The controversy over police use of force in the United States can often pit the conversation in overly simplistic terms: You must choose between a police force that works to prevent crime, or one that's respectful of, and respected by, its constituents—and less effective. But it turns out you don't have to sacrifice one for the other, according to a new analysis.
"There are a number of proactive policing strategies that have impacts on crime and, for the most part, they don't cause those negative outcomes in the community," says David Weisburd, a criminologist at George Mason University and the lead author of the analysis.
Research showed strategies like problem-oriented policing and hot-spots policing to be particularly effective. However, while stop-and-frisk—a method made infamousby the New York Police Department that has brought about numerous lawsuits charging that its practice infringes on people's civil rights—was found to be effective against crime in certain circumstances, it was also found to be harmful to individuals. Weisburd and his colleagues are hoping police chiefs around the country will use the new report to help them implement evidence-based programs for whatever challenges they face at home.
[For more on this story by FRANCIE DIEP, go to https://psmag.com/social-justi...ork-best-in-policing]
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