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Crime Analysis in 60 Small Steps: A Comprehensive Guide for Problem Solvers

This manual provides a step-by-step approach to crime analysis, aimed at experienced analysts supporting police operations. Learn about problem-oriented policing, environmental criminology, crime scanning, in-depth analysis, practical responses, impact assessment, and effective communication. Includes exercises and optional additional material on crime analysis and mapping.

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Crime Analysis in 60 Small Steps: A Comprehensive Guide for Problem Solvers

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  1. MODEL ACADEMIC CURRICULUMMODULE 9 Crime Analysis for Problem Solvers in 60 Small Steps

  2. Introduction The 60-step manual assumes that you are an experienced analyst and you are accustomed to providing the kinds of information needed to support police operations. This means that: • You use modern computing and know how to access and manipulate comprehensive databases. 2. You know how to use software to map crimes, to identify hot spots, and to relate the results to demographic and other data. 3. You routinely produce charts showing weekly or monthly changes in crime at departmental and beat level, perhaps to support CompStat-style operations.

  3. Introduction 4. You are accustomed to carrying out analyses into such topics as the relationship between the addresses of known offenders and local outbreaks of car theft and burglary. 5. You may have carried out some before-and-after evaluations of crackdowns, such as on residential burglaries or car thefts. 6. You have some basic knowledge of statistics and research methodology such as is provided by an undergraduate social science degree.

  4. Prepare Yourself • Rethink your job or your future job. • Be (or become) the local crime expert • Know what is effective (and not) in policing (*see chart on next slide)

  5. Learn About Problem-Oriented Policing • Become a POP expert • Be true to POP (*see chart on next slide) • Be very crime specific • Be guided by SARA - not led astray!

  6. Study Environmental Criminology • Use the problem analysis triangle • Know that opportunity makes the thief • Put yourself in the offender's shoes • Expect offenders to react • Don't be discouraged by the displacement doomsters • Expect diffusion of benefits

  7. Scan for Crime Problems • Use the CHEERS test when defining problems • Know what kind of problem you have • Study the journey to crime • Know how hot spots develop • Learn if the 80-20 rule applies

  8. Analyze in Depth • Research your problem • Formulate hypotheses • Collect your own data • Examine your data distributions • Diagnose your hot spot

  9. Analyze in Depth • Know when to use high-definition maps • Pay attention to daily and weekly rhythms • Take account of long-term change • Know how to use rates and denominators • Identify risky facilities

  10. Analyze in Depth • Be ready for repeat victimization • Consider repeat offending • Know the products that are craved by thieves • Conduct case control studies • Measure association

  11. Analyze in Depth • Look for crime facilitators • Understand the crime from beginning to end • Be sure to answer the five "W" (and one "H") questions • Recognize that “to err is human”

  12. Find a Practical Response • Embrace your key role at response • Increase the effort of crime • Increase the risks of crime • Reduce the rewards of crime

  13. Find a Practical Response • Reduce provocations • Remove excuses for crime • Find the owner of the problem • Choose responses likely to be implemented

  14. Assess the Impact • Conduct a process evaluation • Know how to use controls • Consider geographical and temporal displacement • Examine displacement to other targets, tactics and crime types

  15. Assess the Impact • Watch for other offenders moving in • Be alert to unexpected benefits • Expect premature falls in crime • Test for significance

  16. Communicate Effectively • Tell a clear story • Make clear maps • Use simple tables • Use simple figures

  17. Communicate Effectively • Organize powerful presentations • Become an effective presenter • Contribute to the store of knowledge

  18. Exercise 1 • University Heights is a 100-unit apartment building located next to an industrial complex and strip mall shopping area. In the past 6 months, calls for service have escalated. • The problems include drug dealing, gang activity, criminal mischief, shots fired and loud noise. The majority of calls are received from non-English speaking residents. • The apartment manager has not been cooperative with police. Tensions between the police and residents is high. • You are the supervisor responsible for this area of town. Make a list of information that you would request from crime analysts to better understand the problem. • Then, provide some ideas about how you may respond to such a problem.

  19. Exercise 2 • Three high schools in the city are experiencing an increase in violence, substance abuse, vandalism and truancy. How might crime mapping be used to identify the sources of the problem in these schools? • Hint - The “Problem Solving Tips Guide” provides a number of questions for conducting analysis. These will help you determine what questions you have about this problem and what data you may want displayed using mapping.

  20. Optional Additional Material on Crime Analysis and Mapping • The rest of the slides in this module offer extended material on crime analysis and crime mapping. These slides are considered optional and may or may not be useful for your particular course.

  21. Crime Analysis • Crime analysis is the systematic collection of information that describes crime trends and patterns. • Crime Analysis can benefit Administrative, Investigative, and Patrol functions. • Crime Analysis is a “specialized function” in police agencies that require highly trained personnel. • While most police agencies have the ability to collect lots of data, they do not always possess the technology or expertise to analyze that data.

  22. Types of Crime Analysis • Intelligence: Information may include financial and tax information and family and business relationships • Criminal Investigation: Involves analysis of serial offenders and geographic profiling. • Tactical: Provides information to patrol and investigations on crime patterns and hotspots. • Strategic: Explores long-term crime trends • Administrative: Focus on economic, social and geographic information

  23. Crime Mapping • Mapping is one tool that can be used by crime analysts. • Mapping can allow a department to identify geographic or temporal patterns. • Many larger departments use mapping on a routine basis.

  24. Types of Map Information • Location: Most important for crime analysis • Distance: Not used much • Direction: Most useful when considering distance (e.g., serial robber moving around city) • Patterns: Most powerful investigative and problem solving tool

  25. Then - Jumbo Pin Maps

  26. Now - Modern GIS Applications

  27. Sample Map of DUI Arrestees

  28. Mapping Hot Spots • Hot Spot – “A condition indicating some form of clustering in a spatial distribution.” • Crime is 6 times more concentrated among places than among people • Therefore, it is more important to ask, “where dun it” than “who dun it”

  29. Hot Spot Examples

  30. Modern 3D Mapping

  31. Modern 3D Mapping

  32. Future Applications

  33. Future Applications

  34. Future Applications

  35. Crime Mapping • NIJ Crime Mapping Resources http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/maps/ • JUSTNET Crime Mapping & Analysis Program http://www.nlectc.org/cmap/ • Sacramento PD Crime Mapping http://gis.cityofsacramento.org/website/sacpd/

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