NCJ Number
39886
Date Published
1976
Length
175 pages
Annotation
RESULTS OF ON-SITE VISITS TO 23 POLICE DEPARTMENTS UNDERTAKEN TO ASSESS THE DEPARTMENTS' CRIME ANALYSIS RESOURCES AND ORGANIZATION, DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS EFFORTS, AND CRIME ANALYSIS APPLICATIONS.
Abstract
THIS VOLUME IS THE RESULT OF A NATIONAL EVALUATION PROGRAM EFFORT DESIGNED TO ASCERTAIN THE STATE-OF-THE-ART OF CRIME ANALYSIS IN THE U.S.A., TO DESCRIBE ACTUAL RESULTS ACCOMPLISHED BY CRIME ANALYSIS PROJECTS, AND TO DEVELOP EVALUATION STRATEGIES WHICH MIGHT BE INVOLVED IN ON-GOING CRIME ANALYSIS PROJECTS. CRIME ANALYSIS IS CONSIDERED WITH RESPECT TO BOTH RESOURCE ALLOCATION AND DEPLOYMENT OF PERSONNEL. THIS REPORT DOCUMENTS THE MAJOR FINDINGS OF 23 SITE VISITS CONDUCTED AS PART OF THIS EFFORT. METHODS OF RESOURCE ALLOCATION AND PERSONNEL DEPLOYMENT USED BY THE AGENCIES STUDIED ARE DESCRIBED. THE REPORT PROVIDES A COMPOSITE PICTURE OF THE SITE VISIT FINDINGS WITH RESPECT TO THE FOLLOWING ISSUE AREAS: RESOURCES AND ORGANIZATION FOR CRIME ANALYSIS, DATA COLLECTION AND FILES, ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES, PROBLEM SOLUTION, PROGRAM SPECIFICATION, AND DISSEMINATION OF CRIME ANALYSIS INFORMATION. OVERALL, LITTLE CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE WAS FOUND TO SUBSTANTIATE THE VALUE OF CRIME ANALYSIS AS AN APPROPRIATE FUNCTION OR TO DETERMINE IN WHAT WAY IT SHOULD BE STRUCTURED TO BE COST EFFECTIVE. THE RESEARCHERS FOUND THAT AT NEARLY EVERY SITE, REPRESENTATIVES WERE MERELY SPECULATIVE ABOUT THE ADVANTAGES OF CRIME ANALYSIS. GENERALLY, NO EVIDENCE OF A DEMONSTRATED LINK BETWEEN CRIME ANALYSIS AND GOAL ATTAINMENT WAS FOUND. SEPARATE FLOW DIAGRAMS FOR EACH PROGRAM ARE PROVIDED IN THE APPENDICES. A SITE SURVEY INSTRUMENT IS ALSO APPENDED. FOR OTHER VOLUMES ON THIS PROJECT, SEE NCJ-39885 AND 39887.