Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 January 2024
As one approach to prison downsizing and criminal justice reform, scholars recommend altering the nature of policing by reallocating resources toward policing and increasing sentinel patrols and hot spots interventions. Public attitudes toward these reforms are unknown. In the current police crisis, shifting policies in ways disfavored by the public can impact police-community relations, especially among those disproportionately affected. The current study uses survey data from a nationally representative sample of Americans to evaluate whether the public is receptive to the suggested reforms. Our results indicate that the majority of the general public believes policing is more cost-effective than incarceration and supports a focus on sentinel patrols and crime hot spots, although there is less support for hot spots policing among blacks, Hispanics, and lower income individuals. The hot spots policing strategy most preferred is situational prevention, and the least supported is aggressive order-maintenance policing.
Christi Metcalfe, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of South Carolina. Her research interests include criminal courts, developmental/life course criminology, punitive attitudes, and quantitative methods.
Justin T. Pickett, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the School of Criminal Justice at the University at Albany, SUNY. His research interests include survey research methods and public opinion about crime and punishment. He is currently examining public attitudes toward sanctioning scientific misconduct. His recent work has appeared in Criminology, Sociological Methods & Research, and other leading criminology and sociology journals.