What are the best weapons against crime? Until recently, likely answers included police training, crime-fighting equipment, and programs to counteract poverty, mental illness, dysfunctional families, and declining church attendance. Much lower on a list would be administrative practices like reorganizing an agency, conducting meetings, collecting data, and crunching numbers.
But a groundbreaking 2012 report from the U.S. Department of Justice is challenging conventional wisdom about the best ways to fight crime. Reducing Crime through Intelligence-Led Policing identifies ten places that have been unusually effective in reducing crime rates: Austin, Evans County in Georgia, Medford in Oregon, Milwaukee, Palm Beach County in Florida, Phoenix, Richmond, San Diego, San Francisco, and Tampa. What all ten have in common are administrative practices based on ideas promoted by Frederick Winslow Taylor in his 1911 book The Principles of Scientific Management.
Until recently, law enforcement was slow to adopt Taylor’s practices, and it’s not hard to see why: Taylor’s administrative approach, emphasizing goal-setting, experimentation, and assessment, seems far removed from the streets and alleys where serious crimes are likely to happen. But the DOJ’s statistics confirm the importance of well-planned and well-executed programs based on sound administrative principles.
The title of the DOJ report is something of a misnomer, since “intelligence-led policing” is only one component in some of these programs. For example, the Tampa Police Department in Central Florida has developed a “Focus on Four” initiative that incorporates community policing and other progressive practices in its fight against crime. Tampa’s remarkable success suggests that their program is well worth examining and imitating—while hinting at the inevitable strains and pressures that both administrators and officers may experience as changes are made.
Tampa, a city on the west side of Central Florida, has a population of about 300,000 citizens and a police force of around 450 sworn officers. Chief Stephen Hogue (now retired) started the Focus on Four program in 2003, and it has continued under chief Jane Castor. As a result, Tampa has seen significant reductions in criminal activity—a 46 percent drop in murder, forcible sex offenses, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft.
The “four” in Focus on Four has two meanings. The plan concentrates on the “Big Four”—crimes that occur in waves of repeat offenses that can be tracked geographically: robbery, burglary, auto theft, and auto burglary. “Criminals are not generally specialists,” retired chief Stephen Hogue explained. People who commit “Big Four” crimes often go on to commit murder or aggravated assault. A frontal attack on property crime makes everyone feel safer—and prevents other violent crimes later on.
The “four” also refers to the four-pronged plan that Tampa has used with such success: Redistribution of tactical resources, intelligence-led policing, proactive and preventative policing strategies, and partnering with the community. All four components have played important roles in Tampa’s fight against crime.
1. Redistribution of tactical resources
Tampa decentralized its resources, creating three smaller districts that can respond quickly to criminal activity. Localizing personnel, information, and equipment gives districts more flexibility when a crime is reported. The districts have specialized resources including street-level drug squads known as Quick Uniform Attack on Drugs (QUAD) and pattern-crime squads known as Street Anti-Crime (SAC). Rapid Offender Control officers, known as ROC, focus on high-crime areas called Offender Control Zones.
Tampa’s “Focus on Four” booklet explains that the districts often use a “swarm” strategy in which “all available units would respond to in-progress calls to increase the chance of capturing the suspect and preventing future crimes. Many offenses were investigated from start to finish at the time of the initial report. Fewer cases were referred to a detective.” As a result, tracking, solving, and—most important— preventing crime became much easier in Tampa.
2. Intelligence-led policing
In 2010 Tampa began using SAFECOP, a high-speed information system based on homeland security software that was paid for by a $400,000 federal grant. District majors can rapidly identify suspects, solve crimes, and prevent additional crimes. Officers can use their car computers to view updated crime maps, receive high-speed crime bulletins, download surveillance videos, and create alerts to share throughout the department. A blog allows officers to share investigative leads, possible suspect information, and case developments department-wide.
Tampa credits this fast access to breaking information with a 26 percent reduction in crime during the 2012 Republican National Convention. “During the RNC, we had bulletins that showed several types of protester graffiti and intelligence graffiti that showed that people planned to meet in a particular place,” Tampa police officer JT Martin said.
3. Proactive and preventive policing initiatives
Focus on Four emphasizes a proactive approach to police work. “You don’t stop at taking the report,” police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said. “If five burglaries happen in your sector, you’re responsible.” Officers work sources and the street for tips to make arrests and prevent crimes. Tampa’s statistics underline the point: During the first six years of Focus on Four, 911 calls decreased by 12 percent, and proactive calls increased by almost 90 percent.
Operation Safe Shopper is a program that has cut holiday crime by 61 percent. An increased police presence in shopping areas helped prevent auto burglaries, auto thefts, and robberies. School resource officers kept an eye on juveniles in popular shopping areas. Officers walked through parking lots to put flyers on windshields warning shoppers not to leave packages in plain view.
