Assessing the Impact of Increased Police Officer Presence In Micro Hot Spots

Abstract

Crime reduction is a central role of policing in America. To better facilitate an understanding of a hot spot policing approach, the current study defines the specific policing style and how it was used throughout the duration of the project. With this in mind, the Kansas City Missouri Police Department (KCPD) implemented a hot spot policing strategy in the East Patrol Division, which is known for its high volume of calls for service and violent crimes year around. This effort was part of the Kansas City Strategies for Policing Innovation (SPI) that ran from 2017 through 2019. The study specifically sought to provide enough evidence to support this policing style beyond the finality of the project. Sixteen micro hot spots were identified using two years of crime and call for service data from the KCPD. Randomization assigned the hot spots to the treatment or control areas. Specifically included in the thesis are five treatment areas alongside six control areas. The treatment period consisted of a 60-day period with two different shift times for officers deployed to the treatment areas. Analysis and Results are discussed to better understand the impact of the intervention. Policy implications and future research are also discussed.