (POP) is an approach for improving police effectiveness. In the United Kingdom (UK), it is also referred to as ‘problem-oriented partnerships’ or ‘problem-solving policing’. Problem-solving policing calls for the police to focus not on individual incidents but on problems - defined as recurrent clusters of related incidents that affect the community. It advocates a structured process whereby the police (1) systematically identify persistent problems, (2) undertake in-depth analysis to determine the conditions giving rise to these problems, (3) devise and implement tailored responses and (4) work out if the chosen responses were effective. At its simplest, POP outlines a method for dealing with localised problems. In its most general sense, it outlines an approach for how the police operate.

Problem-solving has been widely adopted by police forces in the UK and internationally. Successive reviews, case studies and experiments have shown POP to be an effective way of reducing crime and disorder. Yet despite extensive evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of problem-solving, research also identifies recurrent challenges both in the implementation and practice of a problem-oriented approach. Consequently, POP has not become a persistent feature of policing in the UK.

College of Policing. NPCC. 2019. 89p.

By Nick Tilley

Herman฀Goldstein’s฀(1979,฀1990)฀vision฀of฀problem-oriented฀policing฀(POP)฀has฀not฀ been฀difficult฀to฀sell,฀at฀least฀in฀principle,฀and฀in฀the฀30฀years฀since฀he฀first฀mooted฀ it฀many฀scholars฀and฀police฀agencies฀have฀bought฀into฀it.฀POP฀promises฀a฀move฀ away฀from฀managerial฀priorities,฀standardized฀(and฀often฀ineffective)฀ways฀of฀working,฀and฀law฀ enforcement฀as฀an฀end฀in฀itself.฀It฀focuses฀instead฀on฀relevant฀community฀concerns,฀the฀openminded฀pursuit฀of฀ethical฀and฀effective฀solutions฀to฀recurrent฀problems,฀and฀attention฀to฀results฀ to฀learn฀better฀how฀to฀deal฀with฀similar฀problems฀in฀the฀future.฀It฀also฀suggests฀an฀efficient฀and฀ effective฀way฀of฀handling฀heavy฀demands฀on฀police฀time,฀by฀resolving฀problems฀rather฀than฀ simply฀by฀responding฀to฀them฀incident฀by฀incident.฀

American฀Society฀of฀Criminology. Criminology฀&฀Public฀Policy฀•฀Volume฀9฀•฀Issue฀1. 13p.

MAY CONTAIN MARKUP

Herman Goldstein

In his seminal work on problem-oriented policing, Herman Goldstein emphasizes the importance of addressing the root causes of crime and disorder within communities. Goldstein’s book provides a framework for law enforcement agencies to shift their focus from reactive responses to proactive measures aimed at preventing recurring issues.

The core concept of problem-oriented policing lies in identifying specific problems within a community, analyzing the underlying factors contributing to those problems, and developing tailored strategies to mitigate them. By working collaboratively with community members, local organizations, and other stakeholders, law enforcement can implement sustainable solutions that address the root causes of crime and disorder.

Goldstein’s book serves as a guide for police departments looking to adopt a more proactive and community-centered approach to policing. By encouraging officers to engage with the community, gather data on recurring issues, and implement evidence-based strategies, problem-oriented policing offers a promising alternative to traditional law enforcement practices.

Overall, Herman Goldstein’s book on problem-oriented policing provides valuable insights and practical tools for law enforcement agencies seeking to build safer and more resilient communities through proactive problem-solving strategies.

NY. McGraw-Hill. 1990. 221p.

By Andrew Wooff, Graeme Dickson, Jamie Buchan

This project aims to support Police Scotland’s ‘Policing 2026’ strategy by enhancing the understanding of the motivations, roles and expectations of Special Constables, a group of people largely absent from academic policing discourse in Scotland. This group of volunteers represents an important resource in contemporary policing, particularly against the backdrop of economic constraint (Bullock, 2014). In recent years, the numbers of Special Constables in Scotland – as with the rest of the UK – have been in a general decline (Home Office, 2018; Police Scotland, 2018). This project sought to examine the nature of the Special Constabulary as a volunteering resource in Scotland, considering the way(s) that the motivations, expectations and management of Special Constables could be understood and improved. As such, the report explores the following questions: ● What motivates Special Constables to volunteer for Police Scotland and does this vary depending on how long they have been a Special Constable? ● To what extent does the role of a Special Constable vary by geography and local policing area? ● What are the expectations of Police Scotland for their Special Constabulary and does this vary by geography? ● What could be done to improve the current pathways between Special Constables and regular officer recruitment? ● What, if anything, will help support the development and retention of Special Constables in Police Scotland?

Edinburgh : Scottish Institute of Policing, 2003? 37p.

By Karen Bullock, Aiden Sidebottom, Rachel Armitage , Matthew P.J. Ashby, Caitlin Clemmow, Stuart Kirby, Gloria Laycock and Nick Tilley

This article analyses and critically reflects on the position of problem-oriented policing within England and Wales. Problem-oriented policing is a framework for improving police effectiveness. Its adoption has consistently been shown to be associated with sizable reductions in a wide range of crimes and public safety issues. However, many studies also find that problem-oriented policing is difficult to embed and sustain within police organisations. This article draws on the experiences and perspectives of 86 informed stakeholders to critically examine the position and practice of problem-oriented policing 40 years after its original formulation by Herman Goldstein in 1979. We argue that despite evidence of renewed interest in problem-oriented policing, the approach is not habitually conducted within police organisations in England and Wales. Where it is conducted, the practice of problem-oriented policing is found to lack discipline, the processes tend not to be faithfully followed, and there are weaknesses at all stages of the process. Implications of the findings for future research and police practice are discussed.

Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 15(4): 2021