Research methods in criminal justice and criminology

¶ … Criminal Justice and Criminology

The Chicago alternative policing strategy came into effect in the year 1993. The strategy initially took place in five police district then moved to include the entire city. The need of this strategy was to revise the way police departments conducted their operation in the entire city. It is a long-term strategy where now police officers do have long-term duties in each of the 279 police units. The entire police squads in the city have training on problem solving techniques based on the steps formulated by CAPS. There are steps that any police officer needs to adhere to based on the strategy the processes are focusing on the victims, focus on the location of crime, attention given on offenders and attention given to problem solving efforts of the squad.

The policing strategy need to be supportive of the entire system in order to ensure city residents get their full services (Braga, 2005). Realization of community policing comes into perspective when the advisory committees and in beat meetings take place. Monthly meetings by the beat first took place in the five police experimental districts and became a regular phenomenon. Police department's advisory teams engaged the population in civic education in order to foster support of CAPS. The strategy in civil education includes the use of videos, brochures, television, radio, festivals, and countrywide rallies. These efforts towards implementation of CAPS aim at promoting public awareness and their participation to the strategy.

In the year 1993, CAPS implementation team composed of outreach workers, members of non-profit organizations and civilians. These teams provide assistance to beat teams and sustain meeting participation. CAPS office also supports court processes, help coordinate city services relating to CAPS, provide attorneys who work on gang and drug issues and conduct violation of code of conduct inspections. In addition, implementing problem-oriented policing into the law enforcement community requires a profound cultural shift amongst police departments. To accomplish this, officers must be convinced of POP's efficacy with data. Additionally, the principles of POP itself require amassing data about patterns of crime in various areas and conditions associated with the facilitation of crime.

However, as the literature review regarding empirical evidence on criminology research indicates, the accepted methodologies used within the discipline are highly contentious and can produce questionable results depending on the model adopted. Clinical experience models have the disadvantage of being anecdotal and relying upon possibly inaccurate folk wisdom while quantitative research results can be subject to logical errors in analysis, such as confusing correlation with causation. Despite its surge in popularity, the program faces dismissal and termed as a popular 'flavor of the month' in terms of its ability to prevent crime. Proponents call it a radical new strategy to improve day-to-day policing.

PROBLEM

Several police departments have implemented Problem-oriented policing (POP) in crime containment programs in a number of major metropolitan police departments in the United States and the United Kingdom. POP uses data-driven metrics to anticipate needed areas of crime prevention and containment. However, POP has been a controversial policy in many areas, and there has been tremendous organizational resistance in some areas to its full implementation. However, Chicago PD has embraced POP and used to cope with a wide variety of specific, crime-related issues.

LITERATURE REVIEW

According to Skogan (2006), CAPS awareness grew between the years 1996 to the year 1998. The awareness among the white population has reached a whole high of 80% while it is a belief that the percentage has grown continuously. By the end of the year 2002, 89% of the African-American population was aware of the strategy. The meetings of the team have a 60% percent attendance rate from adults within the city. Educated members of the public are more likely to know the meetings will take place as compared to those with less education. Homeowners and those residents with a long intention of staying in the neighborhoods tend to show interest in attending these meetings.

From observation, the African-American community have consistently attended meetings and participated in implementing CAP strategy as compared to other races. Researchers suggest that there are factors that have a bearing on the sustainability of beat meetings. One of those factors reflects the role of the community in the implementation of CAPS. This relates to the way information flows within the community and the level of encouragement given to the community to attend these meetings. The probability of getting information to the public concerning CAPS relates on the state of the infrastructure, the suitability of the method of transmitting information. The other factor relates to the involvement of activists.

Activists have been attending CAPS meetings on a frequent basis and their participation coupled with their involvement in educating communities boost CAPS meeting attendance. Attendance levels are highest where the needs of CAPS feature most. Attendance levels are high at places where there are poor schools, high level of criminal activities and in places where there is substandard housing. Meeting attendance are highest at places where there are concerns about the rising level of criminal activities, and where is other problems that need administrative attention. Beat meetings provide the community a chance to tender their problems, and through these meetings, communities are able to formulate strategies that help them face the said challenges.

Research further reveals that residents of these districts attend these meetings with the hope of expressing their problems freely, and need protection when they go back to their homes. Low attendance can also reflect concerns placed by people about attending beat meetings. Members of the public in Chicago fear getting involved in beat meeting because of the probability of retaliatory attacks from some elements within the neighborhood. Another reason for low attendance relates to police efforts and to the participation of activists in informing the public about CAPS strategies. Beat meetings provide the community a forum to communicate to the beat teams about their concerns on security, issues on drug circulation, and other problems. Information from beat meetings assists police units arrest drug traffickers; prevent crime from taking place and in designing policy.

