Intelligence-Led Policing and Volume Crime Reduction

Rob Heaton is a serving police officer in Kent Police. He was awarded an MSc degree in 1996 and PhD in 2007. He has published several papers on the subject of the effects of policing upon crime rates. This is the second of two linked articles that examine aspects of the relationship between the use of focused 'policing styles' and recorded crime rates. The first article found that in general, it was difficult to demonstrate a causal link between the practice of a particular policing style and any subsequent reduction in recorded crime. However, there appeared to be an exception in respect of intelligence-led policing, which was associated with reductions in thefts of motor vehicles. This study examined the association between intelligence-led policing and recorded crime rates in greater depth. Three hypotheses were tested in relation to six police forces that had similar and well-embedded 'intelligence-led' structures and processes. The findings were in broad agreement with those of the earlier study.