Public spaces in a high-crime neighborhood: An experimental analysis of the impact of civilian bicycle patrols on everyday social disorder in local parks.

Citizens of a rough Montreal neighbourhood complained that drugs addicts and troublesome behaviour prevented them from taking advantage of the park sites during the summer. A municipal initiative enrolled students during the summer, gave them a uniform, and instructed them to patrol all park sites of the neighbourhood by bicycle (N=66). Because there was no data on affluence and disorderly incidents, students were asked to fill out a park-specific observation sheet twice a day throughout the summer. In order to assess the impact of these patrols on affluence and rates of disorder, we used a reversal design and instructed patrollers to continue their daily observations but to cease treatment by removing their uniforms (and making themselves invisible). Because rates of unruly behaviour varied across parks, time of day, day of week and a variety of other factors, we assessed the impact of civilian patrols by combining observations over time and across places (a pooled time series regression analysis). The experiment implemented in 2002 was repeated in 2003. Findings of both impact assessments are presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]