Cities and Policing for Crime Prevention: Refocusing the Agenda to Maximize Benefits and Minimize Unintended Harms

Over the past 20 years, there has been growing concern over a purported link between proactive policing to control crime and unfair, biased, and abusive policing approaches. Overly aggressive and indiscriminate policing initiatives run the risk of driving a wedge between police and the communities they serve, with residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods feeling less like partners and more like targets. At the same time, research suggests that effective policing has an important impact on public safety. We present a conceptual framework for how police can prevent crime while minimizing unintended harm. We focus particularly on cities and urban communities, arguing that the benefits of policing can be maximized and the costs of policing can be minimized when the police respect individual rights and dignity and focus on community, and that problem solving should begin with a focus on risky people in the places that generate the most crime.