Closing the (Protective Services) Gap: Why Size Does Matter When Determining Optimal Level 2 Service Delivery

• NCJ Number: 220072
• Journal: International Journal of Police Science & Management Volume: 9 Issue: 2 Dated: Summer 2007 Pages: 183-192
• Author(s): Michael Townsley; John W. Bond
• Date Published: 2007
• Length: 10 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the September 2005 review of policing structure in England and Wales by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in terms of the structure's influence on police forces' ability to solve volume crimes (crime types that occur in relatively large numbers).

Abstract

The study found that performance in solving volume crimes differed significantly within the existing police structure. For the offenses of residential burglary and theft of motor vehicles, the data show that a significant percentage of cases were solved through DNA or fingerprint analysis (ranging between 35 percent and 7 percent of solved cases depending on force size). This suggests that in order to address the shortfall in performance by forces with more than 4,000 police officers, there must be better management of evidence collection at the crime scene and more efficient use of forensic analyses of this evidence. The finding that small forces perform better than large forces in solving volume crimes may be due to their better management of evidence collection and analysis. This may be due to small forces' use of inhouse forensic analyses of fingerprints, which provides for better control of the workflow of such analyses. Large forces, on the other hand, have their fingerprint analyses done by service providers independent of the police service. Two main sources of data were used for this analysis. The first was the recorded criminal incidents and clearances (solved cases) for six key offenses in each Basic Command Unit (BCU) in England and Wales during 2004-05. The second source of data was the Home Office National Forensic Performance Monitors and Trackers. These data address attendance, recovery, and processing of both DNA and fingerprints for residential burglaries and theft of motor vehicles for every police force in England and Wales. 5 figures and 7 references