Sacramento County, California
Reducing homeless-related crime with a research based, data-driven collaboration
Project Overview
The Sacramento SPI implemented a Homeless Outreach Team (HOT). The overall objective of the SPI-HOT pilot was to develop a new service & community-oriented policing approach for addressing homelessness that de-emphasizes enforcement strategies. Three part-time deputies collaborated with various social services to provide street outreach services to individuals and families experiencing homelessness in select “hot spots” of the county – areas identified by Sheriff’s analysts and the research partner as having high levels of homelessness.
Methods and Findings
Research Design
The intervention was intentioned to result in a series of staggered short-term and intermediate outcomes that would over time contribute to increase safety and collective efficacy in the community around issues of homelessness (the long-term impacts). The evaluation also conducted a process evaluation on implementation of HOT.
Findings
- There was some evidence that calls for service dropped in response to the SPI-HOT team’s work, and that calls for service did not simply increase in adjacent areas.
- The HOT initiative clearly achieved the goal of developing stronger relationships between the Sacramento Sheriff’s Office and public and non-profit organizations who work with the same homeless population.
- There was limited evidence that activities by HOT have resulted in substantial institutional and cultural change across the Sherriff’s Office and its other patrols.
