William Spelman

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William Spelman
EducationHarvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government (Ph.D., 1988)
Scientific career
FieldsPublic policy, criminology
InstitutionsUniversity of Texas at Austin
ThesisThe incapacitation benefits of selective criminal justice policies (1988)

William Spelman is a professor of public affairs at the University of Texas at Austin's Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. He is an expert on urban policy and criminal justice policy.[1]

Education[edit]

Spelman received an A.B. in political science from UCLA in 1977, an M.P.P. from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1984, and a Ph.D. in public policy from Harvard University in 1988.[2]

Career[edit]

Between 1978 and 1988, Spelman was a researcher at the Police Executive Research Forum, an association of large U.S. law enforcement agencies. His work focused on the effectiveness of traditional police practices, showing among other things that fast police response only mattered in 10 percent of reported crimes.[3] Between 1984 and 1988, he was one of the principal architects (with Herman Goldstein and John E. Eck) of problem-oriented policing, an alternative policing strategy that combines community policing with a continual improvement process.[4][5][6]

Since 1988, Spelman has taught at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas, where he continues research on criminal justice system effectiveness. His work on prison effectiveness is controversial. Spelman’s estimate that up to 25 percent of the crime drop of the 1990s could be attributed to prison expansion[7] has been disputed, most recently by Bruce Western.[8]

Between 1997 and 2005, Spelman directed the Texas Institute for Public Problem-Solving (TIPPS), a regional community policing institute funded by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services within the United States Department of Justice. TIPPS trained 13,000 police officers and their community partners from throughout Texas on the practice of community policing, and also trained police forces in Mexico and Brazil.[9]

After serving on the Austin Water and Wastewater Commission for two years, Spelman served on the Austin City Council from 1997-2000, and again from 2009-2015. He is the only person ever elected to an open seat on the Austin City Council without opposition.[10] As a council member, Spelman balanced support for the Austin Police Department with attempts to increase police accountability.[11] His strong pro-neighborhood stance of the 1990s was tempered in the 2010s as rapid population growth increased traffic and affordability problems.[12][13]

Research[edit]

Spelman conducts research in the field of criminal justice policy; specifically, it focuses on topics including crime prevention, prison policy, policing strategies, and repeat offenders.[14][15] In 1987, while working for the Police Executive Research Forum, he co-authored a study that found that after Newport News officials began improving the New Briarfield project and implementing a problem-oriented policing program there, the project's burglary rate dropped by 35%.[16][17] In 2000, he published a study that found that incarceration reduced violent crime rates in the United States by 25% during the 1990s.[18][19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "William Spelman". University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  2. ^ Spelman, William (1988). The incapacitation benefits of selective criminal justice policies (Thesis). Harvard University. OCLC 18773915.
  3. ^ William Spelman and Dale K Brown, Calling the Police: Citizen Reporting of Serious Crime, Police Executive Research Forum, 1981.
  4. ^ Eck, John E.; Spelman, William (1987). Problem Solving: Problem-oriented Policing in Newport News. Police Executive Research Forum.
  5. ^ Spelman, William; Eck, John E. (Winter 1989). "Sitting ducks, ravenous wolves, and helping hands: New approaches to urban policing". Public Affairs Comment. 35 (2): 1–9.
  6. ^ Eck, John E.; Spelman, William (January 1987). "Who ya gonna call? The police as problem-busters". Crime & Delinquency. 33 (1): 31–52. doi:10.1177/0011128787033001003. S2CID 145316412.
  7. ^ William Spelman, "The limited importance of prison expansion," pp 97-129 in The Crime Drop in America, ed. by Alfred Blumstein and Joel Wallman, Cambridge University Press, 2000.
  8. ^ Bruce Western, Punishment and Inequality in America, Russell Sage Foundation, 2006.
  9. ^ "COPS Fact Sheet" (PDF). Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. 2001.
  10. ^ "Austin City Council Election 2009". Austin Bulldog. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  11. ^ King, Michael (12 September 2014). "Three cheers for Spelman: Council member makes his final pitch for sane police spending". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  12. ^ Toohey, Marty (29 April 2012). "Spelman faces crowded field in bid to regain Austin council seat". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  13. ^ Thurman, James N. (31 January 2000). "Where to find America's best-run cities". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  14. ^ "Faculty Expert Guide". LBJ School of Public Affairs.
  15. ^ Shepherd, Katie (4 June 2015). "Texas universities seek curbs on new law allowing concealed guns on campus". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  16. ^ Eck, J.E. Spelman, W. (1987). "Problem-Solving: Problem-Oriented Policing in Newport News". Police Executive Research Forum. Retrieved 28 May 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Wilson, James Q.; Kelling, George L. (February 1989). "Making Neighborhoods Safe". The Atlantic. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  18. ^ Spelman, William (2000). "The Limited Importance of Prison Expansion". In Alfred Blumstein; Joel Wallman (eds.). The Crime Drop in America. Cambridge University Press. pp. 97–129.
  19. ^ "Effect of Prison Building on Crime Is Weighed". New York Times. 28 September 2000. Retrieved 28 May 2016.

External links[edit]

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