Midterm Exam
Lisa Lippincott
Excelsior College

The Kansas City Gun Experiment in 1992 - 1993 used intensive police patrols directed to an 80-block hotspot area where the homicide rate was 20 times the national average. It represented a unique approach to crime prevention through preventive patrol.
Question 1
Is this approach different from traditional patrol? If so how? If not, how is it similar? What did patrol officers in this experiment do that was different from what basic patrol officers do? What was the relationship between the officers in this experiment and other patrol officers? The Kansas City Gun Experiment was a police patrol project that aimed at reducing gun violence, drive-by shootings, and homicides. The
Question 3
Could the tactics have used in Kansas City work on the environment of today? If increasing patrols can be done more randomly, continuing to follow the same pattern of merely increasing patrol during certain hours would just deter crime during those hours over a lengthy period. There has to be an element of surprise included to keep criminals on alert for deterrence to be most effective. Are there any police strategies in use today that employ the tactics, either in total or in part that were used in Kansas City? Could they be successful? Define success as you envision it. I believe there are many strategies today that are more useful in deterring crime. Since patrol work is most important aspect of policing, the important thing is to increase awareness of police presence. Furthermore, important is a quick response time to service calls. Not only does this increase the chance of catching the person(s) involved in criminal activity and getting them off the streets it also increases the feeling of safety by the residence within the community. Another vital strategy would be to have someone overseeing the field officers