Tampa’s aggressive approach to narcotics is another success story. Police dismantled 27 drug trafficking organizations and disbanded 39 drug distribution cells. Citizen complaints helped identify areas where drug transactions were conducted, wiretaps led investigators to dealers and suppliers, and undercover officers used street purchases to make arrests. According to the “Focus on Four” booklet, these strategies cleaned up the neighborhoods for citizens and virtually eliminated street corner drug sales. Even better, because drugs are closely linked to criminal activity, Tampa became a dramatically safer place to live and work.
The Department focused much of its attention on juveniles and young adults, for two reasons: Crime rates usually rise dramatically in the summer, when schools close, and young people commit the majority of vehicle thefts.
Under the Reduce Auto Theft (RAT) Program, crime analysts identified juveniles who were known auto thieves and mapped the areas around their homes for stolen and recovered autos. Each recovered vehicle was thoroughly processed for prints and other evidence. Officers patrolled in unmarked vehicles using a computer to run tags of suspect vehicles. When officers located a stolen car, they coordinated a “box in” strategy that usually eliminated the need for a pursuit. Word spread quickly on the street: If you steal a car, you’re going to get caught.
Tampa paid special attention to juveniles and young adults with lengthy arrest records who seemed headed for serious prison sentences. The Department partnered with the court system to ensure that suspects went to court—transporting them if necessary—and followed up to enforce court-ordered curfews and house arrests. Truancy was taken seriously, and juveniles were directed to appropriate social services. As a result, auto thefts in Tampa dropped by 90 percent. And—since “Big Four” property crimes often lead to violent offenses—an untold number of crimes were prevented.
The summer months, when unsupervised youths are looking for fun and excitement, presented other challenges. Analysts identified high-crime areas and placed additional resources in malls, hotels, and tourist attractions. Not all the attention was negative, however. Each district kicked off the summer with a youth event that included a job fair, life-skill instruction, refreshments, and games. The Department made sure that young people with time on their hands knew about youth programs sponsored by parks, recreation programs, and private organizations. Ten years later, summer crime in Tampa has been cut by 50 percent.
4. Partnering with the Community
The fourth component of Tampa’s successful initiative involves a resource that’s often overlooked: Ordinary citizens. According to former chief Stephen Hogue, citizen partnerships are an important weapon in the fight against crime. “If every citizen in Tampa called the police department every time they think they see a crime occurring, I guarantee crime would go down dramatically,” he said.
Strengthening that partnership has been a priority for the Tampa Police Department. Neighborhood Affairs Liaisons personnel who used to spend most of their time at police headquarters are out and about, talking with Tampa residents, and police officers are working closely with Neighborhood Watch and other crime prevention organizations. The renewed spirit of cooperation is making a huge difference, residents say. Christie Hess belongs to a neighborhood group that has been fighting prostitution in Seminole Heights. Six or seven years ago used to get frustrated with the police. Now she and her neighbors are finding police responsive to their concerns. Many residents even have the police nonemergency number on speed-dial, Hess says.
And the department is using social media to reach out to citizens who worry about crime but aren’t able to attend neighborhood meetings. The department posts alerts, surveillance videos of unsolved crimes, and tips for crime prevention. Most important, of course, is friendly face-to-face contact. Officers are encouraged to get out of their cars and talk to residents. The new emphasis on partnerships has been hugely effective. According to the DOJ report, it’s unusual to find someone in an actively involved neighborhood who doesn’t know the names of officers patrolling the area.
Still, not all the news from the Tampa Police Department has been positive. According to the Department of Justice report, “operational stagnation” and “organizational inertia” were obstacles to implementing the new practices. “Opposition came from two sources: sedentary officers—some of whom were administrators—and the union, which, while not opposed to improvements in policing, was opposed to changes in the existing management-union relationship, especially as it affected personnel assignments.” The DOJ report says that eventually the city government “changed the civil service rules to remove senior management positions from the civil service system.”
Tampa’s “Focus on Four” booklet hints that the new practices may be putting additional pressure on patrol officers. The booklet praises Tampa’s officers for their response to the new initiative—”a new, proactive approach energized the officers” and “enthusiasm and morale grew.” But the plan also amounted to a virtually new job description for overworked officers who used to struggle just to keep up with their 911 calls. It remains to be seen how the additional pressure to follow leads, build community relationships, and anticipate trends affects the mental and physical health of Tampa’s officers.
To learn more:
https://www.ncirc.gov/documents/public/reducing_crime_through_ilp.pdf
http://tbo.com/news/crime/tampas-crime-rate-on-pace-to-drop-again-police-say-89163
www.tampagov.net/dept_Police/Files/publications/2012_FOF_Web.pdf
www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/dramatic-crime-drop-in-tampa-attributed-to-policing-strategy/991923
Jean Reynolds, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus of English at Polk State College, where she taught report writing and communication skills in the criminal justice program. She is the author of ten books, including Police Talk (Pearson), and she publishes a Police Writer Newsletter. Visit her website at www.YourPoliceWrite.com for free report writing resources. Go to www.Amazon.com for a free preview of her book Criminal Justice Report Writing. Dr. Reynolds is the police report writing expert for Law Enforcement Today.