̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Cambridgeshire Constabulary

Policing: two officers ‘on the beat’ prevent 86 assaults and save thousands in prison costs

fpjl2 — Tue, 14 Jun 2016 15:05:10 +0000

New research shows that targeting each crime ‘hot spot’ in a city with 21 extra minutes of daily foot patrolling by Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) could save the justice system hundreds of thousands of pounds through prevented crime.

Working with Cambridgeshire Constabulary to conduct a year-long experiment in Peterborough, researchers from the Institute of Criminology at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge randomly allocated 34 crime-prone areas to get 21 minutes of extra PCSO patrols a day.

They compared offences before and after the experiment between 38 hot spots with no increased patrol and the 34 with the increase using the Cambridge Crime Harm Index: a new tool that measures “harm caused to victims” by modelling severities in sentencing for different offences, rather than just totting up overall crime figures.

̽��ֱ��research team calculated that targeted patrol time equal to two full-time PCSOs would prevent 86 assaults a year, or incidents of the equivalent crime ‘harm value’, saving potential costs to the public of eight years of imprisonment.

̽��ֱ��findings, published in the Journal of Experimental Criminology, suggest that every £10 spent on targeted foot patrols prevents a further £56 in prison costs – a five-to-one return on investment.

While modern policing is characterised by a “reactive, fire-brigade” approach, usually vehicle-based, the researchers say their evidence strengthens support for the historic “bobbies on the beat” mode of policing focused on crime-prone areas.

“By working with us to conduct this experiment, Cambridgeshire Constabulary has set the standard for cost-effectiveness in policing,” said study co-author Professor Lawrence Sherman, Director of the Cambridge Institute of Criminology and its Jerry Lee Centre for Experimental Criminology.

“Any other investment in policing can now be challenged to match the benefits of foot patrols in preventing the equivalent of either 86 assaults, or six burglaries, or six sexual crimes.”

‘Hot spots’ are small urban areas, streets or intersections, where there is a concentration of crime – usually offences such as theft, burglary, violence and criminal damage.

During the experiment, 72 of Peterborough’s ‘hottest’ hot spots randomly received either standard patrols (the control) or an average extra 21 minutes PCSO foot patrol per day (the treatment) over the course of a year.

In the ‘treated’ hot spots, these additional patrols – combined with vehicle patrols by Police Constables (PCs) these areas already received – amounted to an average increase of 56% in daily patrol time.

GPS devices embedded in the radios of both PCs and PCSOs were used to track time spent in each location, a precise measure of the “treatment dosage” of police presence.

̽��ֱ��researchers found that, on average per hot spot, 39% fewer crime incidents were reported by victims and 20% fewer 999 emergency calls to the police occurred in the 34 treated hot spots compared with the 38 control hot spots.

̽��ֱ��extra 21 minutes of PCSO time per day for each of the hot spots amounts to 3,094 hours across all treatment areas, roughly equivalent to two fulltime PCSOs – no more than £50,000 on current salaries.

̽��ֱ��Cambridge Crime Harm Index analysis suggests that, across all 34 treated hot spots, the equivalent of these two extra officers prevented crime amounting to 2,914 days – around eight years – of imprisonment, at a potential cost to the public of £280,000 under English sentencing guidelines.

“ ̽��ֱ��use of the Cambridge Crime Harm Index and the Peterborough cost-effectiveness results provides a like-for-like metric to challenge those who demand more PC or PCSO time in patrolling schools, low-crime neighbourhoods, or traffic accident hot spots,” Sherman said.

“This study should give both Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables a benchmark for evaluating any other uses of police time other than hot spots patrols.”

PCSOs are civilian members of police staff, used to bolster police presence and support PCs. They have no power of arrest, and cannot investigate crimes, but have specific powers to deal with minor public order offices – what’s known as “soft policing”.

Budgetary constraints in British policing mean PCSOs are the only officers who now conduct proactive and visible foot patrols. During the experiment, the PCSOs were told to concentrate on being visible to the exclusion of any other task.

̽��ֱ��researchers’ experimental evidence showed that every additional PCSO visit per day to the treatment hot spots decreased calls for service by approximately 34, with the number of crimes declining by around four.

“ ̽��ֱ��experiment suggests that the number of visits to each hot spot may matter more than the total minutes – as if each time the police arrive they renew their deterrent effect on crime,” said Dr Barak Ariel of the Lee Centre of Experimental Criminology, who was lead researcher on the Peterborough experiment.

Sherman says the latest results show that, if deployed tactically and proactively, ‘soft’ policing can achieve comparable crime reductions to the ‘hard’ threat of immediate physical arrest.

