Research Summary:
Interviews and surveys were used to measure the extent of problem-oriented policing (POP) by individual police officers in the San Diego Police Department. Officers tended to engage in small-scale problem solving with little formal analysis or assessment. Responses generally included enforcement plus one or two more collaborative or nontraditional initiatives. Policy Implications:
Despite 15 years of national promotion and a concerted effort at implementation within the San Diego Police Department, POP as practiced by ordinary police officers fell far short of the ideal model. It may be unreasonable to expect every police officer to continuously engage in full-fledged POP.