NCJ Number
51445
Date Published
1978
Length
93 pages
Annotation
ACHIEVEMENTS MADE DURING THE FIRST PHASE OF A CRIMINAL APPREHENSION PROGRAM IN SPRINGFIELD, MO., ARE EVALUATED, AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE EVALUATION DESIGNS ARE MADE.
Abstract
THE INTEGRATED CRIMINAL APPREHENSION PROGRAM (ICAP) IMPLEMENTED BY THE SPRINGFIELD, MO., POLICE DEPARTMENT WAS DIRECTED TOWARD ACHIEVING THE FOLLOWING GOALS: TO INCREASE APPREHENSION OF PART I OFFENDERS BY PATROL OFFICERS; TO INCREASE THE CAPABILITY OF PATROL OFFICERS TO IDENTIFY AND APPREHEND THE CAREER CRIMINAL; AND TO INCREASE THE RETENTION OF POLICE OFFICERS, INCLUDING THOSE WITH UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES. THIS EVALUATION WAS UNDERTAKEN TO MEASURE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ICAP BY FOCUSING ON THE FOLLOWING MAJOR AREAS: THE GENERAL DESIGN OF ICAP; INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS PERFORMED AS PART OF ICAP; AND THE PRACTICALITIES OF IMPLEMENTATION. A FRAMEWORK FOR THE EVALUATION LINKING GOALS, OBJECTIVES, AND INDICATORS FOR ICAP IS PROVIDED. THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR PHASE I OF THIS PROGRAM WERE DESIGNED TO FACILITATE THE PLANNING AND PRELIMINARY IMPLEMENTATION OF ICAP; IT WAS NOT ANTICIPATED THAT ICAP WOULD BE FULLY OPERATIONAL AT THE OUTSET OF PHASE I. THE EVALUATION WAS FORMATIVE, OR PROCESS ORIENTED, TO BE CONSISTENT WITH THE ICAP PLAN FOR PHASE I. DATA WERE COLLECTED FROM THE FOLLOWING SOURCES: PROJECT DOCUMENTATION, QUARTERLY GRANT REPORTS, DEPARTMENT REPORTS AND FILES, SPECIFIC AND GENERAL INTERVIEWS WITH PERSONNEL OF VARIOUS RANKS, AND SITE VISITS. THE KEY FINDINGS CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: (1) ICAP IN PHASE I HAS GENERALLY ACHIEVED ITS OBJECTIVES TO PLAN FOR FULL IMPLEMENTATION IN SUBSEQUENT PHASES; (2) THE ICAP PROJECT MANAGER HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THE SUCCESS OF ITS INITIAL PHASE; (3) THE THIRTEEN SQUAD PLAN, THAT PROVIDES FOR A REALLOCATION OF MANPOWER AND A REORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT, WAS RECOMMENDED TO INSURE EFFICIENT OPERATIONS; AND (4) WEAKNESSES IN DEPARTMENT OPERATION, PARTICULARLY IN THE RECORDS PROCESSING SYSTEM, WERE IDENTIFIED AND MAY BE DUE TO AN OUTDATED ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE. COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS DESIGNED TO ASSIST IN THE PLANNING OF PHASE II ARE MADE. IN DESIGNING THE EVALUATION OF PHASE II, CONSIDERATION IS GIVEN TO NEIGHBORHOOD POLICING PLANS; THE IDENTIFICATION, APPREHENSION AND TREATMENT OF CAREER CRIMINALS; AND CRIME ANALYSIS AND TACTICAL UNITS DEPLOYMENT. THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR TO CONSIDER IS THE DEPARTMENT'S ABILITY TO COLLECT THE NECESSARY DATA. TABULAR DATA AND CHARTS ARE PROVIDED. (JCP)