Stratified Policing seeks to facilitate organizational change for crime reduction by providing a clear and adaptable structure for analysis, problem solving, and accountability. The purpose of this book is to outline the theoretical and practical foundations of Stratified Policing as well as its components and specific guidance for police departments to tailor the approach and implement it into their day-to-day operational crime reduction efforts. The material is well grounded in theory, research, and best practices and well cited; however, the presentation and language will be suited for the practitioner/professional audience. The book is a culmination of the authors 15 years of work and will synthesize their research, other publications on Stratified Policing, and provide new material for police leaders and professionals who are seeking an organizational structure to institutionalize crime reduction strategies into their day to day operations. The book has a very practical voice as both authors have been practitioners and have worked with many police agencies implementing and evaluating the strategies discussed in the book.
Rachel Santos is professor of criminal justice and director of the Center for Police Practice, Policy and Research at Radford University. The center facilitates collaboration among researchers and police practitioners to foster a unique blend of evidence-based and practice-based police policy and research. Santos has been working with police organizations since 1994 and conducts practice-based research on police organizational change, transparency, and communications as well as on the institutionalization and sustainability of problem solving, crime analysis, and accountability in police agencies to support their crime reduction efforts. She cocreated, with Roberto Santos, the concept of stratified policing and assists police agencies around the country and internationally implementing the organizational approach to institutionalize evidence-based crime reduction practices. She has recently completed two experiments partnering with a police agency to test the effectiveness of systematic police response in both short-term and long-term property crime hot spots. Since 2000, she has lead federally funded research and technical assistance projects in these areas for the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Community Policing Services, and the Bureau of Justice Assistance. From these projects, she has published many final reports, practitioner guidebooks, and articles for both academic and professional journals. She has one of the only sole authored books on crime analysis in its fourth edition, Crime Analysis with Crime Mapping which has also been translated in Chinese. She has also coauthored with Marcus Felson Crime and Everyday Life . Roberto Santos is assistant professor of criminal justice and associate director of the Center for Police Practice, Policy and Research at Radford University. The purpose of the Center is to facilitate collaboration among researchers and police practitioners to foster a unique blend of evidence-based and practice-based police policy and research. Dr. Santos is a retired police commander from the Port St. Lucie, FL Police Department (236 sworn personnel) where after 22 years worked in, supervised, and commanded every division within the agency. He co-created a crime reduction approach called Stratified Policing that standardizes crime analysis, the problem-solving process, and accountability and provides the means for a police organization to systematize and sustain evidence-based practices taking "what works" and "makes it work" within the police organization. He assists police agencies around the U.S. and internationally in organizational change, evaluation, and sustainability processes for institutionalizing crime reduction strategies and was the catalyst in leading the successful implementation of Stratified Policing in his own department. In 2014, he was inducted into George Mason University's Evidence-Based Policing Hall of Fame for this work and for leading rigorous research and the implementation of evidence-based practices into day-to-day police operations. Dr. Santos is currently involved in a COPS Office funded Collaborative Reform Initiative to assist a police department in California and Pennsylvania in improving their use of force, training, crime reduction, and community engagement practices. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy (Class 239), earned his Master of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Florida Atlantic University and Doctor of Philosophy in Criminal Justice with a concentration in organizational leadership from Nova Southeastern University. His 200+ page dissertation entitled, A Quasi-Experimental Test and Examination of Police Effectiveness in Residential Burglary and Theft from Vehicle Micro-Time Hot Spots, was a quantitative analysis, using propensity score matching, that tested the effects of one component of Stratified Policing (i.e., response to short-term crime patterns) on crime.
"A key criticism of criminology is that it fails to provide clear and direct guidance to the police about how they should organize to carry out crime prevention. This book, written by two scholars who have real-life experience in the field, does just that. It summarizes the science of crime and crime prevention, and then develops a practical approach--stratified policing--that can be used to organize successful proactive policing. This is an important book for police, and one that should also be read by police scholars."--David Weisburd, Professor and Executive Director, Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy, George Mason University "I have had the honor of working directly with Dr. Roberto Santos and Dr. Rachel Santos for more than a decade. Their combined contributions to the development of essential and effective crime analysis practices to guide the deployment of police and community resources in rapid response to emerging crime patterns as well as to solve difficult crime problems, all supported by an accountability structure within police organizations, has been a major contribution to the fields of modern policing and crime prevention. This book should be on the desk of all law enforcement professionals dedicated to improving public safety by reducing crime and its harm."--Richard S. Biehl, Director and Chief of Police, Dayton, OH Police Department "Read this book. When I found stratified policing, I was looking for something foundational to bring crime reduction, community engagement, and accountability into the daily business of a police department. Working with Roberto and Rachel, we crafted a model of stratified policing that works specifically for my department. We have experienced substantial reductions in crime and continue to do so while having a community that supports our efforts. If you want a blueprint for effectively integrating evidence-based practices in your agency, this is it."--Scott C. Booth, Chief, Danville, VA Police Department "Stratified policing has been a very effective crime reduction strategy for the Port St. Lucie Police Department. As the chief of police over the last 8 years, we have sustained the principles of Stratified Policing and have seen a steady downward trend resulting in a 53 percent reduction in index crime incidents. We have also achieved a 39 percent increase in our index crime clearance rate from 28.6 percent to 47.2 percent. During this time period, our population has increased by approximately 14 percent to 191,000 citizens. At this point, I can't imagine serving our community without stratified policing."--John A. Bolduc, Chief, Port St. Lucie, FL Police Department "Stratified Policing is a critically important book for American policing. It represents the true integration of police science with police practice. By reengineering the way police agencies utilize and integrate accountability, crime analysis, and evidence-based practice Santos and Santos explain how police leaders can focus the collective power of their agencies and generate sustainable proactive responses that make their communities safer. Stratified Policing is an insightful and indispensable guide for law enforcement executives seeking to maximize the effectiveness and legitimacy of their agency's crime fighting efforts."--Tom "Tad" Hughes, JD. PhD, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, Southern Policing Institute, University of Louisville "The stratified policing model has proven to be effective in a statewide police agency. The flexibility of the model has allowed Troop Commanders of each region to draw from proven evidence-based approaches to shape and modify their policing strategies to meet the needs of their community. Stratified Policing provides clear processes that have helped the Delaware State Police achieve significant reductions in crime while maintaining a strong positive relationship with the community."--Nathaniel McQueen, Secretary of the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, State of Delaware and retired Delaware State Police Superintendent "What the authors have articulated in this book is an evidence-based approach to crime reduction that capitalizes on measurable outcomes. By empowering all levels of an organization with the responsibility, and frankly the motivation to become engaged, we see significant improvements in individual law enforcement officer performance. The stratified policing approach provides a significant return on investment. The Walton County Sheriff's Office is consistently recognized for our success in crime reduction which can largely be attributed to our adherence to the stratified policing model developed by the authors."--Michael Adkinson, Sheriff, Walton County, Florida
