NCJ Number
90606
Journal
Police Studies Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1983) Pages: 22-29
Date Published
1983
Length
8 pages
Annotation
A case screening process identifies those cases which have the potential for being solved and allows investigators to spend more time on them by eliminating from officers' caseloads cases which probably cannot be solved due to the lack of substantial evidence.
Abstract
Robbery data from one jurisdiction is used to show how to devise a solvability model based on the presence or absence of various types of evidence. A total of 380 robbery cases investigated by the Kentucky State Police during a 6-month period were used, and a systematic sample of 100 cases were selected from the 380. Of the 100 cases, 49 were solved and 51 were unsolved. The article cautions that jurisdictions should not borrow such models outright, since the appropriate model will vary with the type of preliminary investigation carried out. Eleven references are included. (Author abstract modified)