DOI: 10.3886/icpsr09962.v1
title: Modern Policing and the Control of Illegal Drugs: Testing New Strategies in Oakland, California, and Birmingham, Alabama, 1987-1989
title: Version 1

description: These data were collected in Oakland, California, and
 Birmingham, Alabama, to examine the effectiveness of alternative drug
 enforcement strategies. A further objective was to compare the
 relative effectiveness of strategies drawn from professional- versus
 community-oriented models of policing. The professional model
 emphasizes police responsibility for crime control, whereas the
 community model stresses the importance of a police-citizen
 partnership in crime control. At each site, experimental treatments
 were applied to selected police beats. The Oakland Police Department
 implemented a high-visibility enforcement effort consisting of
 undercover buy-bust operations, aggressive patrols, and motor vehicle
 stops, while the Birmingham Police Department engaged in somewhat less
 visible buy-busts and sting operations. Both departments attempted a
 community-oriented approach involving door-to-door contacts with
 residents. In Oakland, four beats were studied: one beat used a
 special drug enforcement unit, another used a door-to-door community
 policing strategy, a third used a combination of these approaches, and
 the fourth beat served as a control group. In Birmingham, three beats
 were chosen: Drug enforcement was conducted by the narcotics unit in
 one beat, door-to-door policing, as in Oakland, was used in another
 beat, and a police substation was established in the third beat. To
 evaluate the effectiveness of these alternative strategies, data were
 collected from three sources. First, a panel survey was administered
 in two waves on a pre-test/post-test basis. The panel survey data
 addressed the ways in which citizens' perceptions of drug activity,
 crime problems, neighborhood safety, and police service were affected
 by the various policing strategies. Second, structured observations of
 police and citizen encounters were made in Oakland during the periods
 the treatments were in effect. Observers trained by the researchers
 recorded information regarding the roles and behaviors of police and
 citizens as well as police compliance with the experiment's
 procedures. And third, to assess the impact of the alternative
 strategies on crime rates, reported crime data were collected for time
 periods before and during the experimental treatment periods, both in
the targeted beats and city-wide.
description: The researchers conducted this study to provide
 evidence of the effectiveness of alternative drug enforcement
 strategies. There was particular interest in examining the relative
 effectiveness of strategies drawn from professional- versus
 community-oriented models of policing. The professional model
 emphasizes police responsibility for crime control, whereas the
 community model stresses the importance of a police-citizen
partnership in crime control.
description: The cities of Oakland, California, and Birmingham,
 Alabama, were chosen for the experiment based on similarity of
 population size, demographics, number of police officers, and history
 of drug problems. In each city, the main focus was on evaluating the
 impact of alternative policing methods on citizens' attitudes and
 reported crime. The researchers selected beats to either receive an
 experimental treatment or to act as a control group. The treatments
 consisted of either increasing enforcement activities based on the
 professional policing model, or increasing police-citizen cooperation
 based on the community policing model. In Oakland, the enforcement
 activities were conducted by Special Duty Unit 3 (SDU-3) and consisted
 of undercover buy-bust operations, aggressive patrols, and motor
 vehicle stops. The community policing activity consisted of
 door-to-door contacts with citizens. The Oakland data contain
 information on four beats: one control and three treatments. For the
 period May-October 1988, SDU-3 operated in Beat 25, community policing
 was practiced in Beat 7, both SDU-3 and community policing were in
 effect in Beat 34, and Beat 11 served as the control group, with no
 change in police activities. One rotation of treatments occurred among
 the beats during the period November 1988-April 1989. During that
 time, SDU-3 operated in Beat 34, community policing was practiced in
 Beat 11, both treatments were in effect in Beat 7, and Beat 25 served
 as the control group. In Birmingham, the enforcement activities
 included less visible buy-busts and sting operations conducted by the
 narcotics unit. The community policing efforts involved door-to-door
 contacts, as in Oakland, and the establishment of a police substation.
