NCJ Number
185333
Date Published
March 2001
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This brief examines how community organizations in Hartford, CT, used the Neighborhood Problem Solving system.
Abstract
The Neighborhood Problem Solving (NPS) system is a computer-based mapping and crime analysis technology. It enables users to create a variety of maps and other reports depicting crime conditions by accessing a database containing the most recent 2 years of incident-level police information. The brief attempts to determine the extent to which Hartford community organizations used the system, to understand how these organizations used the software, and to assess the system's effect on community organization effectiveness, perceptions of neighborhood safety and quality of life, and police-community relations. Seven of 14 sites evaluated used the NPS system regularly, 2 sites used it on several occasions but not on a regular basis, and the remaining 5 sites either did not use the system at all or used it only once. Factors explaining the variety of use patterns include the community organization leader's degree of interest in the system, available personnel resources, the site's experience with community organizing and community-based problem solving, and the relevance of both the system and the crime data to the organization's primary work objectives. Figures, table, notes