“These findings suggest that the probability of encountering an officer is more important than the powers that officer has, and that the frequency and duration of proactive patrolling deserves far more attention,” said Sherman.

“More experiments like this one can produce an even more general estimate of the value of foot patrol activity, to make that value the ‘gold standard to beat’ in selecting cost-effective policing strategies,” he added.

Professor Lorraine Mazerolle of the ̽��ֱ�� of Queensland and Editor of the Journal of Experimental Criminology said the Peterborough experiment showed that “the deterrent role of police and PCSOs patrolling crime-harm hotspots is now indisputable: the police can, and do, prevent crime, they just need to be appropriately deployed to crime-harm hotspots.”

Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hopkins said: “We’re pleased to have worked with the Cambridge Institute of Criminology to conduct this research and we welcome the outcomes.

“We’re keen to look at the findings in further detail and explore how they could help to influence our future policing plan.”

̽��ֱ��results of a major criminology experiment in Peterborough suggest that investing in proactive PCSO foot patrols targeting crime ‘hot spots’ could yield a more than five-to-one return: with every £10 spent saving £56 in prison costs.

̽��ֱ��use of the Cambridge Crime Harm Index and the Peterborough cost-effectiveness results provides a like-for-like metric to challenge those who demand more PC or PCSO time in patrolling schools, low-crime neighbourhoods, or traffic accident hot spots

Lawrence Sherman

West Midlands Police

PCSOs from West Midlands Police on patrol

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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Major institutions across the county declare their support for diversity by taking the Equality Pledge

pbh25 — Thu, 26 Nov 2015 16:04:45 +0000

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Cambridge City Council have underlined their support for diversity and equality across the city and beyond by taking the Equality Pledge.

Joining them are leading organisations from across the county including councils and emergency services.

̽��ֱ��Equality Pledge is being made today during the national pre-launch celebration event for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans History Month 2016 which is being hosted in Cambridge.

Setting out how organisations in the county value diversity, the Equality Pledge states:

“We believe in the dignity of all people and their right to respect and equality of opportunity. We value the strength that comes with difference and the positive contribution that diversity brings to our community. Our aspiration is for Cambridge and the wider region to be safe, welcoming and inclusive.”

Eilis Ferran, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Institutional and International Relations at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, said: “Diversity and equality play a crucial role in sustaining the ̽��ֱ��’s academic excellence. With more than 10,000 employees the ̽��ֱ�� is a microcosm of Cambridgeshire’s diverse population and by taking the Equality Pledge we are recognising and celebrating and supporting that diversity.

“We hope that other organisations and individuals will join us in this important initiative.”

Cllr Lewis Herbert, Leader of Cambridge City Council: “One of Cambridge’s greatest undoubted strengths as a city is its uniquely diverse nature, attracting people from all over the world, some of whom have fled persecution and intolerance elsewhere.

“By making the Equality Pledge we are clearly stating the commitment of our city to being open and welcoming to everyone who lives here, works here or visits here.”

̽��ֱ��partner institutions also signing up to the Equality Pledge are: Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, East Cambridgeshire District Council, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire, Cambridgeshire Constabulary, Huntingdonshire District Council, Fenland District Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, and South Cambridgeshire District Council, and Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service.

To make your own Equality Pledge visit: www.cambridge.gov.uk/equality-pledge. You can also show your support by Tweeting the special Twitter-friendly Equality Pledge: “Dignity. Respect. Equality. We value the strength that comes with difference & the positive contribution diversity brings”. ̽��ֱ��hashtag is: #EqualityPledge.

̽��ֱ��formal launch of the Pledge takes place tonight at 6pm at Queens’ College in Cambridge (November 26) at a special showcase event marking the pre-launch celebration for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans History Month 2016.

Image credit: Cambridge News. L-R, Kevin Coutinho of the ̽��ֱ��'s Equality and Diversity section with Eilis Ferran, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Institutional and International Relations.

̽��ֱ��new Equality Pledge is being supported by the ̽��ֱ��, local councils, health services and emergency services.

Diversity and equality play a crucial role in sustaining the ̽��ֱ��’s academic excellence.

Eilis Ferran, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Institutional and International Relations

More information:

Twitter Equality Pledge: "Dignity. Respect. Equality. We value the strength that comes with difference & the positive contribution diversity brings. #EqualityPledge."

National Pre-Launch event for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans History Month 2016: ̽��ֱ��event highlights the need to challenge homophobia and transphobia in the run-up to the month long programme of activities taking place across the UK and beyond in February. ̽��ֱ��National Pre-Launch provides an opportunity to celebrate the contribution of LGB&T communities to our society. ̽��ֱ��theme for LGB&T History Month 2016 is Religion, Belief and Philosophy. For more go to www.schools-out.org.uk.

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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