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EXPLORING THE ROLE OF THE POLICING IN CRIME PREVENTIONEXPLORING THE ROLE OF THE POLICING IN CRIME PREVENTION(Features o f the Jamaican Experience)(Features o f the Jamaican Experience)
10TH INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRIME COLLOQUIUM
Cape Town, South Africa p ,
Dormah B. HarrisonAssistant Commissioner of PoliceAssistant Commissioner of Police
Jamaica Constabulary Force
[email protected](876) 809-2130
PRESENTATION INTENTPRESENTATION INTENT
1. To show that effective policing (as against law enforcement) is primarily concern with the prevention of crime, violence and disorder (police would rather
t th h i t i ti t )prevent than having to investigate)Reactive responses are means to an end – effective policing is the absence of police doing policing
Law enforcement is 10%‐15% of what police do
The other 90% ‐ 85% are done to reduce the need for law enforcement
2 To explore the extent to which advanced contemporary2. To explore the extent to which advanced contemporary concept and theories of policing explains/informs the operational dimensions of policingoperational dimensions of policing
Definition of Crime PreventionDefinition of Crime Prevention
Crime prevention comprises strategies and measuresCrime prevention comprises strategies and measures that seek to reduce the risk of crimes occurring, and their potential harmful effects on individuals and psociety, including fear of crime, by intervening to influence their multiple causes.(2002 United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Crime)
Police Mission and Policing ObjectivesPolice Mission and Policing Objectives
Mission:Mission: To serve, protect and reassure, and to detect & prevent crime and disorder
Police is perhaps the most visible face of government, one that most people recognise and g , p p gencounter with frequency.
They also have special and awesome powers asThey also have special and awesome powers, as they are authorised to use force in their dealings with the publicwith the public.
Police Mission and Policing ObjectivesPolice Mission and Policing Objectives
Policing is primarily shaped by two public expectations. g p y p y p p1. First, the police is called on to deal with crime and disorder,
preventing them when possible, and to bring to account those who disobey the lawthose who disobey the law.
2. Second, the public expects their police to be impartial, producing justice through the fair, effective, and restrained use of their authorityuse of their authority.
The standards by which the public judges police success in meeting these expectations have become more g pexacting and challenging, and police agencies today must find ways to respond in an effective, affordable, and legitimate aand legitimate way.
The Changing Face and Structure of Policing g g g(Private vs. Public Policing)
The nature of policing globally is changingp g g y g g
The growth in private policing reflects growing demand for security and private agents.
Fear and concern for crime (violence and theft) is causing more residents and companies to turn to personal crime prevention methods to protect their lives and property. (e.g. gated p p p y ( g gcommunities, vehicle tracking systems, close protection etc.)
As private policing has become more prevalent, there is a h i t ti f th l f li i i t dchanging expectation of the role of police in our society and delineates between private and public police functions.
In the context of a rise in demand for security and the rapid y pgrowth of small and diverse security activity, it remains difficult to distinguish private and public police activities.
Private policing, in comparison to public policing, has been described as passive policing instead of active policing, or as proactive and preventative rather than reactiveproactive and preventative rather than reactive
Where as, public police generally react to the crime, private police through surveillance and presentation are p g pseen/considered to prevent crime.
(Wilson 1994)
Generally, as both crime and the fear of crime have increased in citizens have become more concerned about their personal welfare and the protection of their properties. p p p p
In response, the private policing industry is growing and changing in form and service capabilities.
Fundamental to these changes is a change to the model orFundamental to these changes is a change to the model or paradigm for police services. Policing is no longer perceived as solely a government responsibility but as also a private endeavor. People are more willing to take responsibility for their own security and more able to initiate their own policingsecurity and more able to initiate their own policing services.
Features of the Jamaican Policing EnvironmentThe current policing environment (Context)The current policing environment (Context)Active gangs engaged in
Organised crime including – Illegal drugs, gun andOrganised crime including Illegal drugs, gun and ammunition trafficking, inter & intra gang violence, extortion, money laundering, etc.
