City of Tacoma announcement.
TACOMA, Wash. – The Tacoma Police Department provided an update on the Violent Crime Reduction Plan during the City Council Study Session on February 14.
Tacoma Police Chief Avery Moore and consultants from the University of Texas at San Antonio gave a presentation that included an overview of the Violent Crime Reduction Plan’s hot spot approach, Phase 1 outcomes from the first five months of implementation, and a discussion about ongoing efforts and next steps to develop a mid-term strategy.
Beginning in early July 2022, Tacoma Police Department began executing its near-term, hot spot policing strategy that focused on violence-prone addresses by increasing police visibility at or near those locations to deter violent offenders. The goal was to drive down violent crime in and around these areas thereby impacting crime levels within larger geographical areas (e.g., patrol sectors).
Between July 6, 2022, and December 5, 2022, 16 treatment locations were identified and analyzed for temporal patterns of risk for violent crime, and peak crime hours/days of the week were identified for each location. Officers were dispatched to each location during high-risk hours and were instructed to be within sight of the hot spot address for at least 15 minutes with all vehicle lights illuminated. Otherwise, addresses received normal patrol and/or response to calls for service.
The results of these efforts during the second period (October 6, 2022 – December 5, 2022) were:
- At least one officer was present at the treatment location within the proscribed hour in 97 percent of all expected times.
- Violent crime levels continue to flatten since spike in late 2021.
- Across all treated locations during Period 2, average monthly violent crime incidents fell 36 percent compared to the 12 months prior to the implementation of the hot spot treatment in July.
- Compared with the same period in 2021 (October 6-December 5), violent crime levels were down 19 percent in treated locations.
- Violent crime was down 8.6 percent in the first five months of implementation. compared to prior 12-month averages across all sectors of Tacoma.
- Catchment areas also consistently benefited from the strategy although they saw a slight increase of 3.7 percent in crime.
Next Steps
The next steps will include a third hot spot period. The Tacoma Police Department does not share hotspot addresses with the community for safety reasons.
The Tacoma Police Department will continue to work with consultants from the University of Texas at San Antonio to create a mid-term strategy that uses the Problem-Oriented, Place-Based Policing (POPBP) approach, which is scheduled to begin in March 2023.
This approach will:
- Carefully tailor policing tactics to address underlying conditions contributing to recurring problems in crime-prone locations and be more effective at reducing crime than merely increasing or intensifying traditional police activities.
- Involve other key stakeholders (in addition to the Tacoma Police Department) who can help address the underlying conditions that make a particular location attractive for crime.
For more information about the Violent Crime Reduction Plan visit cityoftacoma.org/crimereduction. To see the full study session presentation, visit cityoftacoma.org/TVTacoma.
