When crime reduction in a targeted area spreads to nearby areas, this phenomenon is known as what?

• A. Broken windows policing
• B. Zero-tolerance policy
• C. Hot spots policing
• D. Spatial diffusion of crime control benefits

Answer: (D)

Spatial diffusion of crime control benefits describes how the crime-reducing impact from concentrating enforcement in a hotspot spills over into nearby areas. When police focus resources on a high-crime location, crime often declines there, and the deterrent effect, changes in offender routines, or improved perceived safety can extend to neighboring neighborhoods even though they aren’t directly targeted. This captures the geographic spread of benefits, as opposed to simply concentrating enforcement. It’s distinct from displacement, where crime moves to other areas, and from the specific policing approaches themselves: breaking windows policing focuses on disorder, zero-tolerance is a strict enforcement policy, and hot spots policing is the strategy of targeting high-crime places; the phenomenon described is the diffusion of benefits.