NCJ Number
62477
Date Published
1979
Length
10 pages
Annotation
A RESEARCH SCHEMA IS DOCUMENTED IN WHICH THE SIMULTANEOUS CONSIDERATION OF EFFICIENCY AND EQUALITY MEASURES IS USED TO IDENTIFY THE SPATIAL DIMENSIONS OF POLICE PATROL ALLOCATIONS POSSIBLE UNDER BUDGETARY CONSTRAINTS.
Abstract
POLICE RESPONSE TIME IS ADOPTED AS A MEASURE OF BOTH POLICE SERVICE EFFICIENCY AND EQUITY IN SERVICE DISTRIBUTION. CONSTRAINTS ON THE BALANCING OF THESE TWO GOALS OF POLICE RESOURCE ALLOCATION ARE LISTED BY GAILE (1977) AS FOLLOWS: (1) MAXIMIZE EFFICIENCY WITH THE CONSTRAINT THAT THE LEVEL OF EQUALITY MUST BE GREATER THAN OR EQUAL TO THE LEVEL OF EQUALITY AT THE INITIAL TIME; (2) MAXIMIZE EQUALITY WITH THE CONSTRAINT THAT THE LEVEL OF EFFICIENCY DOES NOT DECREASE; (3) MAXIMIZE EFFICIENCY WITH THE CONSTRAINT THAT THE RATE OF CHANGE OF EQUALITY IS A MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE RATE PER GAIN IN EFFICIENCY; AND (4) MAXIMIZE EQUALITY WITH THE CONSTRAINT THAT THE RATE OF CHANGE IN EFFICIENCY IS A MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE RATE PER GAIN IN EQUALITY. ANY OF THESE STRATEGIES CAN BE ACHIEVED USING LINEAR PROGRAMING TECHNIQUES AND THEN GRAPHED AS A LINEAR COMBINATION OF THE TWO OBJECTIVES. THE PATROL CAR ALLOCATION COMPUTER PROGRAM DEVELOPED BY THE RAND CORPORATION CAN BE USED TO CALCULATE THE MOST EFFICIENT ALLOCATION FOR AN ENTIRE CITY, GIVEN EXISTING RESOURCES. THEN, AN EQUALITY MEASURE CAN BE CALCULATED FOR THIS NEW DISTRIBUTION. POLICE UNITS ARE REASSIGNED SYSTEMATICALLY TO THOSE DISTRICTS WHICH HAVE THE LARGEST DELAYS IN RESPONSE TIME TO IMPROVE THE EQUITY SITUATION AT THE POSSIBLE EXPENSE OF SYSTEM EFFICIENCY. THIS PROCESS CONTINUES UNTIL A COMPLETE RANGE OF VALUES FROM MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY TO MAXIMUM EQUALITY ARE PRODUCED. THESE VALUES ARE RECORDED IN TABULAR FORM AND GRAPHED TO ILLUSTRATE LEVELS OF PATROL EFFICIENCY AND EQUALITY POSSIBLE. NEEDED CHANGES ARE IDENTIFIED THROUGH THE USE OF A SET OF INDIFFERENCE CURVES BASED ON THE ASSUMPTIONS OUTLINED BY GAILE. MATHEMATICAL FORMULAS, GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS, AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (RCB)