Systematic Review of the Effects of Problem-Oriented Policing on Crime and Disorder, 1985-2006

The purpose of this study was to synthesize the extant problem-oriented policing evaluation literature and assess the effects of problem-oriented policing on crime and disorder. Several strategies were used to perform an exhaustive search for literature fitting the eligibility criteria. Researchers performed a keyword search on an array of online abstract databases, reviewed the bibliographies of past reviews of problem-oriented policing (POP), performed forward searches for works that have cited seminal problem-oriented policing studies, performed hand searches of leading journals in the field, searched the publication of several research and professional agencies, and emailed the list of studies meeting the eligibility criteria to leading policing scholars knowledgeable in the the area of problem-oriented policing to ensure relevant studies had not been missed. Both Part 1 (Pre-Post Study Data, n=52) and Part 2 (Quasi-Experimental Study Data, n=19) include variables in the following categories: reference information, nature and description of selection site, problems, etc., nature and description of selection of comparison group or period, unit of analysis, sample size, methodological type, description of the POP intervention, statistical test(s) used, reports of significance, effect size/power, and conclusions drawn by the authors.