PPS Reflection | Proactive Prevention Doesn’t Stop at Support

Over the past several decades, law enforcement has increasingly been asked to do more — often far more than what officers were originally trained, staffed, or resourced to handle alone.

Today’s officers are routinely expected to act as counselors, mental health responders, substance use specialists, social workers, crisis mediators, problem solvers, protectors, investigators, and crime fighters — often within the same shift, and sometimes within the same call. 

Mental health–related calls are a clear example. Police are frequently the default response to crises involving emotional distress, addiction, trauma, homelessness, or behavioral instability — not because officers are best suited for those roles, but because they are available, visible, and expected to respond.

This reality places an enormous burden on law enforcement.

Officers are asked to manage complex human problems that often fall outside their scope of training, expertise, and authority — while still being held accountable for outcomes they cannot fully control. Over time, this contributes to frustration, burnout, repeated calls for service, and unnecessary exposure to trauma — for both officers and the communities they serve.

At the same time, there are professionals who are specifically trained and equipped to address many of these challenges: crisis workers, mental health clinicians, substance use treatment providers, peer support specialists, advocates, outreach workers, and social service professionals.

Proactive crime prevention depends on recognizing this reality — and responding to it intelligently.

Rather than expecting law enforcement to absorb every role, responsibility, and risk, effective public safety requires intentionally shifting appropriate burdens to the specialists who are trained to handle them, while allowing police to focus on what they do best: protecting people, preventing harm, and maintaining safety.

This is not about avoiding responsibility.

It is about aligning the right expertise with the right problems — before those problems escalate into crime, victimization, or crisis.

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Evidence-based and problem-oriented approaches to crime prevention are often framed as police-centric — but lasting prevention depends on a much broader network of partners.

From patrol officers and supervisors, to corrections, probation and parole, analysts, prosecutors, support services, and policy makers, proactive crime prevention works best when law enforcement intentionally collaborates with the people and organizations that address the underlying conditions driving crime in the first place.

Some of the most critical — and most overlooked — prevention partners include peer support specialists, victim advocates, crisis workers, mental health professionals, substance use treatment providers, outreach workers, social service agencies, and juvenile service providers.

These partners are not optional enhancements to public safety.

They are foundational requirements for sustainable prevention.

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Preventing Crime Means Addressing Conditions Before Enforcement Is Needed

Most recurring crime problems are not random. They are commonly tied to:

·       Untreated or poorly managed mental health needs,

·       Substance use and addiction,

·       Trauma, victimization, and grief,

·       Housing instability and homelessness,

·       Lack of access to services or social support,

·       Youth disengagement, family disruption, and instability

Law enforcement encounters the outcomes of these conditions every day — often repeatedly, at the same addresses, with the same individuals, and under the same circumstances. Support and service providers work directly with the drivers of those outcomes.

From an evidence-based and problem-oriented perspective, ignoring this connection leaves agencies responding to symptoms instead of addressing the conditions that fuel crime, victimization, and repeat police involvement.

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Support and Service Providers as Capability Multipliers

One of the most important mindset shifts in proactive policing is recognizing that partners are not “outside helpers” — they are capability multipliers.

Police authority is powerful, but intentionally focused. Other partners control critical levers that influence crime and disorder, including:

·       Mental health care and crisis response,

·       Substance use treatment and recovery pathways,

·       Housing stability and social services,

·       Youth engagement and family supports,

·       Victim advocacy and safety planning

When these levers are aligned with police problem-solving efforts, prevention becomes possible in ways enforcement alone cannot achieve.

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This Is Not “Soft” Policing — It Is Strategic Policing

Proactive collaboration with support and service providers is sometimes misunderstood as being “soft” on crime.

It is not.

It is strategic, professional policing focused on deterring harm before it escalates into victimization, violence, or repeated enforcement encounters.

When law enforcement works collaboratively to address root causes and recurring drivers of crime:

·       Fewer people are victimized,

·       Fewer officers are placed in dangerous situations,

·       Fewer arrests are needed to achieve safety,

·       Police legitimacy and community trust are strengthened

Enforcement will always be necessary.

But enforcement is inherently reactive.

Partnerships allow agencies to operate upstream, where prevention is possible and outcomes are more sustainable.

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Law Enforcement as the Driver of Collaboration

Public safety is shared — but law enforcement is often best positioned to initiate and facilitate collaboration.

Officers see the problems first.

Agencies hold valuable data.

Police presence brings legitimacy and urgency to prevention efforts.

Being the driver does not mean controlling everything. It means:

·       Showing up consistently,

·       Bringing the right partners together intentionally,

·       Sharing information appropriately and lawfully,

·       Listening before directing,

·       Following through on commitments

When law enforcement leads collaboration with professionalism and respect, partnerships tend to follow — and prevention becomes operational rather than theoretical.

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Awareness and Access Are Often the Missing Link

In many communities, support services already exist — but their prevention value is lost when:

·       Officers don’t know what resources are available.

·       Supervisors don’t reinforce their use.

·       Communities don’t know how to access them.