 In contrast to the Oakland site, a control group did not exist in
 Birmingham. Three beats received three different treatments: Beat 61
 used narcotics unit enforcement, Beat 84 practiced door-to-door
 policing, and Beat 62 had a police substation. No rotation of
 treatments occurred. These treatments were in effect from September
 1988 to February 1989. Structured observations of the police were
performed in Oakland.
description: Each data source focused on collecting specific
 types of information. Panel surveys in both Oakland and Birmingham
 asked questions on topics such as awareness of drug trafficking
 problems, prevalence of crime other than drug trafficking, awareness
 of specific police programs aimed at controlling crime and drugs,
 perceived safety of the neighborhood, quality of life in the
 neighborhood, and satisfaction with police service. The structured
 observations in Oakland assessed the major roles, behavior, and
 decisions of police and citizens in drug-related encounters.
 Observational data were recorded using two different instruments: a
 "long form" used in 353 encounters in which an arrest was made, and a
 "short form" used in 130 encounters in which police briefly stopped
 and questioned individuals but did not make an arrest. (Structured
 observations were not conducted in Birmingham.) Drug arrest data were
 gathered for both cities. Location of arrest, crime type, suspect
 information, and evidence were of particular interest. Additional
 crime data were collected covering offenses against persons (homicide,
rape, and felonious assault), burglaries, and robberies.
description: Response Rates: Response rates for Wave I of the panel surveys
 were 58 percent and 84 percent in Oakland and Birmingham,
 respectively. In Oakland, Wave I consisted of 787 respondents.
 Sixty-four percent of those interviewed in Wave I were
 reinterviewed in Wave II. In Birmingham, Wave I consisted of 580
 respondents. Seventy-six percent of those individuals were
 reinterviewed for Wave II. In Oakland, structured observations were
 conducted in 82 out of 220 (37 percent) Special Duty Unit 3
tours. This resulted in 483 observations.
description: Presence of Common Scales: None
description: A random sample was used to select respondents for Wave I
 of the panel surveys. This resulted in 787 and 580 respondents in
 Oakland and Birmingham, respectively. Wave II panel members were the
 Wave I respondents reduced by attrition. Wave II respondents totaled
 506 and 438 for Oakland and Birmingham, respectively. Police patrols
 were selected for observation on a judgmental basis. In Oakland, 82
 out of 220 (37 percent) Special Duty Unit 3 tours were observed. The
 crime data cover reported crime during the periods January 1987-April
 1989 and January 1987-September 1989 for Oakland and Birmingham,
respectively.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Birmingham Wave I Data
DS2: Birmingham Wave II Data
DS3: Birmingham Selected Questions, Waves I and II
DS4: Birmingham Crime and Arrest Data
DS5: Oakland Wave I Data
DS6: Oakland Wave II Data
DS7: Oakland Selected Questions, Waves I and II
DS8: Oakland Police-Citizen Encounters With No Arrests
DS9: Oakland Police-Citizen Encounters With Arrests
DS11: SAS Data Definition Statements for Birmingham Wave I Data
DS12: SAS Data Definition Statements for Birmingham Wave II Data
DS13: SAS Data Definition Statements for Birmingham Selected Questions, Waves I and II
DS14: SAS Data Definition Statements for Birmingham Crime and Arrest Data
DS15: SAS Data Definition Statements for Oakland Wave I Data
DS16: SAS Data Definition Statements for Oakland Wave II Data
DS17: SAS Data Definition Statements for Oakland Selected Questions, Waves I and II
DS18: SAS Data Definition Statements for Oakland Police-Citizen Encounters With No Arrests
DS19: SAS Data Definition Statements for Oakland Police-Citizen Encounters With Arrests
DS20: SPSS Program File for Birmingham Selected Questions, Waves I and II
DS21: SPSS Program File for Oakland Selected Questions, Waves I and II
DS22: Codebook and User Guide
description: For the panel surveys, the universe consisted of
 residents, 18 years and older, residing in the target beats. In
 Oakland, the sample of structured observations was drawn from a
 universe of Special Duty Unit 3 patrols conducted during the treatment
period.