Law Enforcement Operations
Knowing what to do starts with knowing what works, and what hasn't. CrimeSolutions helps practitioners and policymakers understand what programs & practices work, are promising, or haven't worked yet.
On this page you can find programs and practices related to Law Enforcement Operations. Select "Search Filters" to narrow down the list by rating, extent of evidence, and many other aspects of the programs or practices. Skip to Practices
CrimeSolutions’ ratings are assigned from standardized reviews of rigorous evaluations and meta-analyses. While we encourage you to learn more about this process, you don’t need to in order to benefit from it. Our clear ratings and profiles can help you determine if a program or category of program is worth pursuing.
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Effective | Implementing the program is likely to result in the intended outcome(s). | On average, there is strong evidence that implementing a program encompassed by the practice will achieve the intended outcome. |
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Promising | Implementing the program may result in the intended outcome(s) | On average, there is some evidence that implementing a program encompassed by the practice will achieve the intended outcome. |
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Ineffective | Implementing the program is unlikely to result in the intended outcome(s) and may result in a negative outcome(s). | On average, there is strong evidence that implementing a program encompassed by the practice will not achieve the intended outcome or may result in a negative outcome. |
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Negative Effects | Implementing the program is likley to result in a negative outcome(s). | On average, there is strong evidence that implementing a program encompassed by the practice will result in a negative outcome. |
Programs
| Title | Evidence Rating | Topics | Summary | RCT | ||
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| Program Profile: Denver (Colorado) Crime Gun Intelligence Center |
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Violent crime, Assault, Gun violence, Homicide, Robbery, Law enforcement, Arrests, Databases, Evidence, Policing strategies, Crime prevention, Prosecution, Courts, Law enforcement operations, Investigations | The program focuses on reducing violent gun crime by disrupting the cycle of gun violence by relying on forensic science and data analysis to identify, investigate, and prosecute individuals who use guns in criminal activity, and the sources of their guns. The program is rated Promising. The program did not significantly affect homicides or aggravated assaults with a firearm but was shown to significantly reduce violent crime and robbery with a firearm. Date Posted: |
None | ||
| Program Profile: Police Body-Worn Cameras (Boston, Massachusetts) |
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Arrests, Sensors/Surveillance, Use of force, Law enforcement, Crime prevention, Situational crime prevention, Law enforcement operations, Arrests | This involves police officers wearing cameras on their uniforms to improve the civility of their interactions with citizens. The program is rated Effective. There were statistically significant reductions in citizen complaints against police and police use-of-force reports for officers who wore cameras, compared with those who did not, and statistically significant reductions in complaints against control officers in the treatment districts, compared with officers in the untreated districts. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: Operation Rowan (United Kingdom) |
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Arson, Burglary, Assault, Robbery, Sensors/Surveillance, Patrol, Law enforcement, Sanctions, Problem-oriented policing, Policing strategies, Law enforcement operations, Law enforcement, Crime prevention, Victims of crime | This program involves 15 minutes of police patrol in high-crime hot spots to reduce crime. The program is rated Promising. There were statistically significant reductions in reports of violent crimes and robbery and other crimes against personal victims in hot spots on treatment days, compared with control days. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Police Department Body-Worn Cameras |
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Sensors/Surveillance, Evidence, Community policing, Patrol, Use of force, Law enforcement, Traffic law enforcement, Traffic laws, Crime prevention, Law enforcement operations, Arrests, Equipment and technology | This program equips police with on-officer cameras to record their interactions with civilians. The program is rated Ineffective. Camera use had no statistically significant effects on officers’ total number of proactive activities, specifically on the number of traffic stops or business checks, nor on arrests, citizen complaints, and use-of-force incidents. Officers with cameras conducted statistically significantly fewer subject stops, and statistically significantly more park and walks. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: Police Body-Worn Video (Australia) |
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Assault, Sensors/Surveillance, Patrol, Law enforcement, Law enforcement operations, Equipment and technology | This program involves police use of video to improve evidence gathering and police and citizen behavior. The program is rated Ineffective. There were no statistically significant differences in restraining orders issued or assaults on police between body-worn video treatment days and control days (when no officers wore body-worn video). Treatment days had statistically significantly higher rates of use of force, citizen complaints against police, and criminal charges, compared with control days. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: Predictive Policing Model in Los Angeles, Calif. |
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Burglary, Motor vehicle theft, Patrol, Computers, Property crime, Motor vehicle theft, Crime prevention, Larceny/theft, Law enforcement operations, Law enforcement, Problem-oriented policing | This program involved the use of a crime forecasting model to direct police patrol to dynamic hot spots to reduce crime. The program is rated Promising. There were statistically significant reductions in daily crime volume (specifically burglary, car theft, and burglary-theft from vehicle) for police patrols in the treatment condition, compared with patrols in the control condition. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: Hot Spots Policing in the London Underground (London, UK) |
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Patrol, Situational crime prevention, Policing strategies, Law enforcement, Law enforcement operations, Problem-oriented policing | This policing strategy was designed to deter crime on platforms in high-crime areas of the London Underground. The program is rated Promising. Platforms in the treatment areas had statistically significant reductions in calls for services and crime, relative to the control group, on patrol and nonpatrol days. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: Effects of Body-Worn Cameras on Reducing Rates of Citizen Fatalities |