Unstructured/unplanned communities mainly in unban cities/town
Ci i di & i f h liCitizen distrust & perception of the policePolice are corrupt
Police do not respect human rights & dignityPolice do not respect human rights & dignity
Features of the Jamaican PolicingFeatures of the Jamaican Policing Environment
The current policing environment (Context)A culture of violence (Culture of the street‐ display of violence is often a defense/survival mechanism)violence is often a defense/survival mechanism)High rate of violent crimes
HomicideHomicideShootingsProperty crimeCriminal gangs willing to challenge the Security Forces
Serious Violent Crimes 2006 ‐ 2011
2011
Serious Violent Crimes 2006 2011
??
2008
2009
2010??
2006
2007
2008
0 500 1000 1500 2000
2006
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Shooting 1340 1449 1528 1666 1517 1327Murder 1340 1583 1619 1683 1442 1125
Not yet established
Context (Murder Assessment 2009 ‐2011
D ti
Criminal not gang
Mob
0 500 1000
Gang related
Domestic
0 500 1000
Gang related
DomesticCriminal not gang
MobNot yet
establishedg g
2009 882 69 642 0 902010 398 59 592 0 3932011 553 101 380 14 772011 553 101 380 14 77
2011
Acquisitory Crimes 2006 ‐ 2011
2008
2009
2010
2006
2007
2008
0 1000 2000 3000 4000
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 20112006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Larceny 112 99 326 510 382 375Break‐ins 1301 1492 2452 3795 3783 3433Robbery 2009 1600 2660 3024 2851 3043Robbery 2009 1600 2660 3024 2851 3043
Firearms & Ammunition Recovered 2009‐2011
20000
10000
15000
0
5000
20112010
2009
2011 2010 2009
Firearms 497 687 560A iti 7200 19865 5112Ammunition 7200 19865 5112
Police Culture vs Police ClimatePolice Culture vs. Police Climate Police Culture
l
Police Climate
d ff l d hPara‐military
Command & control
Code of silence
Strong and effective leadership
Transformation focused (structure, systems & procedures )Code of silence
Centralised authority
Distrust for authority
( , y p )
Strong performance & accountability systems
st ust o aut o ty
Traditional (hard) policing style
Intolerance towards corruption & misconduct
Community Policing philosophyNobel cause policing
Us and them
Community Policing philosophy & style directed
Emphasis on education, training and development
Policing Strategies/FocusPolicing Strategies/Focus
The decisions and actions of police officers are situated within a larger organisational and community contexts, and they affect the quality of policing.
Organisations exist in order to define the roles of their membersOrganisations exist in order to define the roles of their members and regularise the activities of individuals who fill them.Likewise, neighborhood and city‐level factors affect both the decisions of individual police officers and features of theirdecisions of individual police officers and features of their departments.
Police‐citizen encounters are situated in a neighborhood context that seems to independently affect how they arecontext that seems to independently affect how they are conducted, and community factors affect police resource allocation decisions and patrol activities.
The more focused and specific the strategies of the The more focused and specific the strategies of the police, the more they are tailored to the problems they seek to address, the more effective the they will be in controlling crime and disorder.
Research on police effectiveness in attacking chronic concentrations of crime, widely known as “hot spots,” has found that well‐managed investigations and crackdowns can suppress crime deter its futurecrackdowns can suppress crime, deter its future reappearance, and avoid simply displacing a similar number of crimes elsewherenumber of crimes elsewhere
REPLY OR SUBSEQUENT REFERENCE TO THIS MUNICATION SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO THE
MMISSIONER OF POLICE AND
JAMAICA CONSTABULARY FORCE POLICE CONTROL CENTREMMISSIONER OF POLICE AND
TO ANY OFFICER BY NAME
THE FOLLOWING REFERENCE QUOTED.
