Criminal Justice: Operation Cul de Sac Experimental Program Research
In an attempt to thin out street assaults and gang homicides, LAPD has tried out an experimental program called Operation Cul de Sac, in which traffic barriers were placed on roads that allowed criminals fast entry- and exit- from the crime scenes. It was assumed that would-be criminals take rational choices when planning their actions. As such, it was put to the test whether making neighborhood conditions unfavorable for crime would make crime rates drop.
As the result of the program, the number of homicides and assaults dropped significantly in the area where OCDS was operating, when compared to another area where the program was not put in place. To be more precise, in the year before OCDS began, 7 homicides were committed in the area, while only 1 happened during the 2 years that the operation was going on. The number of assaults also experienced a steep decline, from 190 to 163 during the first year of the program, and from 163 to 138 during the subsequent year. Thus it can be said that the operation was a success, and making neighborhood conditions such that it becomes harder to break the law does indeed prevent violent crimes to some degree, as opposed to the opinion that gang-related crimes are thoughtless and primal in their nature and are anything but rational.
During the year after the OCDS program ceased its operations the level of homicides and assaults rose sharply not only in the test area, but also in the comparison area where the practice was not put to test, which can be attributed to a backlash effect of the traffic closures.
It has to be noted that the barriers did not deter property crime, as the offenders were likely neighboring residents who were unaffected by traffic closures. Violent crime was not displaced to neighboring streets due to gangs bearing strict ties to their territories. Criminals did not adjust their m.o. to the barriers because there were no rise in crime levels on the second year of the program.
As a result, OCDS shows that it is possible to deter crime with smart city …
