NCJ Number
57316
Date Published
1975
Length
124 pages
Annotation
THE USE OF STATISTICS, CRIME DATA ANALYSIS, AND COMPUTER DEVELOPMENT IN THE FIELD OF LAW ENFORCEMENT ARE EXAMINED IN THIS MANUAL OF PROCEDURES RELATED TO SPECIALIZED DATA SCHOOLS FOR CRIME PREVENTION OFFICERS.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES FOR CRIME PREVENTION ANALYSIS SHOULD FOLLOW CERTAIN UNIVERSAL GUIDES: (1) ANSWER UNIQUE COMMUNITY REQUIREMENTS; (2) ALLOW FOR STATISTICAL MEASUREMENT WITH REGARD TO BOTH COST AND EVALUATION; (3) USE SOME EXPERIMENTAL OBJECTIVES, WHERE THE OBJECTIVE IS TO DETERMINE OR TO DEFINE FUTURE PROJECTS AND DATA NEEDS OR COST FIGURES; AND (4) ALLOW TIME FRAMES FOR FUNDED PROJECTS. STANDARDIZED AND CLEARLY DEFINED OBJECTIVES AND REPORTING PROCEDURES, IN WRITTEN FORM, ARE ESSENTIAL TO ADMINISTRATIVE AND OPERATIONAL PRODUCTS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, SUCH AS POLICE DEPARTMENTS. AFTER OBJECTIVES OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED, METHODS AND PROCEDURES TO IMPLEMENT THEM MUST BE MADE KNOWN TO ALL EMPLOYEES. MAJOR CATEGORIES OF NECESSARY INFORMATION INCLUDE FIELD OPERATIONS PRIMARY AND SECONDARY DATA, FIELD OPERATIONS SUPPORTIVE DATA, CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS, MODUS OPERANDI INFORMATION, CRIMINAL SPECIALTIES FILES, PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION DATA, AND WANTED PERSONS DATA, COMPLAINT AND DISPATCH DATA, ADMINISTRATIVE DATA, AND INTERNAL CONTROL DATA. FACTORS TO CONSIDER PRIOR TO THE ANALYSIS OF CRIME DATA ARE POPULATION OF A CITY AND SELECTED SUBDIVISIONS, MEDIAN VALUE OF HOMES AND/OR HOUSEHOLD INCOME, HOUSING UNITS BY TYPE FOR A CITY AND DESIGNATED SUBAREAS, NUMBER OF COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENTS BY TYPE, POPULATION BY SEX AND AGE, MEDIAN EDUCATION LEVEL, NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING PERSONS BY NATIVE LANGUAGE, AND MEDIAN RENTAL COSTS FOR A CITY AND SELECTED SUBAREAS. COMPUTERS REPRESENT AN EFFECTIVE TOOL IN THE PREPARATION OF MEANINGFUL MANAGEMENT DATA FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AT ALL LEVELS. DATA COLLECTION AND MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES ARE DESCRIBED AND ILLUSTRATED, AND ELEMENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE LAW ENFORCEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM ARE NOTED. THE TECHNIQUE OF FLOW CHARTING IS DETAILED. APPENDIXES CONTAIN INFORMATION ON COMPUTER DATA STORAGE, COMPUTER CRIMES, AND COMPUTER SECURITY. (DEP)