NCJ Number
87189
Date Published
1982
Length
19 pages
Annotation
By the year 2000, police will be organized to curtail crime rather than capture offenders.
Abstract
Under the current system of law enforcement, 80 percent of the action is generated by citizens phoning the department. In the future, the police will orient their activities toward preventing crime. The police team will be delivering major social control benefits to the community through the use of the programmed computer mapping strategy. Each metropolitan police force will have a computer map of its area. Zone teams will have access to similar maps. The map could be keyed to show a variety of characteristics to facilitate planning. Some of the characteristics would be street and map response time grid; a modus vivendi grid related to demographic characteristics and time of crime commitment; time, place, and nature of crimes shown by number and also color coded for easy identification; demographic variables; and trend analysis grid for traffic control, civilian disasters, and energy blackouts. Proactive policing will also involve a commitment to participatory management and community service. It will serve the local needs of citizens by retaining a close relationship with communities through a zone model of organization. A minimum of a bachelor's degree will be required of all recruits. The degree will have an emphasis on the social sciences with a core of criminal justice knowledge, along with counseling skills. Forty-one references are listed.