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Open drug scenes and the merging of policing practice and research: a pracademic approach
Malmö University, Faculty of Health and Society (HS), Department of Criminology (KR). Polismyndigheten, polisregion Stockholm.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2955-1223
2022 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Policing research has had an upswing as the evidence-based policing movement has grown stronger and entered police practises worldwide. Within the evidence-based policing (EBP) approach, practically and academically skilled individuals, pracademics, have attracted attention as facilitating the merging of policing practice and research.

Using principles from EBP, and with a special focus on translating between policing practice, policy and research, this thesis aims to explore the characteristics of illicit drug markets with a place-based focus and to link this to the enhancement of EBP in Sweden. The theoretical base of the thesis is drawn from disorganization theory, routine activity theory and situational action theory, and these theories are combined with empirical studies from the research field of drug markets.

Drug markets are defined as open drug scenes (ODSs) in this pracademic thesis, which includes two empirical studies of patterns that characterize ODSs, one randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a law enforcement tactic at an ODS, and one case study of the impact of the pracademic research approach. The findings show that there are almost 50 ODSs in Stockholm County, which are characterized by patterns of crime concentration, a gun violence overlap, and associations with perceptions of unsafety. Three types of ODSs were identified, providing a basis for the tailoring of future interventions based on area characteristics, ODS stability, levels of violence, and gang activity. Micro places associated with ODSs and gun violence were found to be characterized by harsh social conditions and high levels of crime. A predictive index was created to forecast micro places at which gun violence may occur, and the prediction was enhanced when ODSs were included as predictive locations. The RCT, which was completed at a well-known ODS in the inner city of Stockholm, showed a slight but non-significant effect of the police conducting motivational talks with offenders, which gave rise to questions regarding the method’s effectiveness. The case study of the RCT process found frustration in police departments to be a possible door-opener for research. Ease of implementation was associated with the research having credibility among police officers, which was achieved by including the needs of practice in research questions and through the role played by the pracademic researcher.

This thesis argues for making use of pracademics to bridge the research-practice gap, a focus on ODSs, and the testing and tracking of methods such as hot spots policing, with an emphasis on properly implemented evidence-based methods and on the goals of enforcement strategies as a means of improving the effectiveness of drug-market policing.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Malmö: Malmö universitet, 2022. , p. 106
Series
Malmö University Health and Society Dissertations, ISSN 1653-5383 ; 2022:3
Keywords [en]
Policing, crime, Open drug scenes, illicit drug markets, evidence based policing, pracademic, criminology, place based criminology, translational criminology, gun violence, crime concentration, crime mapping
National Category
Law and Society
Research subject
Criminology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-49789DOI: 10.24834/isbn.9789178772506ISBN: 978-91-7877-250-6 (electronic)ISBN: 978-91-7877-249-0 (print)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mau-49789DiVA, id: diva2:1634329
Public defence
2022-03-11, Aulan, Fakulteten Hälsa och Samhälle, Jan Waldenströms gata 25, Malmö, 14:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Note

Paper II and III in dissertation as manuscripts, paper II under the title "Open drug scene: gun violence overlap and prediction of gun violence at micro places in Stockholm"

Forskningsfinansiär: Polismyndigheten

Available from: 2022-02-02 Created: 2022-02-02 Last updated: 2024-02-23Bibliographically approved
List of papers
1. Mapping Open Drug Scenes (ODS)
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Mapping Open Drug Scenes (ODS)
2020 (English)In: Crime and fear in public places: Towards safe, inclusive and sustainable cities / [ed] Vania Ceccato; Mahesh K. Nalla, Routledge, 2020, p. 305-325Chapter in book (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Despite differences in legislation, culture and societal organization, open use and dealing of drugs is a common problem in societies around the globe. In Open Drug Scenes (ODS), use and dealing of drugs take place in public. This study investigates the spatial nature of ODS in Stockholm, Sweden. The study is an exploratory way to show whether and how ODS influence their surroundings, through an analysis of crime statistics and a citizen safety survey. The study found 48 ODS in the Stockholm region, and just above 50 percent of them showed disrupted symptoms such as crime hotspots in the surrounding areas. The feeling of being unsafe, shootings, and crime concentration at these places is evidence of the impact ODS has on communities. We conclude by making suggestions on how to better understand and respond to the problems of ODS and their local impact. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2020
Series
Routledge studies in crime and society, ISSN 2643-9131
National Category
Law and Society
Research subject
Criminology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-41856 (URN)10.4324/9780429352775-21 (DOI)9780367371289 (ISBN)9780429352775 (ISBN)
Available from: 2021-04-15 Created: 2021-04-15 Last updated: 2023-10-19Bibliographically approved
2. Predicting Gun Violence in Stockholm, Sweden, Using Sociodemographics, Crime and Drug Market Locations
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Predicting Gun Violence in Stockholm, Sweden, Using Sociodemographics, Crime and Drug Market Locations
2023 (English)In: European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, ISSN 0928-1371, E-ISSN 1572-9869Article in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

