Dr. Weisburd has been an influential advocate of the use of experimental research in the field of criminology. He has played an instrumental role in advancing the use of evidence-based policy as it relates to policing, and has had a significant impact among policy-makers, practitioners and scholars in the field.
His groundbreaking work on hot spots policing has profoundly influenced policing practices in the United States and other Western countries. The work emphasized the role of place, not people, as a key focus for crime prevention efforts. This work has shown that focused police activities can reduce crime substantially in small geographic areas. Furthermore, his work established that this approach does not simply displace crime to other areas. Contrary to the intuition of both scholars and police practitioners, he found that the crime reducing effect of hot spot policing actually diffuses to the surrounding areas.
Dr. David Weisburd
In addition to Dr. Weisburd’s aforementioned work, David has also been instrumental in fostering the development of the Campbell Collaboration and complementary evidence-based organizations. He was a founding member of the Campbell Crime and Justice Coordinating Group and served as a Co-chair from 2004 until 2012. He helped create the Academy of Experimental Criminology, which subsequently developed into a division within the American Society of Criminology. In 2005, he helped found the Journal of Experimental Criminology, which regularly publishes articles based on Campbell systematic reviews and other works related to evidence-based public policy. Read more
Congratulations David on your well-deserved award!