Police problem solving techniques in Chicago Research Paper

Police problem solving techniques in Chicago - Research Paper Example So a given technique may apply to one section of the community and not the other. This paper will look at the problem of graffiti in Chicago and how the police have tried to combat it. It will describe the problem, provide statistical evidence, the situation on the ground and how it is being dealt with and what can be done to prevent the problem from occurring. â€Å"A group of related incidents or an ongoing situation that concerns a significant portion of those who live or work in a particular area. A problem is a persistent and more than likely will not be solved without some type of intervention, particularly between law enforcement and the community. Not all problems are serious criminal matters, but the police should respond to community concerns† (p. 126). Therefore community problems are many and do not necessarily need to be matters criminal in nature. Community problems are not only matters of concern to the law enforcers but also to the community and they should be differentiated from incidents. A problem can be identified by the characteristic of the victim, the location of occurrence, the behavior of the offender, the condition of the victim or the time of the day/week or month in relation to a special event. The problem of graffiti in Chicago has been persistent for quite a long period of time. Graffiti cannot be singled out as a crime as such but is a society menace. It is defined as a variety of markings, etchings and drawing which in their nature spoil public or private property (Battle, 2006). Graffiti is a form of communication used by gangs; it is used to mark territory, and often will list the names and nicknames of the gang members, project gangster attitudes and talk of current events in a given society. Scholars in the area of crime prevention have identified a number of categories in which to classify various kinds of paintings and