Chapter 6 Flashcards
As the police agencies matured, four generally accepted accounting practices became enshrined as the key measure to evaluate police performance. These include: (4)
- reported crime rates
- overall arrests
- clearance rates
- response time
Even when the police are notified of crimes, these flaws in the reporting system make the rates suspect.
- changes in reporting procedures
- complications
- manipulations
Sensational media reporting and an attempt by political leaders to appease a fearful public have created new crimes. What “new” crimes have they created?
- stalking
2. carjacking
Three times when police action can influence crime:
- police can prevent crime from happening
- intervention during the crime
- efforts after the crime can solve it
Four things that are designed to compliment the use of motor patrol as the primary tactics in the traditional police model of fighting crime.
- special units
- high-tech gadgets
- sophisticated lab analysis
- investigative follow-up
Kansas City Preventive Patrol Study
Victimization studies showed the proactive approach made no discernible impact on the number of: (5-crimes)-the kind of crime considered to be most susceptible to deterrence through preventive motor patrol.
- burglaries
- auto thefts
- larcenies involving auto accessories
- robberies
- vandalism
The Kansas City study showed that response time was unrelated to the probability of making an arrest or locating a witness for serious crime. Success or failure depended less on how fast the officer arrived more on:
How quickly the citizen reported the crime
A national study of response times showed that approximately ______% of serious crimes were cold when the citizens notified the police.
75%
Citizen delays in calling the police are attributable to: (6)
- apathy
- skepticism about the police’s ability to do anything, and
- citizens notifying other persons before calling the police
- Shame over victimization
- Trauma following a victimization
- fear of the police
It seems citizens wait this long before calling the police in about one-half of the serious crimes that are reported.
at least 5 minutes
Research confirms that rapid response let to response-related arrest for Part 1 crimes in only ________% of calls.
3%
This study of the criminal investigation process cast serious doubt on one of the basic planks in the traditional crime control model.
Rand Study
Rand Study
On investigative effectiveness: Differences in investigative training, staffing, workload, and procedures appear to have no appreciable effect on: (3)
- crime
- arrest
- clearance rates
Rand Study
On the use of investigator’s time: What amount of all serious reported crimes receive no more that superficial attention from investigators.
Substantially more than one-half
An investigator’s time is largely consumed on these activities on cases that experience shows will not be solved. What is there time spent on?
- reviewing reports
- documenting files
- attempting to locate and interview victims
Rand Study
The single most important determinant of whether or not a case will be solved is:
The information the victim supplies to the immediately responding patrol officer.
Rand Study
Of those cases that are ultimately cleared but in which the perpetrator is not identifiable at the time of the initial report, almost all are cleared as a result of:
Routine police procedures
(additional information obtained while investigating other cases, a fortuitous results of traffic stops and field interviews)
Rand Study
Most police departments collect more of this than can be productively processed.
Physical evidence
Rand Study
On the use of physical evidence the Rand Study revealed that these rarely provide the only basis for identifying a suspect.
Latent fingerprints
Eck, upon attempting to refine our understanding of the investigative process, concluded that there were three categories of cases facing investigators:
- weak cases that could not be solved with considerable effort (unsolvable cases)
- case with moderate levels of evidence that can be solved with considerable effort (solvable)
- cases with strong evidence that can be solved with minimum effort (solves cases)
NOTE: Eck concluded that detectives should be assigned to “solvable cases”.
What percent of the cases of known murders , the victim knew or was related to the killer?
In more than 50%
The Minneapolis Domestic Experiment showed that this was the most effective standard method the police use to reduce domestic violence.
Arrest
Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment
Research showed that when police arrest the suspect, the incidence of repeat violence over the next 6 months was only (1) ______%, compared to (2) ______% for advising, and (3) ______% when the suspect was sent away.
- 10% (arrest)
- 19% (advise)
- 24% (send away)
Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment
One striking finding was that many suspects and victims alike were unemployed. What ratio of suspects and victims were unemployed?
roughly 6 out of 10
Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment
What percent of suspects were the unmarried male lover of the victim; and what percent were the victim;s husband.
45% (malle lover)
35% (husband)
Subsequent studies, which replicated the Minneapolis experiment, were conducted using similar research designs, had dramatically different results: making an arrested not result in fewer subsequent incidents of assault What other cities conducted this experiment?
Omaha, Charlotte, and Milwaukee
Community policing goes beyond reducing calls for service and handling disorders by: (2)
- broadening the police mandte beyond a narrow focus on crime
- restructuring the department to carry out this expanded mission more effectively
What contributes to decreasing crime?
- community engagement
- targeted initiatives
- strategic use of resources, and
- data driven decision-makng
What are key initiatives that a department can use to pave the way for foot patrols to succeed:
- Determine the date, time, and location of service calls by type and create representative maps to aid in efficient and effective deployment.
- Complement statistical analysis with a community survey to obtain the opinions of residents and business owners regarding priority issues.
- Invite the community to participate in planning sessions.
- Recruit a range of individuals (both officers and civilians) to use various models of patrol, demonstrating that old police and civilians can address public expectations through a variety of approaches such as volunteer efforts with neighborhood watch programs and crime prevention programming.
A foot patrol strategy needs to consider the following:
- assignment of foot patrol locations,
- available staffing,
- resources,
- size of the beats,
- selection of officers to beats, and
- safety of the officers
The significant obstacles to foot patrols have been:
- the dwindling numbers of officers
and - increase in the coverage area for which they are responsible
