NCJ Number
222222
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 35 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2008 Pages: 80,82,85
Date Published
January 2008
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the need for law enforcement officers to study national and local statistics.
Abstract
A law enforcement officer can increase crime solving success rates and improve safety by looking at past occurrences to predict likely outcomes. Statistics give a snapshot of an issue, often for the purpose of predicting future behavior or future outcome. Every other business pays attention to demographics; business history drives future predictions. Judges and juries involved in sentencing decisions are simply predicting future behavior. Some statistics should drive training; for example of all the data on felons that have murdered law enforcement officers since 1995, more than 77 percent have had a prior arrest and 38 percent have been arrested for a violent charge. This suggests that previous criminal history increases the danger potential for officers. This article assesses statistics and discusses safe practices for police officers based on those statistics. Specifically, statistics are employed to discuss territoriality; safe house clearing practices; and officer training, particularly firearms training.