David Weisburd
Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, George Mason University
Key Findings
- For crime markets involving drugs and prostitution, hot spots policing does not displace (shift) crime to nearby areas.
- Hot spots crime policing efforts diffuse (spread) crime control to benefit nearby areas.
Description
In the article, “Does Crime Just Move Around The Corner? A Controlled Study of Spatial Displacement and Diffusion of Crime Control Benefits,” Weisburd and his co-authors examine how hot spots policing can displace (shift) or diffuse (spread) crime into surrounding neighborhoods. The researchers collected data from the Jersey City Police Department with a focus on two sites with street-level crime where police were intervening and the areas around those sites. The researchers conducted social and field observations and interviewed police officers as part of the study. The results showed that for crime markets involving drugs and prostitution, hot spots policing does not displace crime to nearby areas. The researchers also found that hot spots crime policing efforts diffuse crime control to benefit nearby areas. The authors concluded that although hot spots policing has been shown to prevent crime, there are individuals who work around policing to conduct crime.