Changes in Calls for Police Service With Changes in Routine Activities and the Arrival and Passage of Weather Fronts

• NCJ Number: 126619
• Journal: Journal of Quantitative Criminology Volume: 6 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1990) Pages: 269-291
• Author(s): J L LeBeau; W T Corcoran
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 23 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Based on a paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Criminal Justice Association, Chicago, October 1988.

Annotation

Various innovations in police patrol planning, including assignment of differential responses based on priority, severity, and classification as well as forecasting calls for police service, can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the police patrol function. This study, based on an examination of the calls received by the Chicago Police Department between 1976 and 1979 (10,470,000 calls over 1461 days), analyzes the relationship between calls for police service and the passage of warm and cold weather fronts.

Abstract

The study hypothesizes that calls for police service stem mainly from discretionary activities, that the day of the week influences the level of calls, that the day of the week is the greatest predictor of changes in calls for service, and that weather is a modifier of routine activities. A framework is established, conceptually linking activities, time, climate, and weather; the specific variables include obligatory and discretionary activities, daily rhythms of these activities, seasonal rhythms of these activities, differences between climate and weather and their effects on activities, and warm and cold fronts. The findings indicate that weather fronts that take only one day to pass Chicago have a significant affect on the level of calls on any day of the week, while 2-day fronts have a significant effect on the level of calls only during weekdays, but not on the weekend. In general, warm fronts increase the calls for police service, while cold fronts decrease the number of service calls. 7 tables, 4 figures, and 46 references (Author abstract modified)