NCJ Number
43127
Date Published
Unknown
Length
24 pages
Annotation
AN OVERVIEW OF THIS PROJECT WHICH USES COMPUTERIZED CRIME DATA IN PATROL PLANNING AND IN DEVELOPING PATROL STRATEGIES IS PRESENTED.
Abstract
THE DIRECTED DETERRENT PATROL, DEVELOPED BY THE NEW HAVEN DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SERVICES, WAS INTENDED TO SUPPLEMENT TRADITIONAL RANDOM PATROL. COMPUTERIZED CRIME DATA ARE UTILIZED TO PLAN AND DEVELOP PATROL STRATEGIES IN ORDER TO DETER CRIME IN TARGET AREAS. A PLANNING TEAM DEVELOPS STEP-BY-STEP STRATEGIES AND TACTICS IN THE FORM OF WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS IN A SPECIAL NOTEBOOK. OFFICERS ARE DISPATCHED TO PERFORM IN DETERRENT PATROLS ('D-RUNS') WHICH CORRESPOND TO THESE WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS. UPON INITIATING A D-RUN, THE OFFICER CONSULTS THE NOTEBOOK FOR THE INSTRUCTION SHEET, WHICH ALSO ACTS AS A VALUABLE SOURCE FOR FUTURE STRATEGIES. THE PLANNING TEAM MONITORS THE PROJECT CLOSELY; ITS MEMBERS PLAN DOCUMENT PATROL STRATEGIES, COLLECT AND ANALYZE CRIME DATA, AND EVALUATE THE RESULTS OF THE DETERRENT TACTICS. IN THE FUTURE, ONE HOPES TO TRAIN PATROL SUPERVISORS IN OPERATION MANAGEMENT SKILLS THAT WILL ENABLE THEM TO EQUAL THE CAPABILITIES OF THE PLANNING TEAM. THE FUTURE PROJECT WILL ALSO REPLACE THE TRADITIONAL BEAT STRUCTURE BY DIRECTED DAILY PATROL ACTIVITIES. TO ACCOMMODATE THE ANTICIPATED ADDITIONAL WORK LOAD, THE COMMUNICATIONS SECTION WILL BE REFINED. MORE EFFICIENT RESPONSES TO CALLS-FOR-SERVICE WILL BE ESTABLISHED TO CREATE ADDITIONAL PATROL WORK HOURS. PRELIMINARY ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO MEASURE THE EFFECT OF DIRECTED DETERRENT PATROL ON CRIME RATES. RESULTS OBTAINED OVER A 6-MONTH PERIOD IN D-RUN TEST AREAS (PERCENT TOTALS WERE MAINTAINED MANUALLY) INDICATED A MARKED DECREASE IN CRIME FREQUENCY OF REPORTED TARGET CRIMES. THE DIRECTED DETERRENT PATROL MAY BE THE PREVENTIVE PATROL DEPLOYMENT METHOD FOR OTHER POLICE AGENCIES TO ADOPT.