NCJ Number
60739
Journal
Criminal Justice Review Volume: 4 Issue: 1 Dated: (SPRING 1979) Pages: 25-32
Date Published
1979
Length
8 pages
Annotation
POLICE CORRUPTION INVESTIGATIONS WERE SELECTED FOR A CORRELATIONAL STUDY TO IDENTIFY INDICATORS OF PROBABILITY OF OBTAINING RESULTS IN INTERNAL INVESTIGATIONS.
Abstract
PRIOR TO THIS STUDY OF 110 POLICE CORRUPTION CASES, A QUESTIONNAIRE HAD BEEN DEVELOPED BY THE NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT TO PROVIDE A QUANTITATIVE EVALUATION OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN AN ALLEGATION OF POLICE CORRUPTION. THIS STUDY AIMED AT DETERMINING IF EVALUATIONS BASED ON THE QUESTIONNAIRE WERE CORRELATED WITH THE LIKELIHOOD OF OBTAINING RESULTS IN INVESTIGATIONS. IN ADDITION, SEVERAL ASPECTS OF INVESTIGATIONS CONSIDERED TO BE INDICATORS OF INVESTIGATIVE EFFICIENCY OR ADEQUACY ALSO WERE TESTED. THESE INCLUDED STARTING DELAY, JUDGMENTS OF ADEQUACY BY CASE ANALYSTS, USE OF SURVEILLANCES AND THE AVERAGE MEMBER OF HOURS PER SURVEILLANCE. THE CASES WERE SELECTED RANDOMLY. ANALYSTS WERE MEMBERS OF THE NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT'S INTERNAL AFFAIRS DIVISION. RESULTS OF THE STUDY SUGGEST THAT INFORMATION AVAILABLE PRIOR TO INVESTIGATION IS PREDICTIVE OF THE LIKELIHOOD OF OBTAINING RESULTS. THE SIGNIFICANT NEGATIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE USE OF SURVEILLANCES AND OBTAINING RESULTS IMPLIES THAT SURVEILLANCES ARE NOT A HIGHLY EFFICIENT MEANS OF OBTAINING INFORMATION. RESULTS FAILED TO SUPPORT THE HYPOTHESIS THAT STARTING DELAYS HAMPER INVESTIGATIONS. THE REPORT NOTES THAT USE OF THE METHOD DEVELOPED FOR THE STUDY SHOULD ENABLE COMMANDERS TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY BY CONCENTRATING INVESTIGATIVE EFFORTS ON THOSE CASES WHICH ARE MOST LIKELY TO PRODUCE RESULTS. REFERENCES AND FOOTNOTES ARE GIVEN. (MJW)