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CONTROL CHARTS FOR SELECTIVE LAW ENFORCEMENT

NCJ Number
46845
Author(s)
J E SHAMBLIN; C B ESTES
Date Published
1973
Length
7 pages
Annotation
QUALITY CONTROL TECHNIQUES WHICH THE AVERAGE POLICE DEPARTMENT CAN USE TO ASSIGN MEN AND EQUIPMENT TO AREAS OF GREATEST NEED AT THE TIMES OF GREATEST NEED ARE PRESENTED.
Abstract
MUCH OF THE OPERATIONS RESEARCH DIRECTED AT LAW ENFORCEMENT HAS BEEN TOO SOPHISTICATED OR TOO ABSTRACT FOR SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION. A NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION GRANT TO OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY (STILLWATER) WAS USED TO TRANSLATE THIS RESEARCH INTO A FORM THE AVERAGE POLICE DEPARTMENT CAN USE. THE RESULT WAS AN ADAPTATION OF THE CONTROL CHART CONCEPT USED IN INDUSTRY. DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHARTS WAS DONE WITH THE COOPERATION OF THE STILLWATER POLICE DEPARTMENT. THE CHARTS WERE INITIALLY DEVELOPED FOR A WIDE RANGE OF INCIDENTS. HOWEVER, IT WAS FOUND THAT THE MOST STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT ITEMS WERE TOTAL NUMBER OF INCIDENTS PER MONTH, AVERAGE NUMBER OF INCIDENTS PER DAY OF THE WEEK AND AVERAGE NUMBERS OF INCIDENTS PER 2-HOUR PERIOD. THIS GIVES A TOTAL OF 20 CHARTS TO BE MAINTAINED IN SIMPLE GRAPH FROM, A NUMBER SMALL ENOUGH TO BE HANDLED BY A POLICE FORCE WITHOUT COMPUTER CAPABILITY. THESE GRAPHS AND THE ACCOMPANYING TABLES ARE ILLUSTRATED. INDICATED TRENDS FOR THE SAMPLE AREA ARE NOTED. FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE STILLWATER AREA THERE IS A SMALL BUT STEADY INCREASE IN MIDWEEK CRIME. THESE TECHNIQUES CAN ALSO BE USED TO MONITOR TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS AND THE EFFECT OF TRAFFIC CITATIONS. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (GLR)

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