NCJ Number
175324
Date Published
1996
Length
57 pages
Annotation
The ways that police agencies manage investigations of burglary and auto crime in England and Wales were studied to determine the rationales on which agencies based their policies, the realities of managing limited resources, and the impacts of police culture and decision-making settings.
Abstract
The study sought the opinions of police officers involved at various stages of investigations and asked victims for their opinions on how the police responded to their crimes. A survey of all 43 police agencies in England and Wales resulted in the selection of 9 agencies for the initial research phase. Three of these were later chosen for extension interviews with investigators and victims. Results revealed that successful allocation of investigative resources depends on the provision of good information at various stages. Certain investigative actions were associated with particular results during investigations. In addition, victims of burglary and auto crime did not assess the police by the same criteria as the police used to assess their own performance. Victims tended to comment on the quality of service provided and the level of attention their crime received, whereas the police related success to making arrests. Findings suggested that police agencies should develop their own good practice for investigating high-volume crime; the crime allocation system model discussed in this report can be used to identify potential influences on investigations. Additional recommendations, tables, figures, footnotes, and 9 references