NCJ Number
35794
Date Published
1971
Length
49 pages
Annotation
THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO IDENTIFY AND EXAMINE THE PREDICTIVE UTILITY OF SEVERAL CATEGORIES OF INDICES DIRECTED AT MONITORING PHENOMENA WHICH MAY BE AFFECTED BY CHANGES IN THE LEVEL OF ORGANIZED CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.
Abstract
THIS STUDY WAS UNDERTAKEN TO PROVIDE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS WITH A GENERAL APPROACH FOR THE SYSTEMATIC DEVELOPMENT OF INDICES TO EVALUATE AND GUIDE ORGANIZED CRIME CONTROL PROGRAMS. NINE PENSION PLANS AND NINE WELFARE PLANS (ALL OF WHICH REMAINED UNIDENTIFIED) WERE SELECTED FOR ANALYSIS. INDICES TO MONITOR CHANGES IN THE FOLLOWING FOUR AREAS WERE POSTULATED, DEVELOPED, AND EXAMINED: PLAN ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES, EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PLAN, ASSET GROWTH RATE, AND ASSET UTILIZATION. A FIFTH AREA, DISCREPANCIES IN FINANCIAL REPORTING, IS ALSO DISCUSSED. THE MEASURES USED WERE THE RATIOS OF ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS TO DISBURSEMENTS AND TO THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS; THE RATIO OF EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS; THE RATES OF GROSS ASSET, ADJUSTED NET ASSET, AND NET ASSET GROWTH; AND THE RATIO OF CASH-ON-HAND AND IN BANKS TO AVERAGE MONTHLY EXPENDITURES. THESE FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIPS WERE PLOTTED ON GRAPHS FOR EACH OF THE WELFARE AND PENSION PLANS AND PATTERNS DIFFERENTIATING FROM ACCEPTED FINANCIAL OR MANAGERIAL PRACTICES WERE NOTED. A CLASSIFICATION SCHEME BASED ON ANALYSIS RESULTS IS SUGGESTED, WHICH GOES FROM 'WELL RUN AND HONEST' TO 'GANGSTERISM' AND 'INVOLVED WITH CORRUPTION OF PUBLIC OFFICIALS'. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT INDICES WHICH MONITOR ACTIVITIES AFFECTED BY ORGANIZED CRIME CAN BE DEVELOPED AT A LOW COST AND SHOULD BE TESTED IN THE CONTEXT OF SPECIFIC LAW ENFORCEMENT PROGRAMS. FOR OTHER REPORTS IN THIS SERIES, SEE NCJ-035795-98.