Crime Analyst and Crime Analysis Tools - Assignment Example

Crime Analyst First Crime Analyst One of the latest, most effective and exciting evolutions in the area of law enforcement has been the development of improved crime analysis. Crime analysis and the crime analysis tools that have been developed over the past few years have improved the scientific basis of police work and made it a much more precise and accurate activity, shifting crime prevention into the realm of information-based decision-making and resulting better, more effective and organized police work. The use of crime analysis has changed the way law enforcement works from being a mainly re-active force to being a more pro-active one, with greater emphasis on crime prevention and the ability to know where and how specific type of crime are likely to take place (Ratcliffe, 2007). Introduction Crime analysis is the next step up from just collecting and generating police crime reports. It reflects the use of these data that have been collected to make a more scientific study of the incidences of crime and from it make useful conclusions on the best ways to utilize stretched police resources and ensure that the lessons learned from the crime reports and incidences of the past are used as a tool for improving police work in the future. This arming of the police with information and tools that make them better do their job has resulted in theme being not only better at handling crime but also staying on top of the criminal trends and patterns and thus being better at knowing how to combat the dynamic nature of modern-day crime. 1. A crime analyst’s responsibilities include the compiling, studying, analyzing, interpreting and presenting data collected from crime incidence reports. It includes going through all the reports and from them identifying and picking out any patterns, trends and features of crime that are then mapped out not only geographically but also socially and logically with the intention of enabling the police come up with the most effective methods of combating it and fighting such crime. Once all these data is analyzed and interpreted into useful information from which decisions can be made, the crime analyst also comes up with the best ways of presenting the information not only to the police departments for their own operational needs and requirements but also to the public so they can accurately and realistically evaluate the success of crime prevention and detection (International Association of Crime Analysts, 2011). 2. The crime analyst looks first and foremost at the incidences of crimes reported and analysis their occurrence, reporting and prevalence, thus being able to figure out any patterns, trends and the general picture of crimes in a given area. He or she also looks at the types of policing strategies that are most suited to a particular type of crime and the types and nature of police resources that are required to effectively deal with the crime incidences that are reported as obtaining in the area. The Crime Analyst also looks at possible long-term effects and evolution of crime and looks at the solutions that can be used to deal with them in the short, medium and long term (International Association of Crime Analysts, 2011). 3. The information that is mapped by crime analysts is used first and foremost by the police departments to whom the data has been submitted and who are in many cases the primary custodians of the raw data. They use the data to solve any crimes that have been reported and in order to come up with strategies for crime prevention and in order to adopt a more pro-active rather than re-active attitude to crime. In addition to the police departments any other government quasi-government and even private operators in the security field and those involved in crime detection as well as routine protection also benefit from the maps and analysis that is developed and produced by the crime analysts (Vellani, 2010). The final users of the mapping done by analysts are the general public who are also made aware of the crimes that are most rampant in what parts of a given area and the various ways of ensuring that they do not fall victim to the crimes. 4. The information that is generated and produced by the crime analysts infers the types of crimes that are found in particular area, the short-term, medium term and long term impacts of the crime, the patterns of the crimes in the different areas as well as any trends in the occurrence, seriousness and other germane factors about the crime that is found in a given area. In many cases the information also the socio-economic, geo-political and other issues that affect the prevalence of crime in the area. This information is useful not just to law enforcement but to other arms of government and civil society and becomes an important planning and governance tool for all the authorities concerned (Santos, 2005). 5. The information is put to use by local policing and public safety authorities in determining the zoning of policing districts and in planning all their activities such as the density of policemen on foot or road patrols in a given areas. It is also used in determining the skillsets of the policemen that will be deployed in the various areas such as for example should the police patrolling a given area be conversant in Hispanic for example as well as knowing what police resources should be used in law enforcement in a particular zone such as determining how armed (or not) the police working in a particular district should be. The information is also useful to local planning authorities in determining what types of housing units for example fit a particular place, given the crime prevalence in the area as well as the availability of other social amenities. It would for example be disastrous to set up a school in a place that has rampant drug related shootings without allocating the right resources to militate against that. Thus the information from crime analysts is used by many operatives and arms of society (Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science, 2005). Conclusion Crime analysis has become in many instances the next frontier in law enforcement, leading to better law enforcement, more efficient policing and more effective crime prevention and detection activities. It is the one area that continues and will continue to ensure that the law enforcers are better able to handle any new and upcoming trends in crime and to keep them ahead of the curve in the fight against crime. Over the next few years, with the increasing use of technology and data and information collected, the police will be even more pro-active in their work, mapping out and predicting crime occurrences before they occur and being there and appropriately equipped to deal with it when it happens. This can only lead to a safer and more secure life for all society at large. References International Association of Crime Analysts. (2011). What Crime Analysts Do. Retrieved August 31, 2013, from http://www.iaca.net/dc_analyst_role.asp Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science. (2005, April). Crime Mapping: Improving Performance - A good practice guide for front line officers. Retrieved August 31, 2013, from http://www.ucl.ac.uk/scs/people/academic-research-staff/spencer-chainey/Slides/Home_Office_CrimeMapping Ratcliffe, J.H. (2007). Integrated Intelligence and Crime Analysis: enhanced Information Management for Law Enforcement Leaders. Retrieved August 31, 2013, from http://www.policefoundation.org/content/integrated-intelligence-and-crime-analysis-enhanced-information-management-law-enforcement Santos, R. B. (2005, April). Crime Analysis with Crime Mapping. Retrieved August 31, 2013, from http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/46973_CH_1.pdf Vellani, K. H. (2010). In Crime Analysis for Problem Solving Security Professionals in 25 Small Steps. Retrieved September 1, 2013, from http://www.popcenter.org/library/reading/pdfs/crimeanalysis25steps.pdf Read More