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Homicide, Sensors/Surveillance, Death investigations, Law enforcement operations, Arrests, Equipment and technology | This program involves law enforcement’s use of cameras to record interactions with civilians to reduce citizen fatalities. The program is rated Promising. Agencies that acquired cameras had statistically significant decreases in fatal police–citizen encounters after three years, compared with agencies that did not acquire cameras. There were no statistically significant differences in fatal encounters between a reduced set of agencies with cameras and matched agencies without cameras. Date Posted: |
None | ||
| Program Profile: New York City Police Department Body-Worn Cameras’ Effects on Civility and Lawfulness of Police–Citizen Encounters and Policing Activities |
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Sensors/Surveillance, Evidence, Community policing, Patrol, Law enforcement operations, Arrests, Equipment and technology | This program equips police with body cameras to record encounters with civilians. The program is rated Ineffective. Camera use had no statistically significant effects on number of arrests, arrests with force, and summonses issued after 1 year. Officers wearing cameras had statistically significant reductions in complaints filed against them and made more stop reports. Camera use resulted in a statistically significantly reduced likelihood of lawful stops and frisks but fewer subjects searched. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: Community-Level Intervention on Alcohol-Related Motor Vehicle Crashes (Calif.) |
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Alcohol-Related Offenses, Regulatory offenses, Alcohol, Underage drinking, Law enforcement operations, Law enforcement, Traffic law enforcement, Traffic laws, Legal substances, Drugs | This program was designed to reduce excessive drinking among adolescents and young adults ages 12-25 through community-wide enforcement operations and awareness campaigns. The program is rated Promising. There was a statistically significant reduction in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes among 15- to 30-year-old drivers in treatment group cities, compared with control group cities. Date Posted: |
None |
Practices
Showing 1 to 7 of 7 entries
| Title | Evidence Rating | Topics | Summary | ||||||||||||
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| Practice Profile: Police-Initiated Pedestrian Stops to Reduce Crime |
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Policing strategies, Patrol, Problem-oriented policing, Use of force, Law enforcement, Crime prevention, Law enforcement operations, Investigations, Mental health | Police-initiated pedestrian stops involve police officers’ stopping, questioning, and investigating pedestrians on the street, usually based on suspicion of criminal behavior or activity. Generally, the goal of the stops is to prevent or reduce the occurrence of crime and disorder. The practice is rated Promising for reducing measures of crime and displacement but was rated Ineffective for improving measures of mental and physical health of citizens who were stopped by police. Date Posted: |
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| Practice Profile: Body-Worn Cameras’ Effects on Police Officer Behavior |
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Assault, Sensors/Surveillance, Patrol, Problem-oriented policing, Law enforcement operations, Arrests, Violent crime, Crime prevention, Equipment and technology | This practice involves the use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement. The aim of this practice is to record interactions from an officer’s point of view to improve accountability and positively affect police officer behavior. The practice is rated Ineffective for its effects on officer use of force, officer injuries, officer-initiated calls for service, traffic stops, field interviews, and arrest incidents. Date Posted: |
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| Practice Profile: Red-Light Camera Interventions for Reducing Traffic Violations and Crashes |
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Sensors/Surveillance, Vehicles, Property crime, Crime prevention, Traffic laws, Traffic law enforcement, Law enforcement operations, Law enforcement, Equipment and technology | Red-light cameras are a traffic enforcement mechanism that permit police to remotely enforce traffic signals, to deter red-light running at signalized intersections. Red-light cameras are a fully automated photo detection system that includes cameras, sensors or triggers, and a computer. The practice is rated Promising for reducing total injury crashes. The practice is rated Ineffective for reducing total crashes, total property-damage-only crashes, or total red-light-running crashes. Date Posted: |
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| Practice Profile: Geographically Focused Policing Initiatives |
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Community policing, Patrol, Problem-oriented policing, Situational crime prevention, Law enforcement, Law enforcement operations | Geographically focused policing initiatives increase the presence and visibility of police officers at specific high-crime locations to significantly reduce crime and disorder. This practice is rated Promising for reducing crime in treatment areas relative to control areas. Date Posted: |
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| Practice Profile: Street-Level Drug Law Enforcement |
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Problem-oriented policing, Law enforcement operations, Public order offenses | This practice includes targeted-policing approaches for reducing drug and drug-related offenses. This practice is rated Promising in reducing reported, drug-related calls for services and offenses against persons. This practice is rated Ineffective in reducing reported property offenses, public order calls for service, and total offenses. Date Posted: |
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| Practice Profile: Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) Surveillance |
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Burglary, Larceny/theft, Motor vehicle theft, Sensors/Surveillance, Surveillance, Witnesses, Community policing, Problem-oriented policing, Situational crime prevention, Law enforcement operations, Law enforcement, Violent crime, Equipment and technology | Public surveillance systems include a network of cameras and components for monitoring, recording, and transmitting video images. Public surveillance cameras are designed to reduce both property and personal crime. This practice is rated Promising for reducing overall crime, property crime, and vehicle crime, and rated No Effects for impacting violent crime. Date Posted: |
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| Practice Profile: Hot Spots Policing |
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Weapons violations, Patrol, Problem-oriented policing, Policing strategies, Property crime, Crime prevention, Law enforcement, Crime prevention, Larceny/theft, Patrol, Law enforcement operations, Arrests, Law enforcement, Drugs, Public order offenses | Hot spots policing strategies focus on small geographic areas or places, usually in urban settings, where crime is concentrated. Through hot spots policing strategies, law enforcement agencies can focus limited resources in areas where crime is most likely to occur. This practice is rated Effective for reducing overall crime and rated Promising for reducing violent, property, public order, and drug and alcohol offenses. Date Posted: |
Showing 1 to 7 of 7 entries