·       Services are disconnected from the places where harm concentrates.

From a proactive prevention standpoint, awareness is a force multiplier.

When officers understand what services exist, how to access them, and when to involve them, prevention becomes realistic, repeatable, and effective.

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Prevention Must Be Data-Informed and Evidence-Based

Proactive prevention is most effective when it is intentional, targeted, and informed by data — not guesswork.

Identifying hot spots, repeat locations, high-risk individuals, and peak days and times allows agencies to focus limited resources where they matter most. Evidence-based and problem-oriented approaches emphasize the importance of understanding where harm concentrates, when risk is highest, and what patterns are repeating.

But identifying hot spots alone is not enough.

To truly prevent crime, agencies must also ask why problems are occurring in those locations.

When data is used to examine underlying conditions — such as mental health–related calls, substance use indicators, overdoses, disorder complaints, housing instability, or repeat crisis responses — agencies can begin to see whether those issues overlap with crime hot spots.

When commonalities emerge, they provide valuable insight:

·       Which underlying issues may be contributing to crime,

·       Where support services are most needed,

·       When prevention efforts are likely to have the greatest impact

This type of layered analysis helps confirm that collaboration with support and service providers is not just appropriate — it is necessary.

It also ensures that prevention efforts are:

·       Focused on the right places,

·       Timed to the right days and hours,

·       Matched to the right needs,

·       Supported by evidence rather than assumptions

Data does not replace professional judgment or experience — it sharpens it. When information, observation, and partnerships are aligned, proactive prevention becomes more precise, defensible, and effective.

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Bringing Services to the Problem: Proactive Hot Spot Engagement

When hot spots are identified, responses do not always need to begin — or end — with enforcement.

One highly effective proactive strategy is cooperative presence.

This involves law enforcement working alongside crisis workers, peer support specialists, outreach staff, advocates, and service providers to bring resources directly into the areas where risk concentrates.

In practice, this may include:

·       Officers and support partners walking hot spot areas together,

·       Walking through apartment buildings, housing complexes, and common areas,

·       Engaging residents in non-enforcement, non-investigative conversations,

·       Educating community members about available services and supports,

·       Allowing crisis workers or peer support staff to lead interactions when appropriate

These contacts are not investigative.

They are preventive.

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Why This Approach Works in the Real World

Many individuals who later become involved in criminal activity have unmet needs that go unaddressed simply because:

·       They don’t know services exist,

·       They don’t know how to access them,

·       They distrust systems due to past experiences,

·       They lack transportation, follow-through, or support.

By bringing services to people — rather than expecting people to navigate complex systems on their own — agencies remove barriers that often lead to escalation.

During these proactive engagements, crisis workers, peer support specialists, or outreach professionals can:

·       Identify immediate needs,

·       Offer support without stigma,

·       Obtain consent and contact information,

·       Connect individuals to appropriate services,

·       Ensure follow-up occurs after the initial interaction

That follow-up is what turns contact into prevention.

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Crisis Workers as Essential Prevention Partners

Crisis workers deserve specific recognition.

Mental health crisis responders and co-response professionals are often the first to recognize escalating risk related to emotional dysregulation, trauma, substance use, or acute stress — all of which frequently precede criminal behavior or violent incidents.

When integrated early, crisis workers:

·       Help stabilize situations before force becomes necessary

·       Reduce repeat crisis-driven calls,

·       Support officers during emotionally charged encounters,

·       Provide continuity beyond the initial contact

They are not replacements for law enforcement.

They are force multipliers for prevention.

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Information Sharing Without Overreach

Effective collaboration does not require blurring roles or violating boundaries.

Each partner operates under different legal, ethical, and confidentiality requirements — and those distinctions matter.

Successful prevention focuses on:

·       Sharing trends and patterns rather than unnecessary personal details,

·       Coordinating around places, times, and conditions driving harm,

·       Communicating emerging risks early,

·       Aligning strategies rather than individual cases

This allows partners to work together without compromising responsibilities or trust.

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Reducing Crime by Reducing Demand on Officers

One of the least discussed benefits of proactive support collaboration is officer well-being.

When underlying problems are addressed earlier and more effectively:

·       Calls for service decrease,

·       Repeat criminal interactions decline,

·       Crisis-driven encounters become less frequent,

·       Officers experience less cumulative trauma,

·       Time and energy are freed for proactive, prevention-focused work

This is not abstract theory.

It is a practical outcome of addressing root causes instead of repeatedly managing symptoms.

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A Smarter, More Sustainable Model of Public Safety

Law enforcement is uniquely positioned to facilitate proactive collaboration.

By connecting people to support services early — and by bringing those services into the places where risk concentrates — police can reduce crime, reduce victimization, and reduce long-term demand on enforcement.

This approach benefits:

·       Communities, through increased stability and safety,

·       Individuals, through access to support before crisis or crime,

·       Officers, through fewer calls, fewer traumatic encounters, and greater capacity for proactive work

This is not softer policing.

It is smarter policing.

It is strategic prevention.

It is public safety done well.

And proactive prevention doesn’t stop at support.