No. ---------
103 OLD HOPE ROAD KINGSTON 6
JAMAICA
February 20, 2012
Assistant Commissioner of Police Operations RETURNS OF OPERATION, DEMONSTRATION & FIREARMS RECOVERED FROM 8:00am, 13/01/2012 TO 8:00am, 20/02/2012_________________________________________ Reference to the above caption, kindly see returns as under No. of Raid/Operations – 532 No. of Demonstration – 1 No. of Firearms Recovered – 15 (Spl. Ops/Raid – 3, Fatal Shooting – 9, Patrol - 2 , Information - 1 No. of Robberies – 6 (Manchester (2), St. Catherine S (1) , Trelawny (1), St. Andrew C (2) No. of Service Vehicle Accidents – 4 ………….…………………….. Superintendent of Police Control
Two widely discussed alternatives to the standard ymodel of policing: community and problem‐oriented policing.
P bl i t d li i t d i h t t t thProblem‐oriented policing stands in sharp contrast to the traditional model because of its focus on developing highly localised responses to the diverse problems that plague diff t itidifferent communities.Community policing always involves some form of public involvement, frequently in the identification of priority problems and often with some role for the community and for city service agencies in helping solve them (Police/Citizen Partnership)
Hot spots Policing & Crime PreventionHot spots Policing & Crime Prevention
Crime scholars and practitioners have pointed to the Crime scholars and practitioners have pointed to the potential benefits of focusing crime prevention efforts on crime places.
A number of studies suggest that crime is not spread evenly across city landscapes.
Rather, there is significant clustering of crime in small places, or “hot spots,” that generate half of all criminal events
(Pierce et al. 1988; Sherman et al. 1989; Weisburd et al. 1992).
Unlike most innovations in policing, which are normally Unlike most innovations in policing, which are normally based on increasing operational and management efficiency, the emergence of hot spots policing can be traced directly to emerging theoretical perspectives in criminology that highlight the importance of places in
d t di i ( )understanding crime (Weisburd and Braga 2003).
The consideration of such place‐oriented strategies in crime control policy arose from research suggesting thatcrime control policy arose from research suggesting that micro‐level variation in crime existed within communities.communities.
The study of crime events at places is influenced and y psupported by three complementary theoretical perspectives:
1. RATIONAL CHOICE, 2. ROUTINE ACTIVITIES, AND 3. ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMINOLOGY.
Understanding the characteristics of places, such as facilities, is important as these attributes give rise t th t iti th t ti l ff d illto the opportunities that rational offenders will encounter during their routine activities
(Brantingham and Brantingham 1991). ( g g )
Environmental criminology explores the distribution and Environmental criminology explores the distribution and interaction of targets, offenders, and opportunities across time and space;
Although this perspective is primarily concerned with applied crime prevention, it suggest that “environmental criminology’s basic contribution lay in its call for a change in the unit of analysis from persons to places”to places
Situational Crime PreventionSituational Crime PreventionThe approach focuses on reducing crime by designing safer environments It shifts the crime prevention focus away from merely trying to deter offenders through punishment and rehabilitation, and g p ,toward convincing offenders that committing a particular crime in a particular place at a particular time is not worthwhile. In five main ways it does so by:In five main ways it does so by: 1. Increasing the effort to offend 2. Increasing the risk to offenders of getting caught g g g g3. Reducing the rewards of offending 4. Reducing provocations to offend 5. Removing excuses for offending
Situational Crime PreventionSituational Crime PreventionThe approach focuses on reducing crime by designing safer environments In five main ways it does so by: 1 Increasing the effort to offend1. Increasing the effort to offend
(Aggressive road policing, curfews, cordon & search)
2. Increasing the risk to offenders of getting caught(Covert & overt police presence)
3. Reducing the rewards of offending (Taking the profit out of crime e g asset forfeiture)(Taking the profit out of crime e.g. asset forfeiture)
4. Reducing provocations to offend (Targeted foot & vehicle patrols)
5. Removing excuses for offending
Causes of Crime & ViolenceCauses of Crime & ViolenceNeighbourhoods vary in their experiences of crime and victimisation.
