NCJ Number
189284
Journal
Journal of Crime & Justice Volume: 24 Issue: 1 Dated: 2001 Pages: 85-108
Date Published
2001
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This study describes data-gathering and analytic techniques to inform community policing initiatives.
Abstract
Although criminal justice scholarship has pointed the way toward the integration of knowledge derived from mapping crimes and allocating police resources, insufficient attention has been paid to how the independent variables used in predicting common crime types might guide specific community policing action. This study used data from the police department, tax assessor's office, and census bureau to identify and analyze problem areas in a mid-size southern city. The study used face blocks (the two sides of a block that face the street segment between intersections) to study the distribution and diffusion of street robberies and residential burglaries. It was guided by the SARA model -- Scanning, Analysis, Response, and Assessment -- that described the process of effective community policing. Scanning identifies community problems that may range from serious crime incidents to minor physical incivilities. Analysis attempts to identify causal factors that contribute to the problems, factors such as lack of informal or formal control, absentee landlords, lack of services, etc. Scanning and analysis are crucial for informing the response process, which may involve arresting someone, referring them or the problem to another agency, calling for new regulations or ordinances, or empowering the police to take action. The assessment stage consists of monitoring and evaluating to account for the effectiveness of community policing efforts. Notes, references, tables