The people responsible for the study: The Police Foundation, headed by prominent criminologist George Kelling.  

Background information: This experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that police patrols that were visible in public were effective in reducing crime. 

Methodology: The experiment divided 15 police zones throughout Kansas City into three groups: reactive (no routine preventive patrols), proactive (patrol activity increased by 2-3 times), and control (patrol level was kept the same as usual). Then, data was collected to visualize the varying crime rates in all three zones. 

Results: The experiment found that varying the level of police patrol DID NOT significantly affect the crime rates in each zone. 

Significance of results/legacy/recent relevance: The results challenged the traditional belief that increasing police patrol activity would decrease crime rates. This led to more effective, targeted policing strategies that shifted the police's approach from increasing patrol levels whenever needed to more data-driven methods, focusing on directing police officers to where the crime was most likely to occur. 

How to improve the experiment: 

This experiment can be improved by considering the impact of increased police patrol activity on the types of crime rather than simply counting up the total number of crimes.