Law Enforcement Patrolling Kansas City Gun Experiment and the Kerner Commission Report

The Kansas City Gun Experiment of 1992 and 1993 illustrates a police strategy that was responsive to the fact that a particular area was responsible for a very high rate of firearm related homicides (University of Maryland; University of Texas, 2012). The intensification of police patrols represents a hybridization of the traditional "law enforcement" and "crime fighting" police functions. The case study is significant because it provided the basis to test the theory that reducing the number of guns in an area would prevent crime, and counters the argument that more guns would result in less incidences of crime (Sherman, Shaw, & Rogan, 1995, p. 2). The most differential aspect of the patrols is that they were mobilized as a preventative measure to a specific type of crime (University of Maryland; University of Texas, 2012). Officers engaged in proactive patrols were specifically seeking and seizing firearms, and were focused only on this duty within the designated area, known as 'beat 144' (Sherman, Shaw, & Rogan, 1995, p. 4).

The Kansas City Gun Experiment was funded through a 'Weed and Seed' grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance as a one-time initiative (Sherman, Shaw, & Rogan, 1995, p. 1). While the project delivered impressive results and data regarding the community policing and incidences of crime, incorporating this type of strategy on a permanent basis may carry with it some unintended consequences. The experiment demonstrated the limits of community policing, noting that many of the guns seized were from non-residents of the designated area, yet the tactics employed could erode community relations with the police force. The increased patrols and traffic stops could easily serve to stoke community concerns...

If the patrols were carried out as a permanent strategy of particular neighborhoods could be seen as a form of marshal law that would further erode community trust. The concentrated patrol tactic could be employed successfully with careful planning, data analysis, and defined goals. If the tactic were deployed with defined timeframes to achieve results, then it would be more likely to attain positive results.
Similar strategies to those of the Kansas City Gun Experiment may prove effective in thwarting gun crimes and gang activity. If particular neighborhoods are plagued by violence, gang activity, and poverty, then intensified patrols may serve to rebuild community relations by concentrating on increasing perceived levels of police responsiveness and concern with safety.

The danger of concentrated patrolling is represented in the Kerner Commission Report of 1968, in which the police may serve to reinforce societal inequality and systemic oppression (United States Kerner Commission, 1968). If society is becomes segregated by race and socio-demographics, then the police are at risk of being perceived as part of the problem. Luckily, the police force has evolved to more closely represent the racial make up of the communities it patrols and serves, however this only addresses one of the issues. If the socio-demographics of income and wealth inequality persist, then the police force must demonstrate at least as much concern for those in poverty as the well off.

A tactic similar to the Kansas City Gun Experiment can be seen in use in the city of Oakland, California, in which 100 blocks are receiving, increased patrolling activity (City of Oakland, 2012). The similarities are particularly noted by with a, "focus on the 5% of the city where 90% of shootings & homicides occur," (City of…