The effects of problem-oriented policing on crime and disorder

Problem-oriented Policing (POP) was first introduced by Herman Goldstein in 1979. The approach was one of a series of responses to a crisis in effectiveness and legitimacy in policing that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s. Goldstein argued that police were not being effective in preventing and controlling crime because they had become too focused on the “means” of policing and had neglected the “goals” of preventing and controlling crime and other community problems. Goldstein argued that the unit of analysis in policing must become the “problem” rather than calls or crime incidents as was the case during that period. POP has had tremendous impact on American policing, and is now one of the most widely implemented policing strategies in the US. To synthesize the extant problem-oriented policing evaluation literature and assess the effects of problem-oriented policing on crime and disorder Eligible studies had to meet three criteria: (1) the SARA model was used for a problemoriented policing intervention; (2) a comparison group was included; (3) at least one crime or disorder outcome was reported with sufficient data to generate an effect size. The unit of analysis could be people or places. Several strategies were used to perform an exhaustive search for literature fitting the eligibility criteria. First, a keyword search was performed on an array of online abstract databases. Second, we reviewed the bibliographies of past reviews of problem-oriented policing. Third, we performed forward searches for works that have cited seminal problem-oriented policing studies. Fourth, we performed hand searches of leading journals in the field. Fifth, we searched the publications of several research and professional agencies. Sixth, after finishing the above searches we e-mailed the list of studies meeting our eligibility criteria to leading policing scholars knowledgeable in the area of problem-oriented policing to ensure we had not missed any relevant studies. For our ten eligible studies, we provide both a narrative review of effectiveness and a meta-analysis. For the meta-analysis, we coded all primary outcomes of the eligible studies and we report the mean effect size (for studies with more than one primary outcome, we averaged effects to create a mean), the largest effect, and the smallest effect. Because of the heterogeneity of our studies, we used a random effects model. Based on our meta-analysis, overall problem-oriented policing has a modest but statistically significant impact on reducing crime and disorder. Our results are consistent when examining both experimental and quasi-experimental studies. Conclusions: We conclude that problem-oriented policing is effective in reducing crime and disorder, although the effect is fairly modest. We urge caution in interpreting these results because of the small number of methodologically rigorous studies on POP and the diversity of problems and responses used in our eligible studies

Management of symptomatic adult penile urethral arteriovenous malformation

We present the Case of a 23-year-old male with a history of recurrent spontaneous urethral bleeding due to an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) of his corpus spongiosum which abutted his penile urethra. AVMs are often congenital but can also be related to prior trauma. The literature on male genital AVMs is primarily limited to pediatric AVMs of the scrotum or glans penis with one report of adult urethral AVM in the setting of known trauma. We describe a novel presentation of atraumatic adult male genital AVM treated by surgical repair with resolution of bleeding

Trastuzumab treatment beyond progression in advanced breast cancer : patterns of care in six Swiss breast cancer centers

Trastuzumab is an established treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer (BC). We analyzed Swiss patterns of care in patients with HER2-positive BC after disease progression on trastuzumab-containing therapy for metastatic BC (MBC)

Ethnic differences in types of social support from multiple sources after breast cancer surgery

OBJECTIVES: Diagnosis of and treatment for breast cancer (BCa) may require psychological adaptation and often involve heightened distress. Several types of social support positively relate to psychological adaptation to BCa, and negative support is associated with poorer adaptation. Although Hispanic women report greater distress than non-Hispanic White (NHW) women after diagnosis of BCa, no studies have examined ethnic differences in types of social support received from varying sources after surgery for BCa. DESIGN: Hispanic (N=61) and NHW (N=150) women diagnosed with early-stage BCa self-reported emotional, informational, instrumental, and negative support from five sources. Ethnic differences in levels of social support were compared using multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: When controlling for age, income, days since surgery, and stage of disease in multivariable models there were no ethnic differences in levels of emotional support from any source. Hispanic women reported greater informational support from adult women family members and children and male adult family members than did NHW women. Instrumental support from adult women family members was also greater among Hispanic than NHW women. Hispanic women reported higher negative support from husbands/partners and from children and male adult family members. When number of years in the U.S. was controlled, Hispanic women showed greater informational support from adult women family members, children and male adult family members, and friends. Instrumental support from adult women family members remained greater in Hispanic women, but negative support no longer differed. CONCLUSION: Family is a greater source of informational and instrumental support for Hispanic than NHW women. Hispanic women reported higher negative support from male sources than did NHW women. Level of support from different sources may also depend on time spent in the U.S. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether patterns and sources of social support shift over the course of BCa treatment