1. 6th International Conference on Evidence-Based Policing
Tuesday 9th July 2013
A Homicide Hot Spots Patrol Test in Trinidad and Tobago Commissioner of Police (Ag) Stephen Williams Trinidad & Tobago

3. Background
A sharp increase in the number of homicide cases in T&T during the last decade
Over 60% attributed to gang-related activity
Yet even within high-crime areas, violence in T&T tends to be concentrated in smaller, micro-level crime places – a strong justification for hotspot policing
Cambridge University <> TTPS partnership

4. Spatial and Temporal Concentrations of Homicides in T&T n=1,662 1 Jan 2009 – 21 Jan 2013

9. Spatial Concentrations – Port of Spain as a case study

14. Aerial view of the hotspot with the highest homicide rate (n=138 in 4 years)

15. MOSTLY HANDGUNS!! 87.52% Robbery Shoot/wound Grand Total Hand gun
84.95%
87.14%
Other firearm
3.32%
3.13%
3.30%
Other weapon
2.64%
4.12%
2.86%
Sawed off shot gun
0.80%
0.49%
0.76%
Shot gun
5.72%
7.30%
5.95% N
12,818
2,233
15,051

16. The Trinidad and Tobago Homicide Hotspots Experiment

17. Targets and Aims
Reduce Serious Crime by 50% compared to control conditions
Use all 3 “Triple Ts” of Evidence Based Policing
Targeting the power few
Testing the Intervention through rigorous science and
Tracking with GPS tracking and effective management (station-level Compstat)

18. Selection of Targets
All Police Station Districts that have eligible hotspots within their geographic boundaries
Top percentile that is responsible for most of crime and disorder in Trinidad and Tobago
Excluding Laventille
Focus heavily on violent crimes (shootings, woundings and homicides) and overall crime harm index
Focus indirectly on all other serious street crimes
Increase legitimacy of T&T Police through effective but fair procedures

19. Proposed Program Station-Level Compstat Every 14 days
--hearts and minds, targeting predicted crime
Hot Spot Patrols Hot Times—primarily in vehicles
Patrol Tracking Maps for Compstat Discussion
Searches for Guns
Roadblocks Stop & Search

20. Process of Random Assignment
Rank-Order all T&T Stations according to resources available (n of vehicles, manpower, etc.) and n of serious incidents in 12 months (shootings, homicides, woundings)
Exclude Besson Street Police Station--all treatment *
Exclude stations with fewer than 5 incidents in 12 months
Random assignment of stations across districts
creating 24 pairs
______
* Extreme outlier with 188 incidents; next in rank is Morvant Police Station with 49 incidents

21. Grade A

22. Tracking Patrols

23. GPS Tracking AVL GPS-based trackers Hand held GPS trackers
Crucial: It will help us measure the link between police presence and crime
As crucial: Officers’ safety!

27. Test driving the system:

28. Bi-Weekly Station-Level Compstat
Common practice in T&T at Division level, but not yet at station level
Ongoing feed of data from CAPA
Winning the hearts and minds of officers with:
Positive and negative reinforcements
Quick response to issues: Discussing challenges and obstacles at the tactical level
Accountability: ownership of problems at hotspots by designated officers

29. Outcomes N of all crimes N of homicides Tankebe’s legitimacy surveys
Crime harm index

31. Cameras? ….

32. 6th International Conference on Evidence-Based Policing
A Homicide Hot Spots Patrol Test in Trinidad and Tobago Commissioner of Police (Ag) Stephen Williams Trinidad & Tobago