NCJ Number
137171
Date Published
1992
Length
113 pages
Annotation
Written by a retired police officer who spearheaded the Street Crime Unit decoy operation in San Francisco, this book describes how such units are organized, staffed, and supervised and reveals the unconventional tactics used to catch street criminals who are not susceptible to traditional police patrol methods.
Abstract
Street crime is defined to include mugging, rape, assault, and murder. In San Francisco, the Street Crime Unit was composed of carefully selected and specially trained police officers and supervisors. Using plainclothes surveillance, decoy tactics, and statistical analysis for changing deployment, the unit attempted to apprehend suspects in the act of committing a crime. The unit used two techniques in this effort, decoy and blending. Using the decoy technique, a police officer is disguised as a potential crime victim and placed in an area where he or she is likely to be victimized. While decoy tactics are used in response to particular crime/victim patterns, blending techniques are employed to allow the police officer to move freely on the street. The primary objective is to effect quality arrests with no increased danger to police or citizens. The size of a street crime unit depends on the number of officers who can be spared from detective or patrol duties, whether the unit is to be a long-term project, and the type of crime the community wants to solve. Deployment options for decoying and blending are discussed as well as officer selection, policies and procedures for street crime units, and decoy operations. Appendixes contain supplemental information on street crime units. References and photographs