In recent years a new approach to preventing crime as opposed to reacting after offenses have occurred has gained support among police agencies worldwide. This new crime prevention strategy targets the underlying local problems that generate recurring offenses. According to Dr. Anthony Braga s comprehensive overview of worldwide research, this emerging problem-oriented policing approach has now been proven effective in reducing a wide range of crimes and disorders. The introduction explains why police have recently adopted the problem-oriented strategy to prevent crime, and Chapter 2 describes the specific steps involved in carrying out this approach. The next three chapters respectively analyze the results of problem-oriented projects centered on: (1) targeting high-crime places (such as drug dealing venues, violence-prone taverns, and abandoned sites that breed lawlessness); (2) deterring high-activity, repeat offenders; and (3) protecting victims of repeat offenses. Many of the most innovative projects effect changes in local environments in order to block opportunities for committing crime. Chapter 6 discusses how to improve problem-oriented policing in three critical areas: improving crime analysis, measuring program effectiveness, and securing productive partnerships with community residents and academic researchers. The author concludes with a chapter of final thoughts, and provides a comprehensive set of references. This is the only book recommended by the non-profit Center for Problem-Oriented Policing for use in all modules of its Model POP Curriculum, including courses for undergraduates and graduate students, and training programs for pre-service and in-service police personnel.

About the Author
Anthony A. Braga, Ph.D. currently serves as the Chief Policy Advisor to the Boston Police Commissioner, and he is a Senior Research Associate in the Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and in the Berkeley Center for Criminal Justice at the University of California, Berkeley's Boalt Hall Law School. He has served as a consultant on problem-oriented policing strategies to the U.S. Department of Justice and the police departments in Baltimore, Los Angeles, New York City, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Oakland and San Francisco, among other agencies. He was a core member of the Boston Gun Project/Operation Ceasefire working group, which was responsible for designing a highly effective strategy to reduce youth homicide in Boston.

Reviews
...Anthony Braga synthesizes [POP] literature in a way that communicates clearly to police practitioners and to other interested parties. And he has the direct experience of having had a key role in one of the most ambitious efforts ... aimed at addressing a specific problem youth gun violence in Boston." -Prof. Herman Goldstein, University of Wisconsin Law School



Book Information
ISBN 9781881798781
Author Anthony Allan Braga
Format Paperback
Page Count 242
Imprint Criminal Justice Press
Publisher Lynne Rienner Publishers Inc