U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Cost and Resource Analysis of Traffic Accident Investigation

NCJ Number
122147
Journal
Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 3 Issue: 1 Dated: (1989) Pages: 93-102
Author(s)
W A Formby; V L Williams; D Hartin
Date Published
1989
Length
10 pages
Annotation
The policy implications of decisions regarding the expenditure of resources in the investigation of traffic accidents is the focus of this study which reviews accidents investigated in a medium-sized city in the context of time expended during different phases of the investigation.
Abstract
To differentiate time expenditures according to seriousness of the occurrence, the accidents were divided into three categories: minor, major, and serious. The data from a sample of 235 accidents was collected over three weeks in 1988. The average time spent on each case varied from a high of 125.1 minutes on serious cases, to a low of 18.0 minutes, spent on accidents occurring on private property. The findings point out that the police departments can free up substantial blocks of time for other duties by eliminating certain components of the accident investigation. 4 tables, 10 references. (Author abstract modified)