NCJ Number
58247
Date Published
1976
Length
131 pages
Annotation
PRODUCTIVITY OF POLICE PATROL SERVICES AND THE DELIVERY OF JUVENILE JUSTICE SERVICES ARE ANALYZED; LAKEWOOD, COLO. IS THE CITY CHOSEN FOR EVALUATION.
Abstract
THIS REPORT EXAMINES CRIMINAL JUSTICE PRODUCTIVITY ON TWO DIFFERENT LEVELS, PATROL DIVISION PRODUCTIVITY AND THE DELIVERY OF JUVENILE JUSTICE SERVICES. THESE TWO TOPICAL ISSUES ARE SELECTED BECAUSE THEY ARE BOTH SALIENT AND TRACEABLE. WITH REGARD TO THE JUSTICE PROGRAM, THE INITIAL PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH WAS TO DEVELOP A DESCRIPTIVE PROFILE OF JUVENILE CRIME AND RELATED VARIABLES WITHIN THE CITY. A TOTAL OF 20 VARIABLES WERE IDENTIFIED, INCLUDING JUVENILE POPULATION POLICE REFERRALS, CUSTODY REFERRALS, AND DELINQUENTS. THE MAJOR FOCUS OF THE STUDY WAS DIRECTED TOWARD ANALYZING FUNCTIONAL OUTCOMES SUCH AS COUNSELING OR REFERRAL AND BEHAVIORAL STATUS OF JUVENILES BY AREA OF THE CITY. ANALYSIS OF THE DESCRIPTIVE DATA LEADS TO SUGGESTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL RESEARCH AS WELL AS PROPOSALS FOR POLICY AND BUDGETARY IMPLEMENTATION FOR MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATION. DATA WERE COLLECTED FROM SUCH SOURCES AS POLICE REFERRALS AND CUSTODY CASES DURING 1975 AND 1976. THE INITIAL TASK WAS TO DEVELOP A STATISTICAL PROFILE OF JUVENILE CRIME AND ITS CORRELATES BY AREA OF THE CITY. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE POLICE PATROL STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEPLOYMENT OF PATROL UNITS BY THE LAKEWOOD DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY. DISTRIBUTION OF RECORDED PATROL TIME, VARIABLES RELATED TO RECORDED PATROL TIMES, STATISTICAL FINDINGS, AND ANALYSIS OF THE COMBINED EFFECTS OF THREE KEY DEMAND VARIABLES, (I.E., HOUSING UNITS, BURGLARIES, AND CALLS FOR SERVICE), WERE CONSIDERED. TO ENSURE DATA RELIABILITY, A RANDOM PROBABILITY SAMPLE OF AGENTS WAS EMPLOYED. IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT CERTAIN TARGET AREAS EMERGED WHERE THE HIGHEST PROPORTION OF DELINQUENT BEHAVIORS WERE IDENTIFIED. THE CRIME-PREVENTION POLICY SHOULD BE BASED ON A PREMISE OF GREATEST OPPORTUNITY WHILE THE COMMUNITY-OUTREACH POLICY SHOULD BE BASED UPON GREATEST NEED. ALTHOUGH THE POLICE PATROL WAS CONSIDERED TO BE GENERALLY RESPONSIVE TO COMMUNITY NEEDS, IT IS SUGGESTED THAT AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF ALTERNATIVE METHODS OF PATROL BE CONDUCTED. IT IS ALSO SUGGESTED THAT UNRECORDED PATROL TIME BE EVALUATED BY MEASURING THE DEGREE OF CITIZEN SATISFACTION WITH PATROL SERVICES. FOOTNOTES, MAPS, TABULAR STATISTICAL DATA, AND APPENDIXES ARE INCLUDED. (LWM)