The well-being of neighbourhoods in terms of socioeconomic conditions constitutes an important element in analyses focused on the explanation of crime trends and public safety. Recent developments in Sweden concerning gun violence and open drug scenes are worrying and the police are under a great deal of pressure to resolve the situation in many neighbourhoods, which is in turn affecting Swedish society as a whole. This study focuses on micro areas in terms of sociodemographic factors and the presence of drug markets and gun violence. The aim is to explore the relationship between these factors and what characterises areas that are experiencing the greatest difficulties. The study develops an index for the prediction of gun violence in micro areas, in this study portrayed by vector grids. The findings show an overlap between gun violence and drug markets and that micro areas in that overlap share harsh sociodemographic conditions. The study produces an index indicating the probability that a grid cell would experience gun violence. The index was then validated using recent gun incidents, and was found to have high accuracy. The resulting grids constitute a suitable target for resource allocation by police and other actors. This could facilitate a more accurate and precise focus for measures to prevent areas from becoming—or to disrupt already existing—hot spots for gun violence.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer Nature, 2023
Keywords
Open drug scenes, Gun violence, Prediction, Micro areas, Sociodemographics
National Category
Social Work
Research subject
Criminology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-62034 (URN)10.1007/s10610-023-09560-y (DOI)001042777000001 ()2-s2.0-85166923324 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Malmö University
Available from: 2023-08-22 Created: 2023-08-22 Last updated: 2023-12-29Bibliographically approved
3. Preventing Relapse into Drug Crime through Motivational Talks at a Drug Scene in Stockholm: A Randomised Controlled Trial of a Law Enforcement Tactic
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Preventing Relapse into Drug Crime through Motivational Talks at a Drug Scene in Stockholm: A Randomised Controlled Trial of a Law Enforcement Tactic
2023 (English)In: Nordic Journal of Studies in Policing, E-ISSN 2703-7045, Vol. 10, no 1, p. 1-17Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

A randomised controlled trial was developed and implemented together with police officers working to combat drugcrime at an open drug scene in Stockholm. The aim was to evaluate a method called motivational talks, which areheld by police officers to encourage drug crime suspects to seek help. Relapse into drug crime was compared betweenthe control group and the experimental group to determine whether the treatment, i.e., the motivational talk, had aneffect. The study shows that motivational talks had a small but non-significant impact on relapse into drug crime afternine months, but the effect had disappeared at the second follow-up. Motivational talks might still have other effectson the individual or the police. Studying the use of repeated treatment might be a way of furthering the research onthe effect of motivational talks.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, 2023
Keywords
Randomised controlled trials (RCT), police, open drug scene, motivational interviews (MI)
National Category
Social Work
Research subject
Criminology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-62033 (URN)10.18261/njsp.10.1.1 (DOI)2-s2.0-85152730102 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2023-08-22 Created: 2023-08-22 Last updated: 2023-12-29Bibliographically approved
4. Bridging the Gaps by Including the Police Officer Perspective?: A Study of the Design and Implementation of an RCT in Police Practice and the Impact of Pracademic Knowledge
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Bridging the Gaps by Including the Police Officer Perspective?: A Study of the Design and Implementation of an RCT in Police Practice and the Impact of Pracademic Knowledge
2020 (English)In: Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, ISSN 1752-4512, E-ISSN 1752-4520, Vol. 14, no 2, p. 438-455Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

One means of advancing police research is to examine the implementation of studies conducted in the field of police practice. The design and implementation of experiments in police practice is complex because they require the two often separate worlds of research and practice to work together. One way to move forward towards evidence-based policing would be to bridge the gap between research and practice, while also bridging the gap between practice and policy. This article analyses how a randomized controlled trial was designed and implemented in the field of drug policing in Sweden. The analysis is done by comparing the drug enforcement trial to the experimental guidelines presented by Sherman (2010) and by exploring survey responses provided by participating police officers. The study identifies three themes with special relevance for the pracademic perspective; frustration, credibility, and officer perspective. The study concludes that the involvement of pracademic researchers may facilitate better communication between practitioners and police management, enhance evaluation, and improve the chances of changing police practice.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Oxford University Press, 2020
National Category
Law and Society
Research subject
Criminology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-18660 (URN)10.1093/police/pay022 (DOI)000569528800017 ()2-s2.0-85101181289 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2020-10-15 Created: 2020-10-15 Last updated: 2024-02-05Bibliographically approved

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