Recommended Readings

Background Reading on POP and its Implementation

Problem-Oriented Policing

by Herman Goldstein (McGraw-Hill, 1990, and Temple University Press, 1990).

Explains the principles and methods of problem-oriented policing, provides examples of it in practice, and discusses how a police agency can implement the concept.

View table of contents, author’s preface and introductory chapter

Buy this book or request an examination copy from McGraw-Hill Publishers

Problem-Oriented Policing and Crime Prevention

by Braga ,A. (2003). Monsey , NY : Criminal Justice Press.

This book provides a thorough review of significant policing research, with a focus on the applicability of those findings to problem-oriented policing. The three parts of the “problem analysis triangle” are addressed separately, with one chapter concerning problem places, another high-activity offenders, and a third repeat victims. The issue of how police departments can facilitate problem-oriented policing is explored in a chapter that discusses improving crime analysis, measuring performance, and securing productive partnerships.

Not Rocket Science? Problem-Solving and Crime Reduction

by Tim Read and Nick Tilley (Home Office Crime Reduction Research Series, 2000).

Identifies and describes the factors that make problem-solving effective or ineffective as it is being practiced in police forces in England and Wales.

Problem-Oriented Policing: Reflections on the First 20 Years

by Michael S. Scott (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2000).

Describes how the most critical elements of Herman Goldstein's problem-oriented policing model have developed in practice over its 20-year history, and proposes future directions for problem-oriented policing.

Problem-Solving: Problem-Oriented Policing in Newport News

by John E. Eck and William Spelman (Police Executive Research Forum, 1987).

Explains the rationale behind problem-oriented policing and the problem-solving process, and provides examples of effective problem-solving in one agency

Problem Analysis in Policing

By Rachel Boba, PhD, Director, Crime Mapping Laboratory, Police Foundation. (March 2003)

This report introduces and defines problem analysis and provides guidance on how problem analysis can be integrated and institutionalized into modern policing practices.

Problem Oriented Policing, Case Studies

By Ronald V. Clarke. U.S. Dept. of Justice, award number: 95-IJ-CX-0021(June 2002)

This report examines the similarities and differences between situational crime prevention and problem-oriented policing, and clarifies the distinction between community policing and problem oriented policing.

Tackling Crime and Other Public-Safety Problems: Case Studies in Problem-Solving

by Rana Sampson and Michael S. Scott (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2000).

Presents case studies of effective police problem-solving of 18 types of crime and disorder problems.

Fairness and effectiveness in policing: The evidence.

Committee to Review Research on Police Policy and Practices, W. Skogan and K. Frydl, eds. (2004). Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press.

This report traces major themes in the development of American policing - a policing ‘industry’ that is highly diverse and decentralized, as well as locally controlled and financed. The discussion is informed by a review of police research since 1968, including research sponsored by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which was conducted by the Committee to Review Research on Police Policy and Practices of the National Research Council. Specifically, the report examines research on: the causes of police behavior; police effectiveness at reducing crime, disorder, and fear; and the criteria by which people make judgments about the police. Examples of topics examined include: the organization of police work, the expanding responsibilities of police, the increasing diversity among police employees, the complex interactions between officers and citizens, community policing, use of force, racial profiling, and police techniques, such as focusing on crime ‘hot spots.’

Overall, a scientific knowledge base exists for helping communities to decide what strategies to use to reduce crime and disorder while increasing policing legitimacy. Relative to other institutions of criminal justice, the police are very open to innovations and evaluations in collaboration with universities and other research institutions. This is a remarkable transformation, and it creates the potential for creating an even more effective, fair, efficient, and accountable police in the 21st century. The recommendations provided in the report build on these findings to provide specific guidance to communities, to state and national lawmakers, and to police themselves. Recommendations include: the need for police to turn their attention from providing standardized levels of police resources and activities to achieving measurable results related to focused effectiveness and fairness issues that reflect community goals; the need for research on the fairness and lawfulness of police practices and a coordinated research emphasis on the effectiveness of organizational mechanisms that foster police rectitude; and the need for additional research on public opinion, personnel practices, problem-oriented policing and community policing.