The reasons include both immediate and long‐term factors Neighbourhoods vary in the g y
on‐going levels of problem behaviour, including crime, the presence of gangs or crews, and the availability and/or visibility of drugs.presence of risky circumstances that might lead to crime, such as the number of unsupervised and idle youth, in the number of unemployed residents, in the levels of physical and social disorder on the streets, and in opportunities for theft. levels of protective factors including opportunities for positivelevels of protective factors including opportunities for positive recreational opportunities for youth, in the resources available to combat crime and disorder, and in informal social control and supervision.
Causes of Crime & Violence“The Jamaican Experience”Among the factors noted as giving rise to crime & g g gviolence in Jamaica (Report of the National Committee on Crime and Violence 2001)
Destabilized family structure (including poor parenting)Destabilized family structure (including poor parenting)Urban driftEconomic instability (including high unemployment)Drug cultureHigh level of illiteracyEmergence of non‐traditional/parallel leadership withinEmergence of non‐traditional/parallel leadership within communitiesNegative perceptions re: access to security & justicePoor relation between police and community
There is growing consensus among policy makers and law g g g p yenforcement professionals (and the wider criminal justice system), that crime and violence in not simply a security i b t th t it h d i l d i t dissue but that it has deep social and economic roots and consequences
It is understood that strengthening the policeIt is understood that strengthening the police force/service, and the justice system must go hand‐in‐hand with violence prevention policies that touch a wide array of sectors – health, education, social protection & community involvement in the development and enabling community safety and securitysafety and security
Historically, initial response to problems of rising crime Historically, initial response to problems of rising crime and violence consisted of tough‐on‐crime approaches
a focus on arrest as the key indicators of success, paying less attention to the underlying risk factors of such crime and violence
Crackdown on crime and violence can generate theCrackdown on crime and violence can generate the opposite of the intended effects – the distrust of the police created in areas of high crime rates, hinderspolice created in areas of high crime rates, hinders investigations
Crime Prevention: A Law Enforcement ResponseCrime Prevention: A Law Enforcement Response
In response to a crime epidemic afflicting Latin America p p gand the Caribbean since the early 1990s, several countries in the region including Jamaica, have resorted to using heavily armed police or/and military units toto using heavily‐armed police or/and military units to physically retake territories controlled de facto by criminal or insurgent groups. After a period of resumed state control, the heavily‐armed units hand law enforcement functions in the t k t it i t th l li f ith thretaken territories to the regular police forces, with the
hope that the territories and their populations will remain under the control of the state.
Response to Unban Crime & ViolenceResponse to Unban Crime & Violence“The Concept of Clear, hold and build”
When dealing with urban areas pervaded by illicit economies, violent criminality, and inadequate state presence, the government needs to pursue two interrelated objectives.
First, it must better establish its own physical presence.
Second, the government must realign the population’s allegiance toward the state and away f h lfrom the non‐state criminal entities.
Maintaining security after initial clearingMaintaining security after initial clearing operations is, at times, even more challenging than conducting the initial clearing operations.than conducting the initial clearing operations.
unlike the heavily‐armed forces, traditional police forces, especially if designed as communityforces, especially if designed as community police, have the capacity to develop trust by the community and ultimately to focus on crime prevention, developing such trust often takes a long time.
To develop the community’s trust, regular police forces To develop the community s trust, regular police forces need to conduct frequent on‐foot patrols with intensive non‐threatening interactions with the population and minimise the use of force.
Sufficiently robust patrol units need to be placed in designated beats for substantial amounts of time
Ideally, police maintain not only local police b i b d d bl i dpresence, but community‐based and problem‐oriented
policing
Establishing oversight mechanisms, including joint police‐g g , g j pcitizen committees, further facilitates building community trust in the police.
