NCJ Number
54510
Date Published
1977
Length
187 pages
Annotation
THE PRODUCTIVITY OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT OF BRIDGEPORT, CONN., WAS ANALYZED FROM DECEMBER 1976 THROUGH AUGUST 1977, IN TERMS OF POLICE RESPONSE TO SERVICE CALLS AND PATROL OPERATIONS TO REDUCE CRIME.
Abstract
THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF ANALYSIS WAS TO DETERMINE IF REALISTIC INCREASES IN PRODUCTIVITY COULD BE ACHIEVED THROUGH THE IMPROVED MANAGEMENT OF PATROL OPERATIONS. OTHER OBJECTIVES WERE TO ASSESS THE DEMAND FOR POLICE SERVICES IN BRIDGEPORT, TO EXAMINE AND EVALUATE TIME AND LOCATION PATTERNS OF CALLS FOR CRIME AND NONCRIME SERVICES, TO DEVELOP METHODS FOR ASSESSING EFFECTIVENESS, TO DERIVE METHODS FOR REDUCING CRIME AND INCREASING APPREHENSION RATES, AND TO PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS SPECIFICALLY CONCERNED WITH INCREASING POLICE PRODUCTIVITY. BECAUSE OF THE LARGE NUMBER OF SERVICE CALLS DURING THE ANALYSIS PERIOD, A 10-PERCENT SAMPLE WAS DRAWN FROM 80,000 INCIDENTS RECORDED ON COMPUTERIZED POLICE INCIDENT REPORTS FOR 1975. THIS SAMPLE WAS VALIDATED AGAINST THE POPULATION DISTRIBUTION OF CRIME AND NONCRIME CALLS AND WAS FOUND TO BE CONSISTENT ACROSS ALL CATEGORIES OF CALLS FOR SERVICE. ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES USED TO EVALUATE DATA RANGED FROM UNIVARIATE TO BIVARIATE ANALYSIS, WITH CONTROL METHODS APPLIED TO ELABORATE ON SIGNIFICANT TRENDS IDENTIFIED IN ANTECEDENT ANALYSIS. FINDINGS OF THE ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT POLICE RESPONDED MOST FREQUENTLY TO REPORTS OF MEDICAL PROBLEMS (10 PERCENT), MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT (10 PERCENT), NUISANCES (10 PERCENT), PROPERTY DAMAGE (7.5 PERCENT), AND ALARM (7 PERCENT). IN ADDITION TO MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT, BURGLARY, LARCENY, ASSAULT, DISORDERLY CONDUCT, AND MOTOR VEHICLE VIOLATIONS CONSTITUTED MAJOR CRIME CATEGORIES. FAMILY OFFENSES ALSO REQUIRED SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF POLICE SERVICE TIME. THERE WERE DEFINITE GEOGRAPHICAL PATTERNS IN THE DEMAND FOR POLICE SERVICES. A DEFINITE PATTERN WAS ALSO OBSERVED FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF INCIDENTS BY TIME; 61.5 PERCENT OF ALL INCIDENTS OCCURRED AND WERE REPORTED DURING THE PERIOD FROM 3 P.M. TO 2:59 A.M. DOCUMENTATION OF DATA ON THE TIME OF CALL, RESPONSE TIME, ON THE-SCENE TIME, BACK-IN-SERVICE TIME, THE NUMBER OF UNITS DISPATCHED, THE NUMBER OF POLICE OFFICERS DISPATCHED, AND CLEARANCE STATUS OF INCIDENTS IS NECESSARY IF MANAGEMENT IS TO EVALUATE POLICE PRODUCTIVITY AND PERFORMANCE. INFORMATION SYSTEM, PATROL ACTIVITY, AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE RECOMMENDATIONS TO ENHANCE POLICE PRODUCTIVITY ARE OFFERED. SUPPORTING DATA ARE PROVIDED. APPENDIXES CONTAIN ADDITIONAL DATA, ON INCIDENT REPORT FORM, AND A DETAILED CRIME CODE CLASSIFICATION. A BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR POLICE PRODUCTIVITY STUDIES IS INCLUDED. (DEP)