The Center for Problem-Oriented Policing (POP Center) recently held its annual conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan on April 25-27, 2022. Representatives from agencies across the United States and five countries attended this year’s conference. The centerpiece of the annual POP Center conference is the Herman Goldstein Award for Excellence in Problem-Oriented Policing. First introduced in 1993, The Herman Goldstein Award recognizes outstanding police officers and police agencies, both in the United States and around the world, that engage in innovative and effective problem-solving efforts and achieve measurable success in reducing specific crime, disorder, and public safety problems. This international competition is named after the founder of problem-oriented policing, University of Wisconsin Emeritus Professor Herman Goldstein. Each year, agencies are invited to submit their problem-oriented projects for consideration for the award. A panel of Goldstein judges review and score each year’s submissions to determine the finalists. Finalists make their presentations to an audience who are also included in the final selection of a winner.

Pictured: Winners of the 2022 Herman Goldstein Award.

This year’s winner was the University of Cincinnati Police Division (UCPD), for “Strategic Investigation: Off-Campus Burglary Reduction Project.” This successful project represents a collaboration between the University of Cincinnati, University of Cincinnati Police Division, Cincinnati Parks, Cincinnati Police Department, and a citizens committee.

Faced with a burgeoning burglary off-campus, the UCPD used crime analysis to identify 78 burglary events within a small residential area near campus. Records revealed this area was a “hotspot” for crime. This was further confirmed in interviews with residents in the area. It was determined that a problem-oriented approach to the problem was needed.

Further analysis revealed a clustering of data by days, times, and locations. Crime Prevention through Environmental Design assessments identified several issues, including poor lighting, that facilitated burglaries at night. A review of academic literature also helped officers understand best practices for burglary interventions.

A collaborative team representing law enforcement and university and city officials devised seven different responses, including a knock-and-talk awareness campaign, directed patrols, a social media awareness campaign, awareness (guardian) notifications, visibility improvements, landlord education and a university-sponsored resource center for off-campus living.

These efforts and others resulted in a 30 percent reduction in burglary from the previous year in the targeted area.

Congratulations to University of Cincinnati Police Department Lieutenant David Brinker, Former Chief Maris Herold, Crime Analyst Michael Zidar, University of Nevada-Las Vegas Associate Professor Dr. Tamara Herold, and others representing the University of Cincinnati Police Department who contributed to this project’s success.

The deadline for submission for the 2023 Herman Goldstein Award is December 1, 2022. The POP Center encourages agencies to submit their projects for consideration. Every submission, whether it becomes a finalist or not, adds to the base of knowledge about what works in policing and is shared on the POP Center website. Information about the submission process, as well as projects from previous years, can be found on the POP Center Goldstein award page. If you have questions about the submission process or about whether your project meets the definition of problem-oriented policing, please do not hesitate to reach out to the Goldstein Award coordinator at goldsteinaward@popcenter.org.

Planning for the 2023 conference is underway and it is anticipated that the conference will be held in Boulder, Colorado in June of 2023. For more information about the conference, please check the POP Center conference page or email the POP Center at events@popcenter.org.

Photo courtesy of the POP Center.

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