Lorraine Mazerolle

Community Variations in Violence: The Role of Social Ties and Collective Efficacy in Comparative Context

This article explores the relative roles of social ties and collective efficacy in explaining community variations in violent victimization in Australia. Using data from a survey of 2,859 residents across 82 communities in the city of Brisbane, coupled with official reported crime data provided by the Queensland Police Service and Australian Bureau of Statistics census data for 2001, the authors employ multilevel statistical models to depict the relative importance of social ties and collective efficacy in predicting between-neighborhood violent victimization in an Australian context. The models include measures of social relationships and community-based crime prevention programs, and the authors compare and contrast their findings with studies of collective efficacy in Chicago and Stockholm, finding similar results. These findings suggest that despite structural and cultural differences between the United States and Australia in particular, collective efficacy is a significant mechanism in explaining the spatial distribution of self-reported violent victimization in the Australian context. This research underscores the importance of cross-cultural theory testing and the need to further develop the measurement of ecological constructs such as social ties and organizational behavior.

Crime and Disorder in Drug Hot Spots: Implications for Theory and Practice in Policing

This article explores the relationship between street-level drug hot spots and crime and disorder problems in Jersey City, New Jersey. The research shows that drug hot spot areas include a disproportionate share of arrests and calls for police service not only for drug-related crime but for crime and disorder more generally. Street sections and intersections within the drug hot spot areas were also more likely to experience crime and disorder problems as compared with non-drug hot spot areas of the city. The findings support the idea of a spatial link between street-level drug hot spot activity, disorder, and serious crime. In concluding, the authors suggest how their findings may be used to enhance police policies with regard to street-level drug markets and crime and disorder activity more generally.

Drug Law Enforcement A Review of the Evaluation Literature

This article describes the results of a systematic review of drug law enforcement evaluations. The authors describe the search procedures and document the results in five main categories: international/national interventions (e.g., interdiction and drug seizure), reactive/ directed interventions (e.g., crackdowns, raids, buy-busts, saturation patrol, etc.), proactive/ partnership interventions (e.g., third-party policing, problem-oriented policing, community policing, drug nuisance abatement, etc.), individualized interventions (e.g., arrest referral and diversion), or interventions that used a combination of reactive/directed and proactive/ partnership strategies. Results indicate that proactive interventions involving partnerships between the police and third parties and/or community entities appear to be more effective at reducing both drug and nondrug problems in drug problem places than are reactive/ directed approaches. But the general quality of research in drug law enforcement is poor, the range of interventions that have been evaluated is limited, and more high-quality research is needed across a greater variety of drug interventions.

School-Based Drug Prevention Programs: A Review of What Works

Abstract This article examines the effectiveness of school-based drug prevention programs in preventing illicit drug use. Our article reports the results of a systematic review of the evaluation literature to answer three fundamental questions: (1) do school-based drug prevention programs reduce rates of illicit drug use? (2) what features are characteristic of effective programs? and (3) do these effective program characteristics differ from those identified as effective in reviews of school-based drug prevention of licit substance use (such as alcohol and tobacco)? Using systematic review and meta-analytic techniques, we identify the characteristics of school-based drug prevention programs that have a significant and beneficial impact on ameliorating illicit substance use (i.e., narcotics) among young people. Successful intervention programs typically involve high levels of interactivity, time-intensity, and universal approaches that are delivered in the middle school years. These program characteristics aligned with many of the effective program elements found in previous reviews exploring the impact of school-based drug prevention on licit drug use. Contrary to these past reviews, however, our analysis suggests that the inclusion of booster sessions and multifaceted drug prevention programs have little impact on preventing illicit drug use among school-aged children. Limitations of the current review and policy implications are discussed.

