COMPUTER SIMULATION OF POLICE DISPATCHING AND PATROL FUNCTIONS (FROM PROJECT SEARCH - INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION AND STATISTICS SYSTEMS PROCEEDINGS, 1972, BY GARY COOPER - SEE NCJ-09380)

• NCJ Number: 48291
• Author(s): H F MILLER; B A KNOPPERS
• Date Published: 1972
• Length: 10 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice; Project Search (See Search Group Inc)
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THE METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT OF WASHINGTON, D.C., IN CONJUNCTION WITH MATHEMATICA INCORPORATED IS DEVELOPING A COMPUTER SIMULATION OF FULL-SCALE DISPATCH AND PATROL OPERATIONS.

Abstract

THE MODEL WILL PROVIDE A USEFUL TOOL FOR TRAINING, MONITORING, EVALUATION, AND OTHER MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS WHILE ALSO FACILITATING A SYSTEMS INTERACTIVE PERSPECTIVE. INPUTS AND INITIAL CLASSIFICATIONS ARE DIVIDED INTO THE CATEGORIES OF GEOGRAPHY, PARAMETERS, AND POLICIES. USING THESE DATA, BEATS, PATROL ASSIGNMENTS, QUEUES, ETC., ARE STRUCTURED DURING INITIALIZATION. CALLS FOR SERVICE (CFS) ARE GENERATED TO FOLLOW HISTORICAL OR HYPOTHETICAL PATTERNS. ON THE BASIS OF DISPATCH POLICIES, UNITS ARE ASSIGNED TO THE CFS OR PLACED IN QUEUE. IF A UNIT IS ASSIGNED, TRAVEL, SERVICE, AND REPORT/ARREST TIMES ARE GENERATED USING THE INPUT PARAMETERS OF PATROL UNIT CHARACTERISTICS, CFS ATTRIBUTES, AND RESPONSE PROPERTY DELINEATORS. UPON COMPLETION OF SERVICE, A UNIT MAY BE ASSIGNED TO A CFS WAITING IN QUEUE OR IT MAY RESUME PREVENTIVE PATROL, WITH THE LATTER CONSIDERED A DEFAULT ASSIGNMENT. DURING PROCESSING, OPERATING STATISTICS ARE GATHERED AND MAY BE PRINTED OUT AT THE USER'S OPTION. IN ADDITION, PROVISION HAS BEEN MADE TO DISPLAY A SNAPSHOT OF THE ENTIRE STATE OF THE SYSTEM OR TO TRACE A NUMBER OF UNITS DURING SIMULATION. AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE MODEL RUN, SUMMARIES OF THE SIMULATION PERFORMANCE ARE PRINTED. AN OVERALL FLOW CHART OF THE SIMULATION MODEL IS PROVIDED. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS HAS BEEN UNDERTAKEN TO ESTABLISH ESTIMATES FOR MODEL PARAMETERS. MAJOR PARAMETERS OF THE PATTERN OF CFS INCLUDE TIME OF ARRIVAL, GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION TO WHICH RESPONDING (CITY BLOCKS, BEAT, DISTRICT), SERIOUSNESS OF CFS TYPE OF POLICE RESPONSE REQUIRED, AND ORIGINATOR OF CFS. THESE WERE ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF DATA DERIVED FROM ALL RADIO RUNS DURING THE SPRING OF 1972. SELF-INITIATED POLICE ACTIONS IN WHICH THE RESPONSE TIME EQUALS ZERO WERE ALSO INCORPORATED INTO THE MODEL. FIELD SAMPLING STUDIES HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE THE RESPONSE PARAMETERS OF COMMUNICATION DELAY TIME, PATROL UNIT TRAVEL TIME, AND CFS SERVICE, REPORT, AND ARREST TIMES. FINDINGS FROM ABOUT 1200 CFS ARE BEING CODED FOR ANALYSIS. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (JAP)