The impact of high-visibility violent crime reduction patrols on property crime

The Dallas Police Department (DPD) and the Tacoma Police Department (TPD) implemented a hot spots strategy as the initial phase of a comprehensive, city-wide strategic plan to reduce violent street crime. Empirical assessments of the strategy in Dallas and Tacoma found consistent evidence of violent crime reductions. While the assessment also focused on the diffusion of violent crime reduction benefits to nearby catchment areas, it did not measure potential ancillary benefits of the violent crime reduction strategy in reducing property crime in and around the targeted hot spots or city-wide. Opportunity based theories of crime suggest that the ways in which place based guardianship reduces crime may vary across crime types and the respective opportunity structures. Therefore, the present study evaluates the impact of the hot spot policing strategy in Dallas and Tacoma on property crime. Ideally, a violent crime-focused hot spots strategy might also reduce property crime as addressing both violent and property crime is essential for promoting comprehensive safety, enhancing quality of life, and fostering community trust. Data to address the research question were provided by the DPD and TPD and covered a five-year period: January 2019–December 2023. A variety of analytic and descriptive approaches were utilized to answer the research question. Overall, we found no evidence of reductions in overall property crime or property crime subtypes despite consistent reductions in violent crime. These findings suggest that guardianship-based hot spots policing strategies designed to reduce violent crime may not generalize to property crime outcomes. The results highlight the importance of aligning place- based policing strategies with the opportunity structures within specific crime problems.