The effects of hot spots policing on violence: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Violence is highly concentrated in a small number of very specific “hot spot” locations within cities. The concentration of violence at these places tends to be stable over extended time periods, suggesting highly localized place characteristics and dynamics generate persistent violence. Research suggests police can be effective in controlling violence when they focus their attention on these small high-violence locations. Past systematic reviews and meta-analyses of hot spots policing studies have not fully considered how this strategy impacts violence in general and its specific effects on violent crime types such as assaults, robberies, and violent firearm crimes. This study draws on data used in a previously completed systematic review of hot spots policing programs including 32 studies with 38 tests of the effects of this police strategy on violence. Meta-analyses report hot spots policing is associated with significant reductions in violence in treated places relative to comparison places without evidence of violent crime displacement. Increased traditional policing interventions reduced violence in treated hot spots as did problem-oriented policing interventions when implemented properly. Police departments adopting this effective violence reduction approach must design these programs in ways that do not create unintended harms, such as excessive enforcement, on communities.