However, DAC face frustrations on the way police handle matters discussed in these meetings; the team has found it difficult to translate those missions discussed into enforceable practice. It is not an exception that some of the issues tabled in these meetings need to be handled by a lower authority, but this does not mean that all information is irrelevant. These meetings should encourage public publication, but DAC meetings characteristics is a one-sided approach to information flow. Police seem to be the ultimate players in these meetings, and it seems that they ignore those contributions made by DAC when implementing policing strategies. CAPS evaluation on the quality of meetings provides a variety of details. Based on the observation made in the year 2002, these meetings have improved on a number of dimensions. These dimensions include model agendas, adoption of feasible procedures, Provision of training services for officers and in the distribution of information to the populations (Lipsey, 2006).

CAPS primary objective is to increase the confidence of the public in police operations within its districts. Researches indicate that public confidence opinions in the police improved between the year 1993 and 2000. Changes of opinions in the police have been prevalent a lot among the whites, Latinos, and Among the African-American communities in equal measure. In addition, a person of Chicago is content with their police than they were 10 years ago. From the research, there is an indication that Chicago police have always tried their best by their politeness, fairness and in showing concern for people's problems. People of Chicago believe that people within their neighborhood are receiving better treatment from the police. Over the years, there has been an increase in police responsiveness on the issues this residence face. Police have done dismally on matters concerning their performance, on how they control crime and in maintaining law and order.

Research indicates that, in Chicago, the level of crime rose in the year 1991, and the sharply went on a decline. Between the years, 1991 to 2002 violent crime rates had declined by 49% robbery had declined by 58%, murder by 30% and the property crime by 38%. Like in many other of the countries cities, ability of the police to solve murder related crime had decreased. Drug related shooting had been a crime that proved difficult for the police to counter. Over this period, rates and the battery had a declined by a 45% and 41% margin respectively. In property, related crimes motor- vehicle theft had declined by a 47% margin, and burglary declined by 51%. In comparison with other cities, Chicago had done well in fighting crime. "Decrease in crime in Chicago, was in parallel with other major states in America."

In-depth studies done in 2003 on Latino community on their involvement in policing provide credible information on participation in community policing, in Chicago. What led to this study are the report on the fear of crime among the Latino community and their perception on social disorder. Latinos participations are low in CAPS, and most of their members are unaware of the strategies of CAPS. Their levels of awareness have been on a declining state since the year 1990. Their involvement in these meetings was driving by the levels of crime, moral decay on the community and at the level of social disorder. The problem with the Latino population is that they do not turn up in numbers to these meetings. The community's representation is low in these meetings.

However, research further shows that the community lacks representation in the district advisory committees that meet on a regular basis with the police department. Compared to the African-Americans and the Whites Latinos have young families are they are more likely to be working and having families at home. Their involvement with the police department is variedly mixed. There is evidence that their community avoids police contacts, including not reporting crimes as they occur in their neighborhood, these implies that police reports on crimes committed within their neighborhoods is not conclusive (Nyden et. al. 2006). Another problem facing this community relates to their language. It is evident that members of this community interact less with the police and their neighbors. The group has a lower level of awareness and involvement in CAPS programs than their English speaking counter parts.

According to research by Cordner & Biebel published in the journal of Criminology & Public Policy, problem-oriented policing (POP) today is "widely regarded as the most analytical and intellectually complicated approach in the police arsenal" (Cordner & Biebel 2005). The studies analogize Problem-oriented policing to preventative medicine in healthcare: rather than focusing on the symptoms of crime, it attempts to address crimes root causes. "Problem-oriented policing comments that police should focus on problems, as opposed to happenings (Goldstein, 1990). Problems are either collections of happenings that have a correlation (if they occur at the same location) or underlying situations that result to occurrences, crimes, turmoil, and other significant community subjects that people expect the police to handle.

By focusing more on problems than on incidents, police can address causes rather than mere symptoms and consequently have a greater impact" Cordner & Biebel 2005). The technique deployed demonstrated efficacy in many regions of Great Britain and efficiently reduced costs for the UK's police departments. However, even in a nation whose police force has traditionally embraced more 'preventative' strategies than the U.S., creating the inter-agency cooperation required for the approach can be challenging. Problem-oriented policing is heavily reliant upon government agencies, and other research entities keeping track of community data to enable police agencies to assess security needs and delve into the root causes of problems (Applegate, 2004).

The studies reveal that, in the United States, a number of police departments have made problem-oriented policing a formal part of their best practices, although research indicates a substantial policy gap between implementation and theory. Despite 15 years of instruction in and promotion of problem-oriented policing by the San Diego Police Department, a survey of officer behavior indicates "officers often took part in small-scale problem solving with little official analysis or evaluation. Reactions generally involved enforcement and one or two more collaborative or nontraditional schemes" (Cordner & Biebel 2005). Even when police officers acquainted with the research supporting a problem-oriented approach, they did not necessarily trust that research to inform their practice. The culture had not changed to support a problem-oriented model.

