The integration of crime analysis into police patrol work

Abstract

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm:409465 [] For AuthorsIf you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine national survey data of police agencies in the USA to explore the current state of crime analysis integration to patrol crime reduction work. Design/methodology/approach -The data examined in this paper are from a national quantitative survey which sought to understand how crime analysis results are used by officers as well as higher ranking personnel in the patrol division and what types of strategies are implemented using crime analysis. Findings -The findings show that the routine use of crime analysis is not well integrated. Despite the low integration, however, some differences were found. Management uses crime analysis the most overall, but officers and first-line supervisors use tactical crime analysis more routinely than management, where management personnel use evaluation most routinely. Tactical crime analysis is used most often for directed patrol, strategic for both directed patrol and general information, and evaluation for both general information and crime prevention. Analysis of using analysis proactively shows that agencies use tactical crime analysis most proactively, followed by the strategic crime analysis, then evaluation.Research limitations/implications -The study relies on self-report surveys, so the results may suffer from some of the general limitations of self-reports. Also, the study resulted in a lower response rate than surveys of police agencies typically achieve. Although responding and non-responding agencies were comparable in terms of population size, number of officers, and region of the country, The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at the response rate was about 55 percent. However, it is a possibility based on the analysis results that non-responses may reflect a disinterest in the topic or the lack of integration of crime analysis. Originality/value -This is the first national survey that focussed specifically on crime analysis integration in patrol work for crime reduction. The value of the results presented here are in the description of the curr...

Proactive policing in the United States: a national survey

“…Yet, our findings, as well as those of others (e.g. Piza and Feng, 2017; Santos and Taylor, 2014), indicate they are often not used in these ways. On the contrary, a considerable amount of analysts' efforts in many agencies are directed toward compiling crime statistics and supporting criminal investigations rather than proactive patrol work.…”

The Evolution of the Police Analyst and the Influence of Evidence-Based Policing

“…There is, at the time of writing, little academic guidance in developing analytical methodologies transferable to police analysts, and if EBP is to be embedded this element needs to improve (Townsley, et al, 2011;Dawson & Williams, 2009). The professional development of analysts should be a priority (Evans, 2008) and perhaps having appropriately trained analysts in a pracademic role will smooth the integration of EBP into crime analysis, with the results being two-fold: improving the quality of the analyst products (Santos, 2014) and integrating crime analysis more effectively into routine police practice (Belur & Johnson, 2016;Santos & Taylor, 2014). Whilst EBP as an approach encompasses more than just the role of analyst, the police analyst can develop analysis for the wider policing benefit.…”

“…Belur and Johnson (2016) comment upon the superficial nature of crime analysis in the UK, a sentiment reiterated in the USA (Santos & Taylor, 2014). Both studies argued the police 4 analyst role had not been routinely integrated into policing and was often neglected by operational officers.…”

“…Innes et al (2005) found that police analysts did not use rigorous methodologies in developing objective analytical conclusions. In essence, seventeen years after the implementation of the NIM, research in both the UK (Belur & Johnson, 2016) and the USA (Carter, 2015;Santos & Taylor, 2014) questions whether police analysts are able to think analytically. This is quite surprising as Santos (2014) demonstrates that crime analysis is an essential component in directing a variety of policing activity.…”

“…Finally, it should also be noted the organisational culture of the police, which is said to be particularly strong, and often obstructing reform (Chan, 2001), is also said to hinder crime analysis. Specifically, the inability to integrate crime analysis into mainstream policing, and the failure to understand or appreciate the analyst role may have inhibited their contribution to policing (MacVean & Harfield, 2008;Belur & Johnson, 2016;Santos & Taylor, 2014).…”