NCJ Number
114010
Date Published
1988
Length
16 pages
Annotation
The director of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) discusses the changing nature of police services in larger communities and what research has shown to be the implications for police operations, organizations, and management.
Abstract
Some of NIJ's early research focused on two traditional concepts that have long guided law enforcement: the use of random patrol to deter crime and the use of rapid response both to fight crime and to build public support. The research showed that both of these practices were invalid or even counterproductive. More recent research has shown that police can substantially reduce the fear of crime and increase citizens' sense of security by forming closer bonds with the neighborhoods they serve. Research is also focusing on the use of problem-oriented policing, which involves the analysis of groups of incidents and the use of a wide variety of public and private resources to help solve the problem. One example of this approach is an analysis of repeated calls for service in Minneapolis. The repeated burglar alarms at one address turned out to be the result of the impact of the newspapers thrown against a door each day. This example shows that police managers need to analyze their workloads more carefully and to adjust policing practices and management structures accordingly.