As noted by Braga (et al. 1999), one reason that police departments may be wary of problem-oriented policing is that although these strategies are "effective in controlling property crimes and disorderly activity, such as residential burglaries in a privately owned low-income housing complex," their efficacy in treating violent crimes is less certain. For example, reducing the number of abandoned buildings on a city street, having prominently displayed centers of positive civic activity such as churches and community centers, and frequent police patrolling have shown to reduce incidents of property-related crimes. Braga (et al. 1999) conducted a study in the high-crime area of Jersey City to determine which locations were 'hot spots' of violent crime to see if similar strategies would work to reduce the rate of these types of offenses.

Ultimately, the program led to increased police presence and reduce violent crimes deemed the program effective, "the Jersey City Police Department's pilot problem-oriented policing program was successful in reducing crime, and disorder at violent places with little evidence of displacement" (the phenomenon whereby reduced crime in one specific area results in more crime nearby) (Braga et al. 1999). Because the foci of the study were on areas with physical features, which lent themselves to the crime, they did not result in 'spill over' to areas, which lacked such attractive features. 'Broken widows' theory, or the idea that small crimes lead to the appearance of disorder, and therefore, the concept of problem-oriented policing supported violent crimes, although POP tends to stress that particular conditions simply facilitate crime rather than takes a 'slippery slope' line of thinking (one of the criticisms of standard 'broken window' theory).

As Sidebottom & Tilley (2011) note, there are different acronyms used to refine the procedures of problem-oriented policing into a series of sequential steps. The most commonly used today is the SARA model. "SARA refers to Scanning, Analysis, Response, and Assessment. It describes the core logical steps to follow in conducting problem-oriented work. Problems need to be identified (scanning). They need to examine to determine which of the conditions producing them might be open to preventive intervention (analysis). Measures have to be put in place to remove, reduce, or ameliorate the effects of the problem (response)" (Sidebottom & Tilley 2011).

After criticism of SARA for being overly linear in its approach, another method which developed was PROCTOR, "or "Problem, Cause, Tactic or Treatment, Output, and Result. SARA's primary aim was to signal that Analysis is significant throughout the problem-solving process and not as some may falsely infer from SARA, only after problem definition and before response selection. It is very much trying to encapsulate the same process as SARA but with an alternative acronym to avoid this problem" (Sidebottom & Tilley 2011). The 5Is of intelligence, intervention, implementation, involvement, and impact likewise attempt to stress the need for continued environmental scanning given that all 5Is must take place simultaneously (Sidebottom & Tilley 2011).

However, despite the objections occasionally raised to POP, many organizations have found it to be effective when there is a genuine, top-to-bottom effort to implement its principles in an enthusiastic manner. In addition, POP demonstrates a profound culture shift at the Chicago Metropolitan Police Department and has become part of the department's institutional culture. "POP principles are evident in the captain's culture, rank-and-file's culture, and the policy and procedure of the CMPD" (Ikerd 2010). For example, the CMPD had instituted a number of creative initiatives focused upon crime prevention, versus simply targeting individual crimes. "In this project, there was a problem with date rape cases occurring with regards to females going out and drinking at certain bars.

The department developed a response in which they teamed up with the bars to utilize plastic cups and place lids on the drinks to keep something from easily slipping in them. The captain indicated that the assessment showed elimination of the problem" (Ikerd 2010). Rank-and-file members likewise expressed support for POP because they had seen distractions of its efficacy. This response indicates that within some organizations, when made a priority and translated into practice rather than remaining at the level of theory, POP can indeed 'put down roots.'

According to Rosenfeld (2006) in his "Analysis of the Discipline of Criminology: Compared with its Contributions to Education, Health, or Economic Policy," evaluation research in Criminal justice has a long way to go. Criminal justice falls behind other areas of policy research not because it is a belief, evaluation methods are less well developed, or opportunities for randomized experiments are less available" but because of a rather scattershot theoretical approach to evaluating program efficacy (Rosenfeld 2006: 309). "Criminal justice lacks agreed-upon, coherent, knowledge-based standards for judging policy outcomes" (Rosenfeld 2006: 310). The mixed, often confused responses by criminologists regarding the reasons crime rates go up or down is an example of this phenomenon.

Depending on the emphasized data, the size of police departments, poverty rates, or psychological perceptions may qualify as the reasons for increases or decreases in the crime rate. Without clear standards for evaluation, it is very difficult to assess the efficacy of different policies. There remains a divergence between two dominant models: one driven by empirical evidence, the other by clinical experience. "The nature of criminal justice in 2040 will rely largely on the key research methodology. Is the criminal justice community properly served by considering the experiences and opinions of practitioners (the clinical experience model) or via research that examines programs and measures outcomes (the evidence-based model)" (Ritter 2006).

