The effects of community-infused problem-oriented policing in crime hot spots based on police data: a randomized controlled trial

Objectives This randomized controlled trial (RCT) assessed the effectiveness of a community-infused problem-oriented policing (CPOP) intervention on reducing property/violent crime. Methods In two mid-Atlantic cities, a total of 102 crime hot spots were randomly assigned to receive CPOP or standard patrol. Analyses examine changes in crime the year before, during, and one year after the intervention. We used hierarchical Poisson regression models. Results We found no main effects for the CPOP intervention on property and violent crimes in either site. In site B, the violent crime count in low treatment hot spots was 200% higher than controls post-intervention but this likely reflected officers paying less attention to treatment locations with lower levels of crime. Conclusions Our results suggest that CPOP was not effective in the unusual context of the COVID-19 pandemic and post-George Floyd killing. Given the challenges of implementing CPOP during this unique time, caution is needed in interpreting these findings.