NCJ Number
251059
Date Published
March 2017
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This winter 2017 issue (XXII) of the Smart Policing Initiative (SPI) reviews principles, site activities, and technical assistance resources of the SPI, which is administered by the U.S. Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to advance data-based, evidence-based, collaborative policing through planned and tested innovative policing strategies.
Abstract
"SPI Core Principle: Collaboration" explains why and how building community relationships is a key strategy for combating crime and addressing community safety problems under the SPI. Examples of such collaborations in SPI sites were described and studied at Police-Community Collaboration Workshops held throughout 2016 in Oregon, Missouri, and Massachusetts. "Smart Policing Initiative: Site Findings" profiles the Los Angeles SPI's Operation LASER,, which reduced homicides by just over 22 percent per month in the target division and a 5-percent decrease in gun crimes. Other successful programs briefly described are the Kansas City effort to reduce violent crime, particularly gun-related violence; The Boston program that reduced aggravated assaults; the Baltimore program that reduced homicides; the New Haven program that reduced violent crime in high-risk areas; and successful SPI programs in Phoenix, Pullman, Palm Beach, and Lowell. "Recent SPI Outcomes: Boston, MA" presents a larger description of the Boston SPI effort to improve homicide clearances. "Recent and Upcoming SPI Activities" provides information on upcoming training opportunities for SPI sites. "Reader's Corner "discusses the advantages and challenges in a police agency's use of social media.