In light of shrinking budgets, there has been an increasingly strident call for more data-drive, objective assessments of crime. "Quantitative research has also helped shape deployment of police in our nation's cities, and how they handle calls for service. The Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment, one of the most valuable scientific experiments in police history, revealed that more police did not necessarily translate into a reduction in real or perceived levels of crime (Kelling, Pate, Diekman, and Brown 1974). Despite some later criticisms, the study was distinctly quantitative, and would not have been possible in a 'natural' setting, which underwent manipulation to resemble a rigorous scientific experiment" (Worrall 2000). Quantitative, data-driven determinants of efficacy used because departments have the responsibility to deal with the real-life consequences of allocating their resources in different areas to fight crime.

Research demonstrates the efficacy of such wide-ranging, innovative recent policies as mandatory arrests for domestic infractions, 'broken window' policies designed to minimize crime, and other policy initiatives (Worrall, 2000). Of course, there must be an accepted framework for evaluating quantitative data in criminal justice research, and this can be contentious. One method, a cost-benefit analysis of adopting or not adopting a particular policy, but it can pose a challenge in calculating the human 'costs' of, say, adopting or not adopting a particular program to prevent juvenile delinquency. In one, study: "by improving parenting and overall family performance, one would expect the intrusion to construct significant non-crime outcomes, for example, educational accomplishment, ultimate employment, and a range of pro-social activities.

In addition, the social benefits lacked in the analysis, and therefore, causing the understatement of the overall social benefits" because of focusing on recidivism of juveniles alone (Zedlewski, 2009). This has caused some researchers to see clinical perspectives as more useful than 'pure' data. Furthermore, in quantitative research, drawing a correlation between a particular phenomenon and an intervention is only the first step: establishing causation can be far more difficult. For example, "data collected on recidivism rates may describe the post-program status of offenders and may show higher or lower rates than expected for the population, but they do not reveal what change in recidivism results from the program intervention that would not have occurred otherwise" (Lipsey, Weisburd, and Gottfredson, 2006). This is why some police departments and even some academics tend to 'trust' anecdotal experience rather than data-driven research.

RESEARCH DESIGN

The sampling in this study was from various police districts in Chicago, Illinois. Subjects include 80 police officers who participated in a survey/questionnaire concerning problem-oriented policing practices and outcomes.

Data collection methods

The research utilizes a mix of primary and secondary data. The research utilizes primary data from the target study subjects through interviews and questionnaires while secondary data will majorly be publicly available records through the police department, and general information available on the Internet. Data collection in this study involves sending out survey or questionnaires to 80 police officers who presently work for the City of Chicago Illinois police department, and who are familiar with the use of problem-oriented policing.

Measurement

The study will evaluate both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data on the rates of violence within the school system, both before and after the POP initiative, and qualitative data taken on student perceptions on the safety of their schools and self-reported student crime. The instrument used to measure the responses of the police officers participating in this study is a five question open-ended survey that asks the police officer specific questions about the use and effectiveness of problem-oriented policing. The five questions asked police officers who participated in this study include the following questions:

(1) What do you feel is the most important aspect of problem-oriented policing?

(2) Do you feel that police officers are more effective in their job using the problem-oriented policing method?

(3) Does problem -- oriented policing offer a new method of reducing crimes in Chicago, Illinois.

(4) What is the most important aspect of problem oriented policing?

(5) How efficient is problem-oriented policing in building relationships among police officers and the community?

Data analysis

Data analyzed in this study will involve qualitative analyses of the survey/questionnaire, utilized to develop focus group studies in which the 80 participating police officers will meet to discuss issues surrounding problem-oriented policing and the effectiveness of using problem-oriented policing to bring about a reduction in crime in Chicago, Illinois. Given that the POP program is in its infancy, a final determinant of its efficacy may prove to be difficult; however, the paper will attempt to determine if overall crime rates and perceptions of violent behavior in the school on the part of residents have decreased. Analysis of the data collected will incorporate different ways.

Analysis of quantitative data will use a measure of central tendency such as means and modes where applicable. In addition, this research will represent the data on graphs, charts, and tables in order to aid interpretation. Analysis of qualitative data, on the other hand, will employ content analysis. Content analysis will help to identify the major themes arising from the collected data, which will then aid in getting the desired results. Sampling is necessary since it will help to stop the relevant themes from those that are irrelevant. In addition, the study will use coding units for categorization of the data. The aim of the coding units is to help the researcher gain a broader understanding of the hypothesis formed. Presentation of the data will take the form of narratives in text and in tables where applicable. This will help the researcher to portray the structure, functionality, and context of the responses as appropriate.