Police Department: Proposal for Analytical Unit

Crime measurement and statistics for police departments are very important when it comes to money allotment, staffing needs or termination and it is also used to determine the effectiveness of new laws and programs. There are three tools used to measure major crime in the United States: Uniform Crime Reports, National Crime Victimization Survey and the National Incident Based Reporting System- which is currently being tested to replace the Uniform Crime Reports. Although there different tools used to measure crime, crime rates can be deceiving. Each different tool reports a different type of rate, crime rates, arrest

The reason some officers have resisted implementing problem-solving strategies is because problem solving has a dual focus. According to the course text, the first focus, is that it requires incidents to be linked to problems. The second focus, is time devoted to “preventive” patrol is required to be spent proactively, which determines problems in the community and their causes (Miller, Hess, & Orthmann, 2014). Although problem-solving is ideal, unfortunately officers cannot ignore specific incidents. For example, when call come in, officer respond as quickly as possible. In addition, even if officers respond to incidents, seek symptoms of problem, or both, the public can help or hinder their efforts (Miller, Hess, & Orthmann, 2014).

In the last three decades, several concepts have been advanced to organize efforts to improve policing. Among them have been team policing, neighborhood policing, community policing, zero-tolerance policing and problem-oriented policing. Herman Goldstein was the first to propose problem-oriented policing in 1979. Problem-oriented policing is a policing strategy that involves the identification and analysis of specific crime and disorder problems, in order to develop effective response strategies in conjunction with ongoing assessment. The emphasis in problem-oriented policing is on directing attention to the broad range of problems the community expects the police to handle–the problems that constitute the business of the police and on

There are numerous different types of strategies for crime reduction. These include crime prevention tactics which are suitable for whole societies, and also forms of punishment which are suitable for individuals. Crime prevention strategies include situational crime prevention, environmental crime prevention, and social and community crime prevention.

Community policing has evolved to be the most used strategy for policing. “It is an approach to crime detection and prevention that provides police officers and supervisors with new tools for addressing recurrent problems that plague communities and consume a majority of police agency time and resources” (Peak, 2012, 65). It has been defined by various people differently. But all the definitions have similar principles (Chappell, 2009). They focus on proactive problem solving and create relationships with the community to address any issue that may arise. Community policing is a combination of client-oriented and problem-oriented policing.

Effective tactics and Strategies of enforcement that focus on visible street crime or “quality of Life” crimes.

The Broken Windows theory predicts that police can most effectively fight crime by focusing their efforts on targeting disorder, minor crimes and nuisance behaviors. The theory has had a positive impact, but has also raised some challenges. The police can play a key role in disrupting this process. If they focus in on disorder and less serious crime in neighborhoods that have not yet been overtaken by serious crime, they can help reduce fear and resident withdrawal.

The methodology to be adopted in community policing may be highlighted as: creation of crime curbing projects, increased number of police to the community through creation of nearby police stations or using foot patrols, establishment of community-police committees, initialization of programs that assist crime victims, and using the community to get feedback on crime rate prevention and satisfaction.

Problem oriented policing is a method of policing designed to focus on areas of increased criminal activity or hot spots. This method is executed by analyzing crime data, searching for solutions, implementing policies, and deploying resources which results in a reduction of crime. Herman Goldstein, a professor at University of Wisconsin- Madison, developed this method in 1979. This method of policing is one of the most widely used and accepted techniques used in policing today (Weisburb, Telep, Hinckle, and Eck, 2010).

What is meant by a crime-specific strategy? A crime-specific strategy is a strategy that is used to deal with different scenarios while in the field and while used with different types of crimes committed. "There is convincing evidence that motorists can be deterred from alcohol-impaired driving, and recognition that specific, targeted, and visible police work and increasing certainty of punishment are effective interventions, by contrast, duration of imprisonment and generic police initiatives such as blanket increases in police numbers seem to have little effect on deterrence, at least in the context of the decline in US homicide rates since 1991, to which demographic and economic factors seem to have contributed little" (Shepherd,2001).

Police agencies all over the world implement different policing strategies in accordance with the purpose. Community policing is one of the philosophy in which most of the countries effectively working with it. According to U. S. Department of Justice Community policing is a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies, which support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques, to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social, and fear of crime (n.d). This essay critically examines the conditions, which would impact both positively and negatively on the police procedures required to implement community policing strategy in the Maldives.

and so forth, to identify crime patterns, clusters, suspects, and hot spots. Strategies are then

The City of Columbus Mississippi recognizes the need for a new analytical unit. This is a proposal that aims to develop this new analytical unit in an effort to support all levels of the Police Department, to include command personnel, supervisors, detectives, and patrol officers. law enforcement agencies in. This analytical unit will obtain and analyze as much information as possible in order to identify crime patterns, trends, offenders, and develop correlations, to improve short-term and long-term decision-making. Once this new analytical unit is in place and all key positions are filled, the pertinent information gathered and analyzed will aid in the prevention of crime and the catching of criminals.

The variation of approaches includes Real-time crime data, which is up to the minute crime information. This gives the officers a direct, targeted location area, time, and specific crimes that were committed. Since officers cannot be in every area patrolling, with this information, management can direct officers to patrol these areas during their patrol down time. This approach also uses the “Broken windows enforcement, which means, if you take care of the smaller issues, this

The three most prevalent crime analysis methods that are tactical, strategical, and administrative(Wyckoff, 2014). Tactical crime analysis incorporates information analyzed for the purpose of short-term solutions(Wyckoff, 2014). Tactical crime analysis information is usually kept internal and produced on a daily basis(Wyckoff, 2014). Moreover, tactical crime analysis aids in the development of patrol and investigation practices along with deployment of resources(Wyckoff, 2014). Most of the data used for tactical crime analysis devises from police reports(Wyckoff, 2014). Some examples of tactical crime analysis are repeated incident analysis, crime pattern analysis, and linking known offenders to prior crimes(Wyckoff, 2014). Another type of crime analysis is strategic which data is analyzed for the purpose of creating and evaluating of long-term strategies, policies, and prevention techniques(Wyckoff, 2014). Strategic crime analysis is usually conducted slowly and at a deliberate pace(Wyckoff, 2014). The process of strategic crime analysis begins with police reports by is heavily influenced by outside sources of information which can be produced by quantitative or qualitative methods(Wyckoff, 2014). Some examples of strategic crime analysis are trend analysis, hot spot analysis, and problem analysis(Wyckoff, 2014). Lastly, there is administrative crime analysis which deals with management needs(Wyckoff, 2014). This crime analysis approach is very broad where actions are taken either regularly or upon request(Wyckoff, 2014). Analyzing information to develop patrol staffing, districting and re-districting, cost-benefits, and resource deployment for special occasions are some examples of the administrative crime analysis approach(Wyckoff,