Systematic Review of the Effects of Problem-Oriented Policing on Crime and Disorder, 1985-2006 (ICPSR 31701)

Version Date: Aug 22, 2011 View help for published

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Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
David Weisburd, Hebrew University; Cody Telep, George Mason University; Joshua Hinkle, University of Maryland; John Eck, University of Cincinnati

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR31701.v1

Version V1

Summary View help for Summary

The purpose of this study was to synthesize the extant problem-oriented policing evaluation literature and assess the effects of problem-oriented policing on crime and disorder. Several strategies were used to perform an exhaustive search for literature fitting the eligibility criteria. Researchers performed a keyword search on an array of online abstract databases, reviewed the bibliographies of past reviews of problem-oriented policing (POP), performed forward searches for works that have cited seminal problem-oriented policing studies, performed hand searches of leading journals in the field, searched the publication of several research and professional agencies, and emailed the list of studies meeting the eligibility criteria to leading policing scholars knowledgeable in the the area of problem-oriented policing to ensure relevant studies had not been missed. Both Part 1 (Pre-Post Study Data, n=52) and Part 2 (Quasi-Experimental Study Data, n=19) include variables in the following categories: reference information, nature and description of selection site, problems, etc., nature and description of selection of comparison group or period, unit of analysis, sample size, methodological type, description of the POP intervention, statistical test(s) used, reports of significance, effect size/power, and conclusions drawn by the authors.

Citation View help for Citation

Weisburd, David, Telep, Cody, Hinkle, Joshua, and Eck, John. Systematic Review of the Effects of Problem-Oriented Policing on Crime and Disorder, 1985-2006. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2011-08-22. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR31701.v1

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Funding View help for Funding

United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. National Institute of Justice (2007-IJ-CX-0045)

Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage

Smallest Geographic Unit View help for Smallest Geographic Unit

none

Distributor(s) View help for Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research

Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)

1985 -- 2006

Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection

2006

Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes

These data were collected as part of a systematic review for the Campbell Crime and Justice Coordinating Group (CCJG). Further information about the Campbell Collaboration and the Campbell Crime and Justice Group can be found at the Campbell Collaboration Web site.

Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose

The purpose of this study was to synthesize the extant problem-oriented policing evaluation literature and assess the effects of problem-oriented policing on crime and disorder.

Study Design View help for Study Design

Several strategies were used to perform an exhaustive search for literature fitting the eligibility criteria.

  • First, a keyword search was performed on an array of online abstract databases.
  • Second, researchers reviewed the bibliographies of past reviews of problem-oriented policing.
  • Third, researchers performed forward searches for works that have cited seminal problem-oriented policing studies.
  • Fourth, researchers performed hand searches of leading journals in the field.
  • Fifth, researchers searched the publications of several research and professional agencies.
  • Sixth, after finishing the above searches, researchers emailed the list of studies meeting the eligibility criteria to leading policing scholars knowledgeable in the the area of problem-oriented policing to ensure relevant studies had not been missed.

Prior to analysis, the eligible studies were divided into two categories by study design Pre-Post Study Data (Part 1, n=52), and Quasi-Experiment Study Data (Part 2, n=19).

Sample View help for Sample

Eligible studies Part 1 (Pre-Post Study Data) and Part 2 (Quasi-Experimental Study Data), had to meet three criteria:

  1. The SARA (Scanning, Analysis, Response, Assessment) model was used for a problem-oriented policing intervention.
  2. At least one crime or disorder outcome was reported with sufficient data to generate an effect size.
  3. The study may deal with problem areas or problem people.

Eligible studies for Part 2 (Quasi-Experimental Study Data) also had to included a comparison group.

Time Method View help for Time Method

Cross-sectional

Universe View help for Universe

All evaluations of problem-oriented policing published before 2006.

Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation

outcome measure

Data Source View help for Data Source

The publications of the following groups were searched:

  • Center for Problem-Oriented Policing (Tiley Award and Herman Goldstein Award submissions, Problem-Specific Guides for Police)
  • Institute for Law and Justice
  • Community Policing Consortium (electronic library)
  • Vera Institute for Justice (policing publications)
  • Rand Corporation (public safety publications)
  • Police Foundation

The following agencies' publications were searched and the agencies were contacted if necessary:

  • Home Office (United Kingdom)
  • Australian Institute of Criminology
  • Swedish Police Service
  • Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police
  • Royal Canadian Mounted Police
  • Finnish Police (Polsi)
  • Danish National Police (Politi)
  • The Netherlands Police (Politie)
  • New Zealand Police

The bibliographies of the following sources on problem-oriented policing were reviewed:

  • Braga (2002). Problem-oriented policing and crime prevention.
  • National Research Council (2004). Fairness and effectiveness in policing: The evidence.
  • Mazerolle and Ransley (2005). Third party policing.
  • Mazerolle, Soole, and Rombouts (2005). Drug law enforcement: The evidence.
  • Scott (2000). Problem-oriented policing: Reflections on the first 20 years.

The following databases were searched:

  • Criminal Justice Periodical Index
  • Criminal Justice Abstracts
  • National Criminal Justice Reference Services (NCJRS) Abstracts
  • Sociological Abstracts
  • Social Science Abstracts (SocialSciAbs)
  • Social Science Citation Index
  • Dissertation Abstracts
  • Government Publications Office Monthly Catalog (GPO Monthly)
  • Police Executive Research Foru (PERF) database of problem-oriented policing examples (POPNet)
  • C2 SPECTR (The Campbell Collaboration Social, Psychological, Educational and Criminological Trials Register
  • Australian Criminology Database (CINCH)
  • Centrex (Central Police Training and Development Authority) -- UK National Police Library

The following keywords were used to search the databases listed above (in all cases where "police" is listed researchers also used "policing" and "law enforcement"):

  1. "Problem-oriented policing"
  2. Police AND "problem solving"
  3. SARA model
  4. Police AND SARA
  5. Police AND scanning
  6. Police AND analysis
  7. Police AND "problem identification"
  8. Police AND identify AND problem
  9. Police AND "situational crime prevention"
  10. POP

Method of Data Collection View help for Method of Data Collection

aggregate data, text

Mode of Data Collection View help for Mode of Data Collection

Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables

Both Part 1 (Pre-Post Study Data) and Part 2 (Quasi-Experimental Study Data) include variables in the following categories:

  • Reference information (title, authors, publication, etc.)
  • Nature and description of selection site, problems, etc.
  • Nature and description of selection of comparison group or period
  • Unit of analysis
  • Sample size
  • Methodological type
  • Description of the POP (problem-oriented policing) intervention
  • Dosage intensity and type
  • Implementation difficulties
  • Statistical test(s) used
  • Reports of statistical significance (if any)
  • Effect size/power (if any)
  • Conclusions drawn by the authors

Response Rates View help for Response Rates

Not applicable.

Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales

none

Original Release Date View help for Original Release Date

2011-08-22

Version History View help for Version History

2018-02-15 The citation of this study may have changed due to the new version control system that has been implemented. The previous citation was:
  • Weisburd, David, Cody Telep, Joshua Hinkle, and John Eck. Systematic Review of the Effects of Problem-Oriented Policing on Crime and Disorder, 1985-2006. ICPSR31701-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2011-08-22. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR31701.v1

2011-08-22 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

  • Standardized missing values.
  • Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.

Weight View help for Weight

none

Notes

  • The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.

NACJD logo

This dataset is maintained and distributed by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), the criminal justice archive within ICPSR. NACJD is primarily sponsored by three agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice: the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.