FOCUS Data-Driven Law Enforcement
may be a powerful and viable option to expand your capa- bilities. And don’t overlook the possibility of having that other division assist in training your personnel to make the most of the software.
Incident-Based Reporting
Understand the NIBRS effort and its potential impact on your agency. NIBRS stands for National Incident-Based Reporting System and is a signifi cant update and expansion of document- ing crime reporting in the United States. It takes the concept of the Uniformed Crime Report program to a whole new level of detail. The expanded, yet standardized data fi elds will likely result in increased analytic capability.
Agencies that have been slow to embrace NIBRS because of increased reporting requirements may want to consider the benefi ts that could be realized by accelerating their move to NIBRS capability. They should also consider NIBRS when up- grading crime reporting systems because it is very likely they will ultimately be expected to provide NIBRS data just like they currently do with UCR data.
Insist on Reports
Don’t overlook the obvious—you must have reliable and vi- able data coming into your systems. There’s a very old say- ing when it comes to data: garbage in, garbage out. There’s an equally important, but less recognized reality: You don’t know what you don’t know. In other words, if it isn’t being docu- mented, then there is no way of tracking what is happening. The degree of impact varies among agencies but suffi ce to say that some offi cers have developed very advanced skills when it comes to avoiding reports. From fi eld interview cards to complex traffi c investigations, taking reports has always been one of the least desirable tasks among those wearing a badge. Countless offi cers spend an inordinate amount of time creatively fi nding a way to avoid taking a report. They will burn 30 minutes trying to convince someone it is really not worth taking a report that would only take 15 minutes to write. Unfortunately, ‘kissing-off’ a report happens a lot and we will never have a full awareness of the missed opportunities as a result of undocumented crimes or police encounters. Many criminals make a conscious effort to conceal their tracks and we defi nitely shouldn’t be helping them by failing to document what is taking place. This situation can be easily addressed by supervisors randomly checking dispositions on calls to see if a report should have been taken. We all under- stand the importance of ‘connecting the dots’ when it comes to solving crimes or developing intelligence. However, you can only connect dots that have been collected. If the information doesn’t get into the system, no one can consider its relevance.
Data Analysis Solutions
After you have completed your agency assessment of data sources and current utilization, contact software companies who advertise taking you to the ‘next level’ of data analysis. Ask them for a demonstration and, more importantly, ask them for law enforcement references that are currently using their product, preferably in your area. Keep in mind the most powerful systems may have a degree of complexity that will
16 LAW and ORDER I March 2016
require a well-trained and dedicated staff person to make them work. If you don’t have such a person on staff, then be slow to embrace such a system or factor it into the future cost of the system. Better to have a medium level of capability with a system that gets high utilization than to have tremendous capability and the system sits unused.
Ask neighboring agencies as to what tools they are using to analyze crime. Take a look at their ‘before and after’ to de- termine whether their efforts are paying off. If so, determine whether it might be a viable solution for your organization. As you are doing your due diligence, keep in mind the value of a regional approach. Discuss a regional crime analysis approach. Not only can this be very cost effective, it can be incredibly data effective because you have a much bigger data source to consider.
Crime series often take place across multiple jurisdictions and, in general, the larger your data source, the greater your chances of identifying related crimes and/or solving crimes. There are several third-party offerings of crime analysis tools that vary in their ability to ingest existing department data and the analysis capability provided. It needs to be suffi ciently powerful to meet your needs while being suitable for use by those personnel who will be responsible for using it. Some forward-thinking agencies have realized that their best chance of driving down crime is to put offi cers into an investigative mode as soon as possible. For many, this means empowering the line-level patrol offi cer with access to depart- ment data sources and possibly crime analysis tools. Today’s technology makes it possible for an offi cer with a mobile de- vice or an in-car computer to access any data that a detective sitting at a desk can tap into. If call activity permits, offi cers should be encouraged to run down leads and conduct follow-up investigations, at least on low- to mid-level crimes that might not otherwise even be as- signed to an investigator. Doing so provides multiple benefi ts. The victim feels like the department is making an effort. The offi cer feels like the work is meaningful and the fact that fol- low-up is taking place on a more timely basis means the chance of resolution is increased. Offi cers who are conducting follow- ups are building skills that will demonstrate who is ready to take on that next investigator slot.
After you have worked through the above steps, you will have a good idea of your options and can make an informed decision as to how best to proceed. Look for synergy among your existing data sources and try to avoid having singular databases. For some agencies, an upgrade or expansion of an existing system will be just the ticket. For others, it will make sense to partner with other agencies and embrace a regional approach. Regardless, it is time to turn your incoming data into an effective force multiplier.
Dale Stockton is a 32-year-veteran of law enforcement, retiring as a police captain from Carlsbad, Calif. He is a principal in the fi rm of Public Safety Insight, a consulting think tank for public safety. He is the executive director of the Below 100 program (
www.Below100.org) and may be reached at
dalestockton@gmail.com.
LaO Post your comments on this story by visiting
www.lawandordermag.com
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