/ By Faculty / Kennedy, L. W., Caplan, J. M., & Drawve, G. (2021). Data-Informed Crime Prevention at Convenience Stores in Atlantic City. Police Practice and Research.
Kennedy, L. W., Caplan, J. M., & Drawve, G. (2021). Data-Informed Crime Prevention at Convenience Stores in Atlantic City. Police Practice and Research.
The Atlantic City Police Department intervened to reduce robberies with an evidence-based approach grounded in problem-oriented policing. Informed by risk terrain modeling and hot spot analysis, police commanders implemented a place-based intervention focused around convenience stores. Target areas throughout the city were reprioritized each month to create a dynamic deployment strategy that efficiently allocated resources to the most vulnerable places. Risk reduction actions, such as business checks, were favored over law enforcement against people. Robberies significantly decreased by 63% within four months. There was a significant spatial diffusion of benefits and there were fewer arrests, as should be expected with fewer crimes and a tactical place-based, not person-oriented, approach. Implications for policy and practice are discussed within the contexts of rapid evidence-based police responses to urgent crime problems, police culture, and data analytics.