SIMULATION MODEL OF POLICE PATROL OPERATIONS - PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

• NCJ Number: 18236
• Author(s): P KOLESAR; W E WALKER
• Date Published: 1975
• Length: 111 pages
• Contract Number(s): H-2164
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Housing and Urban Development; New York City, New York
• Corporate Author: New York City-Rand Institute
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

TO PROVIDE COMPUTER PROGRAMMERS AND SYSTEMS ANALYSTS WITH DETAILED DOCUMENTATION OF A COMPUTER PROGRAM DEVELOPED AT THE NYC-RAND INSTITUTE FOR SIMULATING THE ACTIVITIES OF POLICE PATROL CARS IN A CITY OR A REGION OF A CITY.

Abstract

THE SIMULATION IS DESIGNED TO EXAMINE THE EFFECT OF CHANGES IN A POLICE DEPARTMENT'S DEPLOYMENT OF ITS PATROL RESOURCES. AMONG THE POLICY OPTIONS THAT CAN BE TESTED ARE: CHANGING THE NUMBER OF PATROL UNITS ON DUTY; CHANGING THE BOUNDARIES OF THE REGIONS ASSIGNED TO PARTICULAR PATROL UNITS FOR PATROL AND FOR DISPATCH TO CALLS; AND CHANGING DISPATCHING PROCEDURES. ALTERNATIVE POLICIES MAY BE COMPARED BASED ON A WIDE RANGE OF PERFORMANCE MEASURES PROVIDED BY THE SIMULATION. THESE INCLUDE THE DELAY BETWEEN WHEN A CALL FOR SERVICE IS RECEIVED AND WHEN IT IS DISPATCHED, THE DELAY BETWEEN WHEN A CALL IS DISPATCHED AND WHEN A PATROL CAR ARRIVES AT THE SCENE, AND THE WORKLOAD OF INDIVIDUAL PATROL UNITS. THE PROGRAM IS WRITTEN IN SIMSCRIPT II.5. THIS REPORT DESCRIBES EACH OF THE ROUTINES IN THE PROGRAM AND THE PROGRAM'S DATA REQUIREMENTS IN SUFFICIENT DETAIL THAT A USER WHO IS FAMILIAR WITH SIMSCRIPT SHOULD BE ABLE TO RUN OR MODIFY THE PROGRAM. FLOW CHARTS, A COMPLETE PROGRAM LISTING, SAMPLE DATA DECKS, AND PROGRAM OUTPUTS ARE ALL INCLUDED. SECTION TWO DISCUSSES SOME OF THE GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS THAT LED TO THE APPROACH TAKEN IN DESIGNING THE SIMULATION. THE THIRD SECTION EXPLAINS THE STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS OF THE MODEL. IN SECTION FOUR THE LOGICAL FLOW OF THE PROGRAM IS SHOWN AND EACH EVENT AND SUBROUTINE IS EXPLAINED IN DETAIL. THE NEXT SECTION DEFINES EACH PIECE OF DATA REQUIRED AS INPUT FOR THE SIMULATION, AND THE LAST SECTION DESCRIBES THE OUTPUT STATISTICS. THE PROGRAM LISTING IN APPENDIX A REPRESENTS ONE COMPLETE VERSION OF THE SIMULATION. APPENDIXES B AND C CONTAIN A SAMPLE INITIALIZATION DECK AND SAMPLE JOB STREAM THAT CAN BE USED TO TEST THE PROGRAM AND TO SERVE AS A GUIDE FOR PREPARING NEW INPUT DATA. APPENDIX D DEFINES EACH OF THE GLOBAL VARIABLES USED IN THE SIMULATION. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)