Patrol Deployment
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If you have issues viewing or accessing this file contact us at NCJRS.gov. U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice Office of Communication and Research Uttlization Patrol Deployment ,. Analyzing the Current Patrol Plan • Addressing Single Issues ., Meeting Multiple Objectives • Making the Change About the National Institute of Justice Authority for administering the Institute and awarding grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements is vested in the NIJ Director. In establishing its research agenda, the The National Institute of Justice is a research branch of the Institute is guided by the priorities of the Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice. The Institute's mission is to and the needs of the criminal justice field. The Institute ac develop knowledge about crime, its causes and control. tively solicits the views of police, courts, and corrections Priority is given to policy-relevant research that can yield practitioners as well as the private sector to identify the approaches and information that State and local agencies most critical problems and to plan research that can help can use in preventing and reducing crime. The decisions solve them. Current priorities are: made by criminal justice practitioners and policymakers af • Alleviating jail and prison crowding fect millions of citizens, and crime affects almost all our public institutions and the private sector as well. Targeting • Assisting victims of crime resources, assuring their effective allocation, and developing • Enhancing involvement of community resources and the new means of cooperation between the public and private private sector in controlling crime sector are some of the emerging issues in law enforcement and criminal justice that research can help illuminate. • Reducing violent crime and apprehending the career criminal Carrying out the mandate assigned by Congress in the • Reducing delay and improving the effectiveness of the Justice Assistance Act of 1984, the National Institute of adjudication process Justice: • Providing better and more cost-effective methods for o Sponsors research and development to improve and managing the criminal justice system strengthen the criminal justice system and related civil aspects, with a balanced program of basic and applied • Assessing the impact of probation and parole on subse research. quent criminal behavior • Evaluates the effectiveness of justice improvement pro • Enhancing Federal, State, and local cooperation in crime grams and identifies programs that promise to be suc control. cessful if continued or repeated. • Tests and demonstrates new and improved approaches James K. Stewart to strengthen the justice system, and recommends ac tions that can be taken by Federal, State, and local Director governments and private organizations and individuals to achieve this goal. • Disseminates information from research, demonstra tions, evaluations, and special programs to Federal, State, and local governments, and serves as an inter national clearinghouse of justice information. • Trains criminal justice practitioners in research and evaluation findings, and assists practitioners and re searchers through fellowships and special seminars. U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice Office of Communication and Research Utilization Patrol Deployment by Margaret J. Levine and J. Thomas McEwen September 1985 Issues and Practices in Criminal Justice is a publication series of the National Institute of Justke. Designed for the criminal justice professional, each Issues and Practices report presents the program options and management issues in a topic area, based on a review of research and evaluation find ings, operational experience, and expert opinion in the subject. The intent is to provide criminal justice managers and administrators with the information to make informed choices in planning, implementing and improving programs and practice. Prepared for the National Institute of Justice, V.S. Department of Justice by Abt Associates Inc., under contract #l-LEAA-Oll-Sl. Points of view or opinions stated in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the V.S. Department of Justice. The following individuals provided information and assistance in the conduct of this study: Advisory Panel William G. Gay William L. Koleszar University City Science Center Colorado Department of Washington, D.C. Public Safety Denver, Colorado George J. Sullivan Police Management Associates Carlsbad, California Program Monitor John Spevacek National Institute of Justice Washington, D.C. 9~803 U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice This document has been reproduced exactly as received from the person or organization originating it. Points of view or opinions stated in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or pOlicies of the National Institute of Justice. Permission to reproduce this cCl~~ed material has been granted by Pub] j c Doma;n,ArT,T/Orr; ce of '-'ommJJnication; &::<esearch ITti]; zati on/US Dept, of ,Justice to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). Further reproduction outside of the NCJRS system requires permis sion of the CG~t owner. ------------------~,.------------------ Foreword ',. ,. The patrol function is of central importance to police enforcement officials in determining the number of administrators. Its contribution to the agency mission, patrol officers needed to satisfy department service its visibility in the public eye, and its budget share of delivery objectives and in distributing those personnel the agency's resources make it essential that decisions across shifts and geographic boundaries. This report, on patrol planning and deployment be grounded on from the Institute series Issues and Practices in accurate information and careful analysis. For depart Criminal-Justice, reviews the techniques available for ments facing fiscal constraints, such analysis is par evaluating a current patrol deployment strategy and ticularly crucial. projecting the probable results of various changes in that deployment. While it explains the various techni- ' Independent of its resource implications, patrol cal solutions to deployment problems, it has been writ deployment presents other inherent challenges. A wide ten for readers without technical training. Of particu range of related functions-crime analysis, calls-for lar interest are the practical examples of how police service, shift schedules, and communications, to name departments in different parts of the country respond but a few - must be taken into account in making any ed to changes in city policy or new demands for service change. Deployment decisions require executives and through revisions in their deployment strategies, planners to make complex judgments in prioritizing rather than increases in their personnel ceilings. goals and attempting to meet multiple objectives. Fur ther, realistic administrators live with the knowledge In an era of fiscal limits, productivity and efficiency that even the best deployment strategy can be rendered are among the most pressing issues that police obsolete by any number of events beyond their con managers must address. The Institute hopes that trol, such as annexation, zoning changes, or new city Patrol Deployment will assist them in meeting that ordinances. challenge. Over the past decade new methods, including com James K. Stewart puter technologies, have been developed to help law Director Foreword iii Acknowledgements It is not possible in this brief space to thank adequately Kenneth Chels.t of Wayne State University also provided everyone who supported and contributed to this research. valuable written critiques of the document. Law enforcement agencies across t.ie country responded In-house support from Abt Associates staff was un candidly and patiently to qur telephone surveys and bounded. Ralph Jones and Joan Peterson laid the ground follow-up calls. The four agencies that we studied on-site work for the study. Deborah Carro~ carefully monitored should be specially recognized for accommodating our the work's progress, and Judie Feins and Jan Chaiken demanding schedules and answering endless questions assisted with technical and substantive reviews. Typing about their operations; they are the Albuquerque, New and secretarial support were provided by Yvonne Clark Mexico, Police Department; Charlotte, North Carolina, and Donna English. Police Department; Reading, Pennsylvania, Police Department and Springfield, Missouri, Police During the course of the project, there were two monitors Department. at the National Institute of Justice. Jim Gardner helped direct the focus of the gtudy. His persistence and deter Special appreciation is also extended to Mr. William Gay mination kept the project going through its lengthy and of the University City Science Center, Mr. William often frustrating developmental phase. John Spevacek's Koleszar of the Colorado Department of Public Safety, enthusiasm and continued interest guided the project to and Mr. George Sullivan of Police Management a smooth and successful completion. Associates. As members of the project's Advisory Board, they used their conceptual understanding of resource allocation and their practical experience to guide the research and review the draft of this report. Mr. William Bieck of the Houston Police Department and Prof. Margaret J. Levine Acknowledgements v