After the disruption of the established criminal order, street crime often significantly rises and both the heavily‐armed and community‐police units often struggle to contain itand community‐police units often struggle to contain it.
The increase in street crime alienates the population of the retaken territory from the state. y
Thus, developing a capacity to address street crime is critical.
Addressing street crime, especially when through Addressing street crime, especially when through problem‐oriented policing approaches, also often tends to be relatively simple and inexpensive.
preventing at least some street crime through such measures allows police forces to concentrate on more complex street and organised crimeand organised crime.
community police units tend to be vulnerable (especially initially) to efforts by displaced criminals to reoccupy the cleared territories.
Cleared territories often experience not only a peace dividend, but also a peace deficit—in the rise new
i i (i dditi t t t i )serious crime (in addition to street crime).
Community police forces often struggle to cope with such crime especially as it is frequently linked to legalsuch crime, especially as it is frequently linked to legal businesses outside of their area of operation.
Such new crime often receives little to no attention inSuch new crime often receives little to no attention in the design of the operations to retake territories from criminal groups. g p
But without developing an effective response to such
new crime, the public safety gains from the clearing
operations can be completely lost.
Instead of countering the causes of illegal economiesInstead of countering the causes of illegal economies
and violent organised crime through strengthening
effective and accountable state presence governmenteffective and accountable state presence, government
intervention may only alter the form of criminality and
displace existing problems to other areasdisplace existing problems to other areas.
One of the acute dilemmas encountered by law One of the acute dilemmas encountered by law enforcement in the retaken territory is whether or not, how quickly, and in what form to suppress illegal economies that may exist in the retaken territory.
Reasons may include: leakage of illicit flows to other locales,
a belief that the profitability of illicit profits will dissuade inner cities residents from switching to legal economies andcities residents from switching to legal economies, and
a fear that the persistence of illegal economies will pull in new violence and perpetuate anti‐social and anti‐state values among the inner cities residents.
However, suppressing local illegal economies in urban However, suppressing local illegal economies in urban spaces comes with significant costs, such as:
massive drops in household income of residents,
new alienation of the population from the state,
expansion of criminal activity and the rise of extortion, and
the dissipation of law enforcement focus.
Integrated Approach to Crime Prevention and Safety Reinforced
Generating legal alternative livelihoods requires that theGenerating legal alternative livelihoods requires that the economic development strategy addresses all the structural drivers of illegal economic production.
Beyond providing for security and the rule of law, such a comprehensive approach requires that stable property i ht b t bli h d t i ditrights be established, access to microcredit developed, access to education and health care expanded, and crucial infrastructure deficiencies p ,redressed.
Often the most challenging problem for economic development in such situations is to generate sustainable legal jobs.
Integrated Approach to Crime Prevention and Safety Reinforced
Limited isolated discreet interventions even whenLimited, isolated, discreet interventions, even when responsive to the wishes of the local community, are particularly ineffective in changing socioeconomic dynamics in a marginalised community.
They do not have the capacity to alter basic social tt t j b i th it dpatterns or generate jobs in the community, and
therefore, do not reduce crime.
If they amount largely to patronage hand‐outs they canIf they amount largely to patronage hand outs, they can generate complex negative equilibrium between criminal and official political patrons or a crime‐pays type of mentality.
To be effective, and win public support, strategies to To be effective, and win public support, strategies to fight crime and violence must:
focus on people,
on rebuilding community structures through which to deploy policies and programme, and
b ildi th l th it f liti l l d hi hi hon rebuilding the moral authority of political leadership, which must take and pursue tough and sometime unpopular decisions
Thank your for AttentionThank your for AttentionThe End
Any Questions
Comments to :
Dormah B. HarrisonAssistant Commissioner of Police
Jamaica Constabulary [email protected]