NCJ Number
62253
Date Published
1978
Length
173 pages
Annotation
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE CRIME ANALYSIS AND PLANNING UNITS FUNDED BY THE ILLINOIS LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMISSION IS PRESENTED; OVERALL CONCLUSIONS AND PROGRAM GUIDELINES ARE HIGHLIGHTED.
Abstract
REALIZING THE NEED TO IMPROVE POLICE PLANNING AND CRIME ANALYSIS ON THE LOCAL LEVEL, THE ILLINOIS LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMISSION CREATED A SPECIAL FUNDING CATEGORY IN ITS 1974 PLAN FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF PLANNING AND ANALYSIS UNITS. AS A RESULT, NINE PROJECTS WERE FUNDED THROUGHOUT ILLINOIS. OBJECTIVES WHICH WERE COMMON TO ALL PROJECTS WERE IMPROVEMENT OF INFORMATION GENERATION, DEPARTMENT ANALYSIS CAPABILITIES, DEPLOYMENT OF PERSONNEL, BUDGET PREPARATION PROCEDURES, UTILIZATION OF EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES, AND STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. GENERALLY, NONE OF THE PROJECTS ESTABLISHED PLANNING AS AN INTEGRAL PROCESS WITHIN THE RESPECTIVE AGENCIES; FULL-TIME POSITIONS FOR PLANNING OR CRIME ANALYSIS COULD NOT BE JUSTIFIED IN THE SMALLER AGENCIES AFTER THE GRANTS ENDED; AND PLANNERS AND ANALYSTS WERE USUALLY INVOLVED IN ONE-TIME PLANNING EFFORTS UNDER GRANT PROJECTS. GRANTS OF 18 TO 24 MONTHS WERE SUFFICIENT TO ESTABLISH THE PLANNING PROCESS IN POLICE AGENCIES. FUNDING POLICE PLANNING AND CRIME ANALYSIS UNITS SHOULD BE CONTINUED, AND A SEPARATE FUNDING CATEGORY SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED FOR CRIME ANALYSIS. IN THE FUTURE, POLICE EXECUTIVES SHOULD BE GIVEN ANNUAL SEMINARS FOCUSING ON THE PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING AND A CONDITION OF THE GRANT AWARD SHOULD BE THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF SUCH TRAINING. IN ADDITION, A MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM SHOULD BE DEVELOPED FOR PLANNING AND RESEARCH UNITS AS PART OF FUTURE EVALUATION EFFORTS. APPENDIXES, TABLES, AND FOOTNOTES ARE PROVIDED IN THE FINAL REPORT. (LWM)