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David L. Weisburd

Distinguished Professor of Criminology, George Mason University
Chapter Member: Virginia SSN
Areas of Expertise:

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About David

Weisburd's research focuses on police innovation, geography of crime (crime and place), experimental criminology, statistics and research methods, and white collar crime. His research has shown that crime is concentrated on a relatively small number of streets in a city often termed hot spots of crime. Weisburd's work moreover has pioneered hot spots policing approaches, and has demonstrated their crime prevention value. He is the Executive Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy, and was the Chair of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Proactive Policing.

Contributions | No Jargon Podcast | In the News | Publications

Contributions

A Blueprint for 21st Century Policing

Commentary,

In the News

"Reforming the Police Through Procedural Justice Training: A Multicity Randomized Trial at Crime Hot Spots," David L. Weisburd (with Cody W. Telep, Heather Vovak, and Brandon Turchan), PNAS, March 28, 2022.
David L. Weisburd's research on high rates of violent crime in Israeli Arab communities discussed by Josh Breiner, "Renowned Israeli Expert Slashed U.S. Crime Rates. Why Isn't Israel Police Following His Lead?," Haaretz, October 20, 2019.
David L. Weisburd quoted on use of targeted crime prevention strategies by Lea Skene, "Baton Rouge Leaders Tout Targeted Approach to Illegal Guns; 127 Confiscated This Summer" The Advocate, September 6, 2019.
David L. Weisburd quoted on importance of highly targeted crime prevention by Rachael Lippmann, "After 18 Months Hayden's Rectangle Shows Promise in Reducing Violent Crime " St. Louis Public Radio, June 28, 2019.
David L. Weisburd quoted on research-supported crime prevention techniques by Shalina Chatlani, "Nashville Weighs a Shift to ‘Neighborhood Policing’ — But What That Means is Unclear" Nashville Public Radio, November 21, 2018.
David L. Weisburd's research on effective and ineffective crime prevention measures discussed by Dina Maron, "Science Says These Police Tactics Reduce Crime," Scientific American, November 9, 2017.

Publications

"Proactive Policing: Effects on Crime and Communities," (with Malay K. Majmundar and Eds.), National Academies Press, 2018.

Uses the term “proactive policing” to refer to all policing strategies that have as one of their goals the prevention or reduction of crime and disorder and that are not reactive in terms of focusing primarily on uncovering ongoing crime or on investigating or responding to crimes once they have occurred.

"The Law of Crime Concentration and the Criminology of Place" Criminology 53, no. 2 (May 2015): 133-157.

Argues that more attention should be paid to hot spots of crime at the street level. Shows, in a cross-city comparison, that crime concentration stays within a narrow bandwidth across time, despite strong volatility in crime incidents.

"Law of Crime Concentrations at Places" (with Cody Telep), in Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice, edited by David Weisburd and Gerben Bruinsma (Springer Verlaag, 2014).

Argues that more attention should be paid to hot spots of crime at the street level. Shows, in a cross-city comparison, that crime concentration stays within a narrow bandwidth across time, despite strong volatility in crime incidents.

"Trajectories of Crime at Places: A Longitudinal Study of Street Segments in the City of Seattle" (with Shawn D. Bushway, Cynthia Lum, and Sue-Ming Yang). Criminology 42, no. 2 (May 2004): 283-322.

Uses official crime data to examine where crime occurred in Seattle, Washington, over a 14-year period. Finds that a relatively small proportion of specific places account for steeply rising or declining crime trajectories and that these places are primarily responsible for overall city trends in crime.