NCJ Number
48802
Journal
Management Science Volume: 24 Issue: 12 Dated: (AUGUST 1978) Pages: 1301-1313
Date Published
1978
Length
13 pages
Annotation
A DECISION MODEL IS PROPOSED FOR APPLICATION TO A RESOURCE ALLOCATION PROBLEM IN URBAN MANAGEMENT, SPECIFICALLY TO THE DESIGN OF SERVICE AREAS FOR POLICE MOBILE UNITS.
Abstract
THE DECISION MODEL INCORPORATES PREFERENCES FOR EFFICIENCY AND EQUALITY OF SERVICES, FOR CITIZENS, POLICE, AND ADMINISTRATORS INTO THE PROCESS OF DESIGNING POLICE SECTORS. PREFERENCES ARE MODELED USING MULTIATTRIBUTE UTILITY BY TREATING SPATIAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF A PERFORMANCE MEASURE IN A MANNER ANALOGOUS TO THE TREATMENT OF A PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION IN DECISIONMAKING UNDER CONDITIONS OF UNCERTAINTY. THE DECISION MODEL PROVIDES MEANINGFUL MEASURES OF INEQUALITY AND AN OBJECTIVE FUNCTION THAT IS USED IN CREATING AN ALGORITHM FOR GENERATING IMPROVED POLICE SECTOR DESIGNS. IT IS INTENDED TO REPRESENT PREFERENCES ABOUT INEQUALITY AND IS COMPRISED OF THREE SUBMODELS: ASSESSOR, EVALUATOR, AND IMPROVER. ALGORITHMS ON WHICH THE DECISION MODEL IS BASED AND ILLUSTRATIVE APPLICATIONS SHOW THAT IT CAN BE PROGRAMMED EASILY WITHIN EXISTING INTERACTIVE PACKAGES OR USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH OTHER ANALYTICAL MODELS. IT CAN BE EXTENDED WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT ALTERATION FOR USE IN LOCATION OR DISTRICTING PROBLEMS FOR GENERAL SPATIALLY DISTRIBUTED SERVICE SYSTEMS SUCH AS FIRE AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SYSTEMS OR IN GENERAL SERVICE SYSTEMS WITH DISTINGUISHABLE SERVERS AND IDENTIFIABLE CUSTOMER CLASSES. THE POLICE SECTOR DESIGN PROBLEM IS DESCRIBED BRIEFLY, AND STEPS TAKEN IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DECISION MODEL ARE OUTLINED. UTILITY THEORY ON WHICH THE MODEL IS BASED AND ASSOCIATED ALGORITHMS ARE EXAMINED. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED.