COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore City police have identified 41 localities as crime-prone areas by adopting the 'Koper Curve' system and have intensified patrolling.
Koper Curve Principle is developed by Christopher S Koper, an associate professor at George Mason University, Virginia, and a senior fellow at the university's Centre for Evidence-Based Crime Policy. The principle is gaining traction among a number of police departments and other investigating agencies.
"We have identified 41 crime-prone areas in the 15 police station limits across the city. The police personnel who are deployed for night patrol will conduct vehicle checks randomly and not remain stationary. They will question suspicious people roaming around the city during late hours," said city police Commissioner Pradip Kumar.
"Since the system has been introduced, police visibility on the streets has increased. It has been in force for the last five months and police officers, as well as the public, are giving positive feedback about the system," he said.
The principle works on the basis that most crimes were committed in certain areas in a particular jurisdiction. Koper's studies indicated that as much as 50% of crimes occur in less than 5% of blocks or streets (hotspots). By focusing on such hotspots, Koper's research found, that crime rates can be reduced substantially. Stationing officers in one place or asking them to patrol the entire city is costly and ineffective. Instead, the principle recommends proactive, random and intermittent patrols of the hotspots for 10-16 minutes every two hours.
Koper's research showed that the likelihood of criminal activity within 30 minutes of a patrol drive-by was 15%. When random police stops lasting 10-16 minutes were incorporated, the likelihood of criminal activity dropped to 4%, according to the police.