ST LOUIS (MO) - POLICE AVM (AUTOMATIC VEHICLE MONITORING) SYSTEM - PHASE 2 CITY-WIDE IMPLEMENTATION, EVALUATION

• NCJ Number: 64852
• Author(s): G C LARSON; J W SIMON
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 235 pages
• Grant Number(s): 75-NI-99-0014; 76-NI-99-0095
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice; US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: Public Systems Evaluation, Inc
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THIS REPORT PRESENTS AN EVALUATION OF THE SECOND PHASE OF AN AUTOMATIC VEHICLE MONITORING (AVM) SYSTEM IMPLEMENTED CITYWIDE BY THE ST. LOUIS, MO., METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT.

Abstract

THE SYSTEM'S MAIN GOAL WAS TO REDUCE POLICE RESPONSE TIME, THUS INCREASING CRIMINAL APPREHENSION RATES AND DETERRING CRIME. OTHER GOALS WERE IMPROVED OFFICER SAFETY, MORE EFFECTIVE COMMAND AND CONTROL, LESS VOICE BAND CONGESTION DUE TO THE USE OF DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS, AND BETTER SUPERVISION OF THE POLICE FORCE. THE SYSTEM INCLUDES REAL-TIME STATUS AND LOCATION INFORMATION AND MAP DISPLAY OF THE CITY ON WHICH CARS WITH THEIR IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS ARE PROPERLY POSITIONED. ST. LOUIS IS THE FIRST CITY IN WHICH SUCH A SYSTEM HAS BEEN EVALUATED. THE FIRST-PHASE EVALUATION COVERED ONLY ONE DISTRICT AND USED A PROTOTYPE TECHNOLOGY. THIS EVALUATION FOCUSED ON THE TECHNOLOGY, SYSTEM OPERATIONS, AND ATTITUDES TOWARD THE SYSTEM. DATA SHOWED THAT AVM HAD ONLY A SMALL IMPACT ON RESPONSE TIME. IN ADDITION, THE IMPACT WAS SUFFICIENT TO MATERIALLY INFLUENCE THE APPREHENSION RATE OR THE DEPARTMENT'S EFFECTIVENESS. NEVERTHELESS, THE USE OF DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS IMPROVED OPERATIONS AND WAS RATED FAVORABLY BY USERS. AVM ALSO DEMONSTRATED BENEFITS IN TERMS OF IMPROVED COMMAND AND CONTROL, ESPECIALLY IN SEVERAL PURSUIT CASES, AND IN TERMS OF IMPROVED SUPERVISION. HOWEVER, THE SYSTEM SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR SPYING OR DISCIPLINARY PURPOSES. THE EVALUATION PROCESS INDICATED THAT FULL SYSTEM POTENTIAL COULD NOT BE ASSESSED WITHOUT SOME CHANGE IN POLICE PROCEDURES AND OPERATING METHODS. POTENTIAL BENEFITS YET TO BE VERIFIED INCLUDE IMPROVED EFFECTIVENESS, GREATER PRODUCTIVITY, AND COST-EFFECTIVENESS. TO PAY FOR THE SYSTEM, A ONE-MAN CAR REQUIRES ONLY A 2.1 PERCENT PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENT; A TWO-MAN CAR, 0.7 PERCENT IMPROVEMENT, WHEN AMORTIZED OVER 10 YEARS. THE LINK BETWEEN AVM AND SUCH RETURNS HAS YET TO BE ESTABLISHED, SINCE AVM'S EFFECT ON POLICE OPERATIONS, WHEN IT IS MORE APPROPRIATELY DEPLOYED, STILL NEEDS TO BE DEMONSTRATED. FOOTNOTES, TABLES, EXHIBITS, AND TWO APPENDIXES PRESENTING ALTERNATIVE AVM TECHNOLOGIES AND MARKOV MODELS OF FIXED-POST SENSOR SYSTEMS, ARE INCLUDED. FOR RELATED DOCUMENTS SEE NCJ-64853-54. (CFW)