NCJ Number
155079
Journal
American Journal of Police Volume: 13 Issue: 3 Dated: (1994) Pages: 149-168
Date Published
1994
Length
20 pages
Annotation
The extent to which detective effort contributes to the identification and apprehension of burglars and robbers was examined through an analysis of police investigative reports in one agency.
Abstract
Data were obtained from a medium-sized midwestern municipal police agency. The research focused on the investigative reports for 317 burglaries and 292 robberies that occurred between July 1989 and June 1990. The analysis focused on the amount of time spent on followup investigations and the strength of the evidence associated with the cases. Results revealed that in cases with moderate suspect information, the probability of an arrest increased significantly with more time spent. In fact, the relationship between time spent and case outcome was the strongest in the cases with moderate suspect information. However, the magnitude of the effects across cases with varying strengths of suspect information was not significant; the effect of time spent on case outcome in moderate cases was not significantly different than the effect of time spent on case outcome in either weak or strong suspect information cases. Findings offered only limited support for Eck's triage hypotheses, but they did contradict Greenwood and others who have suggested that detective effort has no effect on whether crimes are solved. Recommendations for further research, tables, notes, and 16 references