NCJ Number
69964
Date Published
1980
Length
34 pages
Annotation
The effectiveness of the amalgamation of three police stations in the Melbourne, Australia, suburb of Prahran is evaluated in this report.
Abstract
The amalgamation was intended to eliminate the duplication of efforts and increase police patrol activity. It was hoped that this would result in a reduction in the level of 'patrol preventable' crime and an increase in the community's feelings of security. During the first 12 months after the initiation of the program in 1978, its effectiveness was closely monitored through an examination of patrol activity and crime levels and trends, and through a number of surveys of random samples of residents and businessmen. The results showed increases of 50.4 percent in the number of traffic offenses detected, 47.8 percent in the number of stolen motor vehicles recovered, 27.3 percent in the number of persons arrested by patrol car crews, and 25 to 100 percent in the number of arrest for 'on view' offenses compared with decreases in other police districts. Although nonresidential burglaries decreased by 27.4 percent, residential burglaries increased by 47.4 percent (these are not 'patrol preventable'). Business people felt that the district had become a safer place, while residents noticed little improvement. Other survey results are presented in detail, and recent developments in U.S. police patrol activities are reviewed. Recommendations include (1) issuing each member of a patrol car crew a portable radio; (2) increasing the ratio of police vehicles to personnel; (3) assuring that patrols have on-line access to offender information; (4) computerizing crime report details as soon as possible; and (5) amalgamating local stations in other parts of the city. Footnotes and references are not included.