Joliet, Illinois
Reducing Drug and Drug-related Crime in Target Areas
Project Overview
The goal of the Joliet SPI was to reduce the city’s violent crime through police partnerships with probation and parole; public outreach and communication; strategic tactical deployment of police officers; and collaboration with their research partner. In order to focus on reducing the number of active shooters on the streets, Joliet SPI developed the Strategic Tactical Deployment (STD) program, (now known as Area-Based Crime (ABC) Response). Similar to hot spot policing, ABC gathered supplemental information from probation and parole authorities to remove violent offenders from the community. Additionally, the Joliet Police Department (JPD) participated in community outreach programs to increase citizen cooperation and reporting of gun violence to the department.
Methods and Findings
- Joliet SPI identified an initial reduction of total active hot spots from 5 to 2 in 2011.
- After launching “It’s OK to Report Gun Violence in Joliet,” the Joliet Police Department received 527 calls from citizens resulting in 122 arrests.
- During the 23-month program, Joliet SPI had the following results:
- 1,320 probation contacts resulting in 737 arrests (55.8%); and
- 1,605 parole contacts resulting in 928 arrests (57.8%).
