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RECAP in Minneapolis

RECAP in Minneapolis. Repeat Call Address Policing (Sherman and Gartin). RECAP - A “Gold Standard” Experiment in Problem-Solving. “Problem” defined as A single address (building) Producing excessive calls for police service Call reduction as the “bottom line” measure of success

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RECAP in Minneapolis

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  1. RECAP in Minneapolis Repeat Call Address Policing (Sherman and Gartin)

  2. RECAP - A “Gold Standard” Experiment in Problem-Solving • “Problem” defined as • A single address (building) • Producing excessive calls for police service • Call reduction as the “bottom line” measure of success • High calls = “a fever,” a symptom • Officer diagnosis of the cause(s) of it

  3. BASIC STRUCTURE • 500 addresses, 250 in each group • Each subdivided into two groups by type • Commercial – dominated the highest-call group • Residential – dominated by domestics • Social Service agencies generally typed as Commercial

  4. TARGET for “SUCCESS” • 3% of all addresses in Minneapolis produced 50% of all 9-1-1 calls for police service • Total calls, divided by number of officers, produced a target of 1,000 fewer calls than the baseline year, per officer: 4,000 total

  5. THE BOTTOM LINE • RECAP was a success during the first six months (the original target length) • At the end of 12 months, only 475 fewer calls in the Experimental group compared to the Control group • Black Box analysis = “Failure”

  6. THE BOTTOM LINE • RECAP was nevertheless extended as an operational unit despite statistical results • Unit earned its spurs as a developer of new tactical approaches, and of information useful to larger strategic approaches

  7. The RECAP Team • Four patrol officers detached from 9-1-1 response • One supervisor (Sergeant) • Selected from volunteers • Some had prior experience with the Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment

  8. THE SETTING • 1985 – Computer equipment primitive by contemporary standards: 40 mg hard drives had to be subdivided, 32 mg max • RECAP ran simultaneously with the Newport News Problem-Solving endeavour

  9. THE SETTING • Operationally driven, not theory-driven • CPTED only rarely employed as a solution • “Broken Windows” irrelevant • Few solutions could be called “situational” • “Stranger” incursion á lá Neighborhood Watch rarely a factor – biggest threat was the neighbors, or the regular customers

  10. OPERATIONAL ASSUMPTION • Like the Eck and Spelman definition at Newport News, a tacit assumption that repeat calls resulted from unsolved problems at the address • Address-specific selection left open the possibility of multiple problems at the same address

  11. Anti-Social Behavior • ASB was not a term in use • Calls by dispatched type dominated and directed problem analysis • BUT

  12. Anti-Social Behavior • Most of the address-specific behaviors dealt with by the RECAP unit stemmed from two factors: • Problems arising directly from the life circumstances of people who “belonged” there • Problems arising from an abdication of responsibility by the formal guardians of the specific address

  13. Anti-Social Behavior • “What do you do with people for whom jail is a higher standard of living?” • Migratory patterns of moving • Multiple and overlapping substance abuse • Conscious manipulation of “disability” as a shield against consequences and responsibility

  14. TRANSMOGRIFICATION • Hot Spots of Crime (Sherman &Weisburd) – tight geographic concentration of RECAP-eligible problem addresses, plus parks and intersections (eliminated from RECAP) • Third-Party Policing (Buerger & Mazerolle) – control of ASB through police action directed at place managers, others

  15. TRANSMOGRIFICATION • “Experimental design be damned!” • Commonalities led to city-wide initiatives: • Domestic violence (patrol resistance) • Drive-off gas NOPAYs (owner resistance) • Shoplifting (City Attorney resistance) • Licensure of rental properties (City Council resistance – suburban exodus) • Juvenile Sweeps (good luck with that….)

  16. FIVE (NOT SO) EASY PIECES • Moby Dick’s Bar (“Hole in the Wall”) • Pursuit Hometel (mutual connivance) • St. Stephen’s Shelter (spillover impact) • 1740 Pleasant Street (drug market) • 1501 Portland Avenue (smooth slumlord)

  17. OTHER MAJOR PROBLEMS • Plymouth Avenue McDonald’s (turf wars) • Snyder’s Liquors (751 Franklin) • E-Block (800 block of Hennepin) • Mousey’s Too and The Corral (bars) • MCDA High-rises for the elderly and disabled (national HUD and local policy)

  18. CONFOUNDING PROBLEMS • Low incidence rate: 1 call per week (most) • Multiple-layered problems • Fences at 1501 – 11th Av S / gang-bangers • Round-robin sales of residential properties • Inconsistency of patrol response (13 calls) • Magnet phones and mirror calls • “The Ex-Police” struggle for legitimacy

  19. Thank you

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