NCJ Number
49720
Editor(s)
R C LARSON
Date Published
1978
Length
259 pages
Annotation
HYPERCUBE MODELING, PROGRAMMING, AND IMPLEMENTATION EFFORTS ARE EXAMINED. THE HYPERCUBE QUEUING MODEL INCORPORATES, IN AN ANALYTICAL MODEL, THE INTRICACY AND RICHNESS COMMON TO A SIMULATION.
Abstract
THE HYPERCUBE QUEUING MODEL ALLOWS POLICE PLANNERS TO CONSIDER QUANTITATIVELY MANY OF THE DETAILS OF A POLICE PRECINCT: DIFFERENT WORKLOADS OF EACH NEIGHBORHOOD; ARBITRARY TRAVEL TIMES FROM POINT TO POINT; OVERLAPPING OR NONOVERLAPPING BEATS; COMPLEX DISPATCHING STRATEGIES THAT ARE NOT NECESSARILY FOCUSED ON RESPONSE TIME; AND DISPATCHING WITH OR WITHOUT AN AUTOMATIC VEHICLE LOCATION (AVL) SYSTEM. THE FIRST EIGHT CHAPTERS SUMMARIZE HYPERCUBE MODELING, PROGRAMMING, AND IMPLEMENTATION. THE FIRST CHAPTER DISCUSSES SEVERAL ILLUSTRATIVE APPLICATIONS OF THE MODEL, RANGING FROM POLICE SECTOR REDESIGN TO THE ASSIGNMENT OF BILINGUAL PERSONNEL AND ALTERNATIVE PATTERNS OF PREVENTIVE PATROL COVERAGE. THE SECOND CHAPTER DESCRIBES, IN NONTECHNICAL TERMS, THE BASIC STRUCTURE OF THE HYPERCUBE MODEL, INCLUDING THE KEY NOTIONS OF STATE, TRANSITION, PROBABILISTIC EQUILIBRIUM, AND METHODS FOR COMPUTING PERFORMANCE MEASURES WITHIN THE HYPERCUBE FRAMEWORK. THE THIRD CHAPTER DEVELOPS SOME GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF POLICE SECTOR DESIGN AND SOME RULES OF THUMB APPLICABLE TO THE MODEL'S USE. THE FOURTH CHAPTER DESCRIBES THE NATURAL-LANGUAGE INTERACTIVE VERSION OF THE MODEL. THIS VERSION ALLOWS A NONTECHNICALLY TRAINED USER TO 'CONVERSE' IN NATURAL LANGUAGE WITH AN INTERMEDIATE PROGRAM, WHICH ACTS AS A LINK BETWEEN THE USER AND THE HYPERCUBE MODEL AND ASSURES THAT THE USER CAN PROVIDE THE REQUIRED INPUT DATA. THE FIFTH CHAPTER DESCRIBES ANOTHER SET OF INTERMEDIATE PROGRAMS THAT PARTIALLY AUTOMATE THE SECTOR REDESIGN PROCESS COVERED IN CHAPTERS THREE, SEVEN, AND EIGHT. THE PROGRAMS ALLOW THE USER TO FOCUS ON ONE OF SEVERAL EQUITY-ORIENTED PERFORMANCE MEASURES, INCLUDING THE BALANCING OF PATROL UNIT WORKLOADS AND RESPONSE TIMES TO VARIOUS NEIGHBORHOODS. THE SIXTH CHAPTER ATTEMPTS TO INCORPORATE INTO THE SECTOR DESIGN PROCESS THE PREFERENCES OF THREE POTENTIALLY CONFLICTING GROUPS: POLICE ADMINISTRATORS, POLICE PATROL OFFICERS, AND CITIZENS RESIDING IN PARTICULAR SERVICE AREAS. THE SEVENTH AND EIGHTH CHAPTERS DETAIL SECTOR REDESIGN EFFORTS BASED ON THE MODEL IN ARLINGTON AND QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS. THE 9TH AND 10TH CHAPTERS DISCUSS SOME OF THE INNOVATIVE RESOURCE PLANNING (IRP) POLICE TECHNICAL WORK NOT EXPLICITLY CONCERNED WITH THE HYPERCUBE MODEL. ELEMENTS OF SEARCH THEORY, AS FIRST DEVELOPED FOR ANTISUBMARINE WARFARE DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR, ARE INTRODUCED AND MODIFIED FOR APPLICATION TO THE POLICE SETTING. FINALLY, AN ANALYSIS OF TRADITIONAL HAZARD-FORMULA ALLOCATIONS VERSUS MODEL-BASED ALLOCATIONS IS PROVIDED. GRAPHIC AND TABULAR DATA ARE PRESENTED, AND ASSORTED MAPS AND FIGURES ARE INCLUDED. LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ARE PROVIDED, AS ARE REFERENCE NOTES AT THE END OF EACH CHAPTER. NO INDEX IS INCLUDED. (KBL)