The Deterrent Effect of Police Paramilitary Units

Guest speaker : Scott Philipps

Scott Phillips earned a PhD from SUNY Albany. His research focuses on police decision making and culture. Dr. Phillips was a police officer in Houston, TX., and a Futurist Scholar with the Behavioral Science Unit at the FBI’s National Academy.

Summary

There is growing scholarship examining how police agencies respond to hot spot locations. The research is often framed within the theory of general deterrence. The application of Police Paramilitary Units (PPU) to hot spot locations is an unexplored tactic for deterring crime and improving the quality of life of neighborhoods.

This study fills a gap in the literature by examining the effect of PPUs to deter problems in hot spot locations. Results show that PPUs did not reduce calls for service or drug arrests in the targeted areas, nor were they reduced across the city. Calls for service actually increased in the targeted locations.

Information

Conférence présentée par le Centre international de criminologie comparée