The Extent and Correlates of Public Support for Deterrence Reforms and Hot Spots Policing

Abstract

As one approach to prison downsizing and criminal justice reform, scholars recommend altering the nature of policing by reallocating resources toward policing and increasing sentinel patrols and hot spots interventions. Public attitudes toward these reforms are unknown. In the current police crisis, shifting policies in ways disfavored by the public can impact police‐community relations, especially among those disproportionately affected. The current study uses survey data from a nationally representative sample of Americans to evaluate whether the public is receptive to the suggested reforms. Our results indicate that the majority of the general public believes policing is more cost‐effective than incarceration and supports a focus on sentinel patrols and crime hot spots, although there is less support for hot spots policing among blacks, Hispanics, and lower income individuals. The hot spots policing strategy most preferred is situational prevention, and the least supported is aggressive order‐maintenance policing.

The American racial divide in fear of the police

“…Thus, in addition to the practical difficulties of disbanding or defunding the police (Lum et al., 2021), it appears that public support for doing either is not strong. Past research found that although most Black Americans believe officers discriminate on the basis of race (Ramirez, 2015), they also believe policing is a cost‐effective way to control crime and want police patrols (Metcalfe & Pickett, 2018; Saad, 2020). Clearly, however, reforms are needed to reduce racial bias in policing and police mistreatment of civilians.…”

What does the public want police to do during pandemics? A national experiment

“…However, only a minority supported precautionary policies that would reduce police patrols—a key component of deterrence (Lum & Nagin, 2017; Nagin, Solow, & Lum, 2015)—or limit officers’ responsiveness to civilians’ calls for assistance. Prior studies have shown that Americans have great faith in the crime‐control benefits of preventive, patrol‐based policing (Metcalfe & Pickett, 2018). Additionally, policing scholars have increasingly called for police to focus less on apprehension and more on crime prevention through focused patrol and service (Lum & Nagin, 2017).…”

Mass support for proposals to reshape policing depends on the implications for crime and safety

“…Third, it is possible that the resource reductions or re-allocations explicit in politically salient proposals to reshape policing were perceived as too extreme and potentially threatening to the roles police play in crime control and order maintenance. Fear of crime has occupied a central role as a source of public support for police authority and punitive policy in prior 6 empirical work (e.g., Block, 1971;Costelloe, Chiricos, and Gertz, 2009;Singer, Chouhy, Lehmann, Walzak, Gertz, and Biglin, 2019;Tyler and Weber, 1982), and more recent work has also shown the mass public believes police are a cost-effective source of crime prevention (e.g., Metcalfe and Pickett, 2018). Public opposition to abolition and defunding might therefore be explained by elevated fears of crime during a period that saw both a significant increase in homicides and widespread beliefs that crime was rising.…”