NCJ Number
69517
Date Published
1979
Length
58 pages
Annotation
THIS REPORT SUMMARIZES POLICE/PLAN AND ITS COMPONENTS (PATROL/PLAN, BEAT/PLAN, AND DATA/PLAN) WHICH RESULTED FROM A PROJECT TO DEVELOP LOW-COST, EASILY USED RESOURCE ALLOCATION SYSTEMS FOR POLICE AGENCIES.
Abstract
THE OBJECTIVES OF THE EASY-TO-USE RESOURCE ALLOCATION PLANNING TOOLS (URAPT) PROJECT WERE TO (1) DEVELOP AND FIELD TEST A POLICE PLANNING COMPUTER SYSTEM USING LOW-COST MICROCOMPUTERS AND PROGRAMMABLE CALCULATORS, AND (2) DETERMINE THE USEFULNESS OF MICROCOMPUTERS TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES. URAPT PRODUCED POLICE/PLAN SOFTWARE FOR USE ON THE TEXAS INSTRUMENT PROGRAMMABLE 59 CALCULATOR AND APPLE II AND TRS-80 MICROCOMPUTERS. TRADITIONAL PATROL ALLOCATION PLANNING, DONE INTUITIVELY BY POLICE OFFICIALS, CANNOT ESTIMATE MANY PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS AND AS A RESULT DOES NOT IMPROVE POLICE PATROL. SINCE COMPUTERS CAN ANALYZE AND ACCOUNT FOR MANY MORE PATROL, CRIME, AND OTHER FACTORS THAN THE HUMAN BRAIN, THEY ARE BEING USED MORE FREQUENTLY BY POLICE AGENCIES TO ALLOCATE PATROL AND OTHER POLICE RESOURCES. HOWEVER, MANY COMPUTER SYSTEMS ARE TOO EXPENSIVE FOR POLICE USE, DIFFICULT TO USE, OR CLASH WITH POLICE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. NEVERTHELESS, URAPT'S POLICE/PLAN WAS SUCCESSFULLY USED IN TESTS BY MANAGEMENT IN THREE POLICE AGENCIES. POLICE/PLAN MAY BE USED BY PERSONS WITH LITTLE OR NO DATA PROCESSING EXPERIENCE AND ITS EQUIPMENT IS INEXPENSIVE. PATROL/PLAN ALLOCATES PATROL CARS, BEAT/PLAN PLANS BEATS, AND DATA/PLAN TABULATES DATA FOR PATROL/PLAN AND/OR BEAT/PLAN. A SUMMARY OF PATROL/PLAN COVERS EQUIPMENT NEEDED AND A LIST OF PERFORMANCE ESTIMATES IT CAN MAKE AND USE. THROUGH PATROL/PLAN, THE USER CAN SET UP STANDARDS FOR PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND ALLOCATE UNITS OVER ANY COMBINATION OF BLOCKS HAVING INPUT DATA. BEAT/PLAN MAY EVALUATE AN EXISTING BEAT PLAN OR DESIGN A NEW ONE BY BALANCING ADDITIVE BEAT LEVEL CHARACTERISTICS, SUCH AS POPULATION OR NUMBER OF SERVICE CALLS. DATA/PLAN GREATLY SIMPLIFIES ALL SORTS OF POLICE DATA TABULATION. FINAL SECTIONS DESCRIBE CHARACTERISTICS OF MICROCOMPUTERS AND THE EQUIPMENT USED IN THE POLICE/PLAN FIELD TESTS, ASESS POLICE/PLAN SOFTWARE, AND DISCUSS ITS IMPLEMENTATION. NINE REFERENCES, FOOTNOTES AND TABLES ARE INCLUDED.