The effect of police-probation partnerships on juvenile arrests

San Bernardino’s Operation Nightlight Program paired police officers with probation officers to conduct enhanced supervision of juvenile probationers. The authors conducted an interrupted time series analysis of juvenile arrests in San Bernardino and surrounding cities before and after the implementation of Nightlight. They also explored displacement and diffusion effects using Bowers and Johnson’s (2003) weighted displacement quotient. Results showed (1) city-wide reductions in assault, burglary, and theft arrests; and (2) that burglary reductions in San Bernardino may have been offset by increases in contiguous cities.