Hot Spot Policing: A Theoretical Study of Place-Based Strategies to Crime Prevention

Abstract

Hot spot policing is a place-based policing strategy which addresses crime by assigning limited police resources to areas where crimes are more highly concentrated. We evaluate the theoretical soundness of this strategy using a game theoretic approach. The main argument against focusing police resources on hot spots is that doing so would simply displace criminal activity from one area to another. Our results give new insights into the nature of the displacement e¤ect as well as useful hints for the econometric analysis of crime-reduction e¤ects of police reallocation. We also propose alternative place-based policies that display attractive properties regarding crime reduction.