Environmental Criminology and Crime Analysis: Situating the Theory, Analytic Approach and Application

Environmental criminology is a generic label that covers a range of overlapping perspectives. At the core, the various strands of environmental criminology are bound by a common focus on the role that the immediate environment plays in the performance of crime, and a conviction that careful analyses of these environmental influences are the key to the effective investigation, control and prevention of crime. Environmental Crime and Crime Analysis brings together for the first time the key contributions to environmental criminology to comprehensively define the field and synthesize the concepts and ideas surrounding environmental criminology. The chapters are written by leading theorists and practitioners in the field. Each chapter will analyze one of the twelve major elements of environmental criminology and crime analysis. This book will be essential reading for both practitioners and undergraduate and postgraduate students taking courses in this subject.

Intelligence-Led Policing: A Comparative Analysis of Organizational Factors Influencing Innovation Uptake

The capacity of police organizations to adopt innovative practices is poorly understood. This article compares and contrasts the uptake of one particular innovation: intelligence-led policing (ILP), in New Zealand, using a survey of 286 officers and 32 depth interviews to explore police attitudes and perceptions of the organizational factors influencing the adoption of ILP. We found that leadership and effective use of technology were critical to initiating and sustaining innovation. We conclude with a discussion of how police departments might best plan for and execute the adoption of new, innovative approaches to crime control.

Managing police patrol time: The role of supervisor directives

Contemporary police practice advocates the importance of proactive policing activities. Proactive policing reforms emphasize self‐initiated tasks during unassigned patrol time and directed activities based on supervisor review of crime analysis and problem identification. Our study analyzes data from systematic social observations of police patrol officers to examine how officers spent their discretionary time. We find that, on average, over three quarters of a patrol officers’ shift is unassigned. During this time, officers primarily self‐initiate routine patrol, or back up other officers on calls to which they were not dispatched. Just 6 percent of unassigned time activities are directed by supervising officers, dispatchers, other officers or citizens. Moreover, directives provided by supervisors are vague, general in form, and do not operationalize problem‐oriented policing, community‐oriented policing, or proactive policing strategies. We conclude that first, a very significant proportion of patrol officer time is spent uncommitted that could be better utilized doing proactive, problem‐oriented policing activities, and second, supervisors need to provide patrol officers with much more detailed directives, based on sound crime analysis, to help capitalize on the under‐utilization of patrol officer time.

ETHNIC DIVERSITY AND ITS IMPACT ON COMMUNITY SOCIAL COHESION AND NEIGHBORLY EXCHANGE

ABSTRACT: Putnam’s “constrict theory” suggests that ethnic diversity creates challenges for developing and sustaining social capital in urban settings. He argues that diversity decreases social cohesion and reduces social interactions among community residents. While Putnam’s thesis is the subject of much debate in North America, the United Kingdom, and Europe, there is a limited focus on how ethnic diversity impacts upon social cohesion and neighborly exchange behaviors in Australia. Employing multilevel modeling and utilizing administrative and survey data from 4,000 residents living in 148 Brisbane suburbs, we assess whether ethnic diversity lowers social cohesion and increases “hunkering.” Our findings indicate that social cohesion and neighborly exchange are attenuated in ethnically diverse suburbs. However, diversity is less consequential for neighborly exchange among immigrants when compared to the general population. Our results provide at least partial support for Putnam’s thesis.

The impact of COMPSTAT on reported crime in Queensland

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of Queensland Police Services version of COMPSTAT, known as “Operational Performance Reviews” (OPRs), on reported crime.Design/methodology/approach – The paper employed interrupted time series analytic techniques to examine the impact of OPRs on various categories of reported crime in Queensland. The analyses assessed the extent to which OPRs were associated with crime reductions across the 29 police districts in Queensland.Findings – The introduction of OPRs was found to be associated with a significant decrease in the total number of reported offences in Queensland. OPRs were found to have their strongest effect on reported unlawful entries into dwellings and unlawful entries into other properties. The overall finding was that OPRs appeared to be a cost‐effective approach to controlling crime, resulting in an overall saving of AUD

Procedural justice and legitimacy in policing

1,162,175.Practical implications – The current study suggests that COMPSTAT generally – and Queenslands OPRs in...