NCJ Number
95068
Journal
Journal of Police Science and Administration Volume: 12 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1984) Pages: 297-302
Date Published
1984
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Most police activities relate to the maintenance of order, according to analysis of miscellaneous incident (MI) reports.
Abstract
MI reports, which document the activity of patrol personnel when no crime has been committed or when the citizen decides not to make a formal complaint, permit the documenting of a large part of police patrol activity which is normally not amenable to scrutiny. Analyzing these reports avoids the incompleteness of studies based on direct observation and interviews or on the tabluation of citizen calls made to the police. This study's data came from 11,970 MI reports from the Charlotte Police Department (North Carolina) during randomly selected days in 1983. MI reports constituted 60 percent of all calls for police aid, with formal incident reports and traffic incidents representing 20 percent each. False alarms constituted 12.4 percent of the MI reports, while 10.2 percent were domestic disturbances. The other calls under the order maintenance category were generally requests for investigation of possible law violation which were unfounded or resolved without arrest. Service functions, including calls relating to intoxicated individuals or assisting motorists, made up 26 percent of the MI reports. Law enforcement and miscellaneous reports constituted about one-sixth of the reports. Data tables and a list of 15 references are supplied.