Summary
"This essay will argue that police should put places rather than people at the center of police practices. The point is not simply that places should be considered in policing but that they should become a key component of the databases that police use; of the geographic organization of police activities; of the strategic approaches that police employ to combat crime and disorder; and in the definitions of the role of the police in urban settings. The essay will show that place-based policing, as opposed to person-based policing, is more efficient as a focus of police actions; provides a more stable target for police activities; has a stronger evidence base; and raises fewer ethical and legal problems. These benefits of place-based policing suggest that the police should shift their primary focus from the people involved in crimes to the contexts of criminal behavior. This is no longer a radical idea for police administrators who have fostered and developed innovations that are concerned with the context of crime. Place-based policing in this context represents an evolution in policing even if it demands a reconsideration of the key organizing units of police practice."--Includes text from page 2.