Police Presence as a Crime Deterrence

Police Presence as a Crime Deterrence
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Introduction
The law enforcement agency (police department) is an essential section of the criminal justice system. As an agency of the judiciary, the policing department acts as a direct link between various arms of the government and the people as it enforces the laws made by the legislature and implemented by the executive. This study assesses the effectiveness of policing in hindering criminal activities by analyzing various studies conducted in different countries globally.
Crime and Policing
A crime is an activity or omission that, when committed or omitted, violates the constitutionally implemented laws, constituting an offense punishable by law. All criminal offenses and the punishment they attract are stipulated in the Penal (criminal) law. Crimes are categorized depending on their severity as felonies or misdemeanors. Although there are many distinct types of crimes, they are generally categorized into crimes against a person(s), incoherent crimes, crimes against property(s), statutory crimes, crimes against a state, organized crimes, and financial crimes. All these crimes threaten the peace, stability, and development of people and nations. Therefore, it is the government's mandate through its agencies to protect the law and those responsible for criminal violations are apprehended, prosecuted, and punished per the Penal law requirements. The government does so via the criminal justice system.
The criminal justice system is an aspect of social justice concerned with the violators of criminal law. It comprises various government agencies, including law enforcement, the court system, and correctional institutions that enforce the law, interpret it, and punish lawbreakers. The police are tasked with selectively enforcing the law, protecting the public by reducing fear of crime, arresting criminal suspects, efficiently investigating crimes, and presenting suspects and the facts in court. However, the primary role of law enforcement is to control and eventually reduce crimes. Policing enjoys wide public support as it is committed to reducing crimes. Multiple studies have revealed that the presence of police officers significantly hinders criminal activities and ultimately reduces the rates of victimization across the globe.
Policing can either be reactive (traditional) or proactive. Just like the name suggests, the former entails the response and reaction of the law enforcement agency. In reactive policing, police officers retain their impartiality by keeping their distance from the general public. Hence, they will only react when crimes have been committed, or the public has summoned them. Otherwise, law enforcement does not intrude. Additionally, police officers do not develop relationships with the public to prevent biases when responding to criminal incidents. The aim of reactive policing is to safeguard people from inordinately familiar and intrusive police. Reactive policing is made possible by motorized patrols, rapid response to a call, and retrospective crime investigations (follow-up investigations). All these have enhanced police responsiveness to criminal activities as police officers are directly linked to the public through telephones, cars, and radios.
In Crime and Policing by Moore et al. (1988), the reluctance of the reactive policing model in forging a relationship with citizens, being impartial, and less intrusive is not effective in hindering criminal activities. An officer will only act when a crime has been reported. Retrospective investigations and sentencing of offenders will only serve as a warning to the general public in terms of the quickness and certainty of the punishment accorded to criminal offenders. In contrast to reacting to a crime after it has occurred, proactive policing anticipates the occurrence of a felony. Therefore, police officers act before a felony happens to prevent or mitigate its impacts. It entails using the police presence as a deterrent aspect. It also involves building trust and fostering a relationship with the community, learning about their concerns about criminal activities, and coming up with measures to hinder the activities of criminals in society.
Additionally, proactive policing entails using uniformed and plainclothes officers and discovering and investigating conspiracies to commit criminal activities. It is closely related to community policing. Most police departments have now adopted proactive policing tactics. Here, the police officers recruit informants and situate them across the community. The role of a police informant is to conduct covert investigations on potential criminals and report perceived threats to law enforcement.
Moreover, the police conduct covert surveillance and undercover operations instead of waiting for a call from the general public. Since police officers are closer to the public than the other facets of the criminal justice system, it is their task to reduce the fear of crime by being close. Most citizens feel at ease when the police officers are within, or there are frequent patrols.
Police Presence as a Crime Deterrent
Whether police presence reduces criminal activities in a locality has mixed reactions from various police research scholars and criminologists. Police presence in the community takes the form of frequent patrols (on foot or car), community policing, hot spot policing, broken-window policing, accommodating of police officers' advice to community policies, and police living within the community (Ariel et al., 2020; Braga et al., 2019). In criminology, rational choice theory adopts the classical criminology ideology and argues that humans are rational beings who weigh their options before committing a crime (Gul, 2009). Before committing a crime, an individual calculates the advantages and undersides of committing the crime based on the opportunity and risks. If the advantages of the misconduct outweigh the risks, they will engage in criminal activity.
Consequently, if the proceeds of a crime are lower than the risks, an individual ceases to commit the crime. The presence of police officers in the community is a risk to a potential criminal who will fear apprehension and prosecution upon being caught. Police officers make crime less attractive to a potential offender.
Additionally, routine activity theory argues that for a crime to take place, three key aspects must meet in a space and at a given time (Cohen & Felson, 2010). These aspects are a motivated offender, appropriate (vulnerable) target, and an absence of a guardian. A motivated offender is ready and willing to conduct criminal activity. A suitable target is vulnerable and provides a perfect opportunity for the offender to victimize. A guardian is tasked with protecting a target from criminal victimization. A guardian includes police officers, security personnel, or security equipment (such as a lock or alarm). The presence of police officers in the community serves as a capable guardian to protect the public and property from victimization, thereby hindering the occurrence of a crime.
On the other hand, deterrence theory argues that police presence is suitable for deterring criminal activities. Police liaison with the community members via community policing helps build trust between the two, allowing for smooth reporting of suspicious activities and investigations, which lead to the apprehension and punishment of criminal activities. Successful prosecution is made possible by presenting efficient investigations of the facts surrounding a crime by the police officer to a court of law. After a successful prosecution of a crime, general and specific deterrence ensues. General deterrence occurs when the fear of the punishment of a crime is instilled in the general public upon the arrest and prosecution of a criminal. On the other hand, with specific deterrence, the community is left to enjoy a crime-free society after a criminal is apprehended by the police and sentenced by the courts.
Kleck & Barnes (2014) assessed whether more police result in more crime deterrence. They argue that the most common proposed measure to tackle the rising crime rate in the United States has been to increase police presence in troubled areas. For instance, President Clinton proposed the additional recruitment of 100,000 police officers, which Congress passed as the Violent Crime Control and the Law Enforcement Act of 1994. However, despite the perceptions of more police and less crime, Kleck & Barnes explain that the Newark Foot Patrol Experiment of 1981 and the Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment of 1974 indicated otherwise. Previous studies on the relevance of police presence in crime deterrence invoke the concept of general deterrence. In that, the presence of police officers in society increases the fear of arrest and subsequent punishment upon being arrested.
The role of police presence in crime deterrence is not certain. Their study concluded that increasing the police workforce in the community has other beneficial impacts other than hindering criminal activities. These impacts include the delivery of public services and traffic controls. The uncertainty of reducing the crime rate by increasing the police workforce is because even without police presence, the perceived risk of arrest and punishment is present, and arrests are also made in localities with a few police officers on the ground. Recent studies on crime have indicated that proactive policing and arrests, directed patrols, and problem-oriented actions of the police department are significant in reducing criminal activities in society. Braga et al. (2019) explained that the presence of police officers in hot spot areas effectively prevents crime. A Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) survey in 2008 highlighted that police officers had recognized the significance of place in crime prevention.
During their daily routines, police officers identify the troubled spots in the community. Braga et al. suggest that police officers are well acquainted with public places (such as hotels, schools, and playgrounds) and can, at a glance, know when something is wrong. The study highlighted 19 hot spot policing evaluations from 1989 to 2011. Among them is the Philadelphia foot patrol program, Jacksonville violent crimes hot spot p...