NCJ Number
43539
Date Published
1975
Length
53 pages
Annotation
AN EVALUATION OF THE ARLINGTON COUNTY HIGH INCIDENCE TARGET (HIT) PROJECT, DIRECTED AT ACHIEVING A REDUCTION IN A TARGET CRIME IN A SPECIFIED GEOGRAPHICAL TARGET AREA OVER A SPECIFIED PERIOD OF TIME, IS PRESENTED.
Abstract
THE ARLINGTON COUNTY HIT PROJECT, PART OF A STATEWIDE EFFORT, DEVELOPED A PROGRAM TO ADDRESS BURGLARY ON A COUNTYWIDE BASIS, BUT THE PROGRAM WAS MODIFIED ON DECEMBER 5, 1974 TO A ROBBERY PROGRAM. THIS REPORT FOCUSES ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE ROBBERY TASK FORCE (RTF) WHICH BEGAN OPERATIONS ON DECEMBER 9, 1974. THE PROJECT UTILIZES CRIME-SPECIFIC ANALYSIS AND IMPLEMENTATION TECHNIQUES IN ITS EFFORT TO REDUCE CRIME. THIS EVALUATION INCLUDES 3 FULL MONTHS (JANUARY-MARCH 1975) OF OPERATIONAL DATA FROM THE RTF. THE REPORT DESCRIBES THE ARLINGTON COUNTY HIT PROJECT, PRESENTS THE EVALUATION OF THE RTF, THE PUBLIC INFORMATION PROGRAM, AND PLANNING AND SUPPORT. THE EVALUATION METHODOLOGY IS ALSO DESCRIBED. IN GENERAL, THE ROBBERY PROGRAM WAS CONSIDERED A 'QUALIFIED SUCCESS' BASED UPON THE LIMITED PERIOD OF TIME IT HAD BEEN OPERATIONAL. THE REPORT RECOMMENDS ITS CONTINUATION. THE STATED OBJECTIVE OF REDUCING THE NUMBER OF ROBBERIES IN THE CALENDAR YEAR 1975 TO THE LEVEL OF THE 5-YEAR AVERAGE FOR THE YEARS 1969-73, I.E., 189 ROBBERIES PER YEAR, WAS NOT EXPECTED TO BE ACHIEVED AT THE TIME OF THE EVALUATION. ROBBERY WAS UP 55 PERCENT WHEN COMPARED TO THE AVERAGE OF THE SAME 3 MONTHS IN THE 5-YEAR BASE PERIOD. BASED ON A COMPARISON WITH THE LEVEL OF ROBBERY IN THE NONTARGET AREA, THE RTF ACHIEVED A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN THE ROBBERY RATE. THE NUMBER OF ROBBERIES IN THE TARGET AREA WAS CONSTANT WHEN COMPARED TO 1974, WHILE ROBBERY IN THE NONTARGET AREA INCREASED BY 89 PERCENT OVER 1974. THE REPORT INFERS THAT SOME CRIME DISPLACEMENT OCCURRED WITHIN THE COUNTY DURING THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1975. RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE THE OPERATIONS OF THE RTF INVOLVE THE FOLLOWING: A PLAN FOR THE INTEGRATION OF THE RTF TECHNIQUES INTO THE DEPARTMENTAL OPERATIONS, ANALYZING DISPOSITIONS, DISCONTINUING HIT FUNDING FOR DATA PROCESSING, ESTABLISHING ACCESS TO AN INFORMANT'S FUND FOR THE RTF, EXPANDING THE FORMAL TRAINING PROGRAM AND THE EXCHANGES WITH OTHER SIMILAR POLICE PROGRAMS, AND PERFORMING ADDITIONAL ROBBERY SPECIFIC ANALYSIS. MONTHLY DATA SUMMARIES ARE APPENDED, AND SUPPORTING STATISTICS ARE PRESENTED IN GRAPHIC AND TABULAR FORM.