In an effort to think more about policing, I’ve been reading various materials. This one article, has stuck in my mind for various reasons. I am particularly, struck by the conclusion of the article which reads:
Conclusion
Poorly planned, ill-conceived, and improperly managed crackdowns, intended merely as a show of police force and resolve, can create more problems than they solve. But carefully planned crackdowns, well supported by prior problem analysis, implemented with other responses to ensure longer-term gains, and conducted in a way that maintains public support and safeguards civil rights, can be an important and effective part of police strategies regarding a range of crime and disorder problems.
My fear is, that with the Westside crackdown (crackdown defined in this article as: Sudden and dramatic increases in police officer presence, sanctions, and threats of apprehension either for specific offenses or for all offenses in specific places.), some of the elements that are necessary to make it successful are missing. The elements I am concerned about are as follows:
1. There was no prior problem analysis. There were meetings with the public, and anecdotal stories were collected, but a careful thoughtful analysis was never presented.
2. I haven’t see the other responses that are going to take place to ensure longer-term gains.
3. I’m concerned that “public support” will not take into consideration all communities within Madison and that there are some serious race issues involved that are not being discussed.
In addition to these concerns, the article I read mentions many of the potential problems related to crackdowns, including:
- It has the potential to make things worse.
- It only has a short-term impact and any positive results dissipate quickly unless followed up with longer-term responses.
- It don’t address any of the physical or social conditions that often contribute to crime and disorder.
- It may result in displacement of crime. (Something we do quite a bit in Madison.)
- It could impact the police-community relations in a negative way. In some places it has resulted in riots, having a disparate impact on the poor and people of color and can have long lasting negative impacts with youth in the community increasing their hostility towards police which impact carries forward to future generations.
- Potential for abuse of police authority. This can be either from overzealousness, doing so just to get overtime pay or when officers not familiar with the area are involved they may not be able to distinguish between the people who are part of the bigger problem and others. (Tho I have to say, isn’t zero tolerance, zero tolerance?)
- Crackdowns are expensive. Not just in overtime, but in booking prisoners, processing arrest information, processing in the legal system and equipment and training costs.
- Increasing workload on court and corrections system.
- Opportunity costs due to diverted resources.
Finally, studies show that crackdowns have very mixed results.
- Of the 45 studies, 25 crackdowns were effective, 13 were not and 7 had mixed results.
- Of the 29 studies that looked at displacement 12 experienced displacement and 14 said they didn’t, 3 were inconclusive.
One has to ask, is this really an effective policing effort and a cost-effective expense for the taxpayers?
