NCJ Number
148117
Date Published
1975
Length
95 pages
Annotation
A 2-year study of police investigation was conducted to describe national investigative organization and practices, assess the contribution that police investigation makes to the achievement of criminal justice goals, determine the effectiveness of new technology and systems being used to improve investigations, and relate investigational effectiveness to differences in organization.
Abstract
Data were collected from questionnaires completed from 153 jurisdictions whose law enforcement departments had 150 or more officers. The results of the study are presented in three volumes. This volume describes the survey design and patterns of response. The descriptive results are discussed in terms of overall departmental characteristics, investigators' rank and qualifications, organization of the investigative function, interaction with other criminal justice agencies, investigative policies and operations, records and files, and innovative programs. In the final chapter, arrest and clearance rates of the responding departments are compared with other characteristics of the departments. However, the analysis showed no strong and consistent patterns that have operational significance for the organization of the investigative function. Chapter reference, 6 appendixes