ATTRIBUTE-BASED CRIME REPORTING IN A LAW ENFORCEMENT ENVIRONMENT

• NCJ Number: 60865
• Author(s): ANON
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 85 pages
• Grant Number(s): 77SS-99-6006
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice; US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: SEARCH Group Inc.
• Sale Source: SEARCH Group Inc.
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: TECHNICAL REPORT

Annotation

RESULTS ARE PRESENTED OF TESTING A NEW WAY TO CLASSIFY CRIME INCIDENTS, ATTRIBUTE-BASED CRIME REPORTING (ABCR), IN SELECTED POLICE AGENCIES.

Abstract

ABCR IS A METHOD OF CAPTURING THE DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A CRIME IN ORDER TO PERMIT THE AUTOMATIC, UNIFORM GENERATION OF CRIME LABELS, ACCORDING TO ANY STATE OR NATIONAL CLASSIFICATION SCHEME. WHEN CRIMES ARE AGGREGATED UNDER GENERIC LABELS SUCH AS BURGLARY, ROBBERY, OR HOMICIDE, VALUABLE INFORMATION THAT DIFFERENTIATES, FOR EXAMPLE, ONE ROBBERY FROM ANOTHER IS OFTEN DESTROYED. BY USING ABCR, THE DISTINCT CHARACTERISTICS OF CRIME INCIDENTS ARE CAPTURED, AUTOMATICALLY PROCESSED, AND MADE AVAILABLE IN SUFFICIENT DETAIL FOR POLICE ADMINISTRATORS TO DIRECT THEIR FORCES. COMPONENTS OF THE ABCR SYSTEM INCLUDE ATTRIBUTES AND DESCRIPTORS (I.E., WHEN THE ATTRIBUTE IS 'EXTENT OF FORCE ON THE VICTIM', THE DESCRIPTORS WOULD BE 'PHYSICAL FORCE THREATENED, PHYSICAL FORCE USED', ETC.), CRIME EQUATIONS (TRANSFORMING THE CRIME CATEGORIES IN ANY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM INTO NUMERICALLY CODED COMBINATIONS OF THE ATTRIBUTES AND DESCRIPTORS), AND COMPUTER SOFTWARE (MAINTAINING THE ABCR DATA BASE AND TRANSLATING ABCR RECORDS INTO SPECIFIC CRIME CLASSIFICATION CATEGORIES). TO TEST AND REFINE ABCR IN AN OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT, A FIELD TEST WAS CONDUCTED IN OREGON AND CALIFORNIA, WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT MAXIMUM ABCR BENEFITS WOULD ACCRUE. COMPUTER CRIME CLASSIFICATIONS WERE PRODUCED TO EXAMINE THE COMPLETENESS OF THE ATTRIBUTE/DESCRIPTOR LIST AND THE ABILITY OF THE EQUATIONS TO ACCURATELY DUPLICATE VARIOUS CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS. AS A RESULT, SOME OF THE FOLLOWING IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ORIGINAL ABCR STRUCTURE WERE DEVELOPED: THE ATTRIBUTE/DESCRIPTOR LIST WAS EXPANDED, MORE EXACT EQUATIONS WERE DEVELOPED, A NEW CODING FORM AND MANUAL WERE DEVISED, AND IMPROVEMENTS WERE MADE IN THE OVERALL SOFTWARE PACKAGE TO INCREASE SPEED AND EFFICIENCY. THE OPERATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS OF ABCR, EXTENDING FROM CODER PERFORMANCE TO COST EFFECTIVENESS, INDICATES THE ADAPTABILITY AND FLEXIBILITY OF THE SYSTEM. APPENDIXES CONTAIN ABCR REPORT OUTPUT SAMPLES, THE ATTRIBUTE/DESCRIPTOR LIST, THE CODING FORM, OFFENSE REPORTING FORMS, AND RELATED MATERIAL. CHARTS, GRAPHS, TABULAR DATA, SOME FOOTNOTES, AND CRIME CLASSIFICATION REPORTS ARE ALSO INCLUDED. (WJR)