Statistical Data Support

Abstract

Statistical data plays a major role in the criminal justice system. This data is analyzed by professionals from surveys, reports, and statistics from outside sources. Statistical data is efficient for criminal justice leadership. Areas of community policing, policy making, corrections, and court systems utilize statistical data in order to identify what policies are working and create new programs. This paper will focus on why statistical data matters and why criminal justice supports community policing and how statistical data should be used by criminal justice leadership.

Community Policing

Community policing is the idea of assigning police officers to certain areas for them to become familiar with residents. Community policing endorses administrative tactics, which back the organized use of enterprises and analytical techniques that address direct conditions that give escalation to public safety such as corruption, community unrest, and distress of crime. Policing is based on random patrol, rapid response, and reactive investigation. Community policing mutually bring citizens and police together to prevent misconduct and solve area problems. Community policing is seen as an operative way to encourage public safety and to improve the value of life in a community.

Police and Community

Police are the predominantly encountered component of the criminal justice system. Police are the initial ones to make bodily contact with offenders, assist citizens, and patrol communities. Police are the beginning contact to initiate the process of getting accused offenders through the maze of the justice system (Kappeler, 2019). Significant data shows that community policing is effective. From 1986-2016, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) composed and evaluated data from over 3,000 total, district, and community law enforcement agencies, including those that hire over 100 or more permanent confirmed officers. With the aid of the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Strategies (LEMAS) survey, data is collected from a nationwide represented sample (Bureau of Justice, 2016).

With the use of statistical data, as reported by BJS, one can see the significance of statistical data as it relates to criminal justice leadership. Written objectives and policies measure a commitment to community policing as outlined by leadership administrators throughout the criminal justice system. BJS reports that 44% of officers employed by 14% of departments nationwide, implemented a community policing plan. Most new police officers are trained by highly skilled and experienced veteran officers. Problem-solving skills and analytical skills are necessary for both police officer and citizen to ensure that neighborhoods are safe from crime and that programs and initiatives are worked out. BJS indicates that 75% of employed officers out of 38% of departments collaborated with citizens to gather feedback on developing community policing strategies (Bureau of Justice, 2016).

Leadership’s Focus on Statistical Data
Community Police and Technology
Benefits of Community Policing

Leadership professionals in criminal justice rely on critical thinking skills, analytical skills, and decision-making skills. In response to having fewer resources and greater public scrutiny, policing around the globe have sought to develop more efficient and effective policies. Researchers are responsible for developing new strategies founded on research evidence – relying on the use of systematic methods in decision making. It has become necessary for police and leadership to use rigorous evaluations and scientific research in a more direct and central way. Particularly those in leadership rely heavily on research findings and data analysis to reduce crime, make decisions, implement tactics, and develop strategies (Cherney, et. al., 2019).

Leadership an be an important factor in the adoption of policies and procedures when it comes to interpreting statistical data. Time to study research findings, limited opportunity for developing relationships with researchers, and accessing research data may be time-consuming for police officers, but not so much for leaders who are often involved in the process. Those officers who are just beginning to rely on seasoned officers for training and guidance, mentoring, and utilizing databases to make correlations, and using research findings to make a case.

Law enforcement and leadership figures, policy makers, courts, and other criminal justice professionals have always relied on statistical data. With technological advances, data is much more readily available in 2019 than it was a decade ago. Updated technological advances coupled with developing software programs, internet speeds, imaging software, and smartphone technology has made acquiring data so much easier. It is now easier to link databases whereas before, a suspect’s name would be entered in one database, a criminal background run in another database, and yet another database would be used to make connections between offender and other crime reports (Kaste, 2019).

Much like smartphone technology, law enforcement databases are improving with the times. Older systems mapped crime more slowly. With new databases, patterns can be easily discerned. Adjusting patrols on a daily or hourly basis and focusing on specific areas of a city allow supervisors and those in leadership to develop reports for officers to utilize. For instance, a written mission by a supervisor an be input for real-time crime mapping. Some databases such as PredPro can predict the location of future crime (Kaste, 2019). Area hotspots – places where crimes are likely to happen – can be monitored via a daily mission printout report. The mission report comes with a mug shot and name of suspect to focus on. These improved databases not only help deter crime and put away offenders but put public safety of citizens at the front making a line of defense for community policing.

Larger law enforcement agencies can provide a varied range of operative assignments; therefore, officers are not anticipated to work an entire shift, or career for that matter, working in areas that offer little or no growth or allow for advancement opportunities. While this approach is less disruptive to policing the same patrol area or remote location, changing often does not enabled officers to form deep associations with civic affiliates (Jones, et.al., 2019).

Police, supervisors, and citizens must all communicate to merge perceptions of administrative assembly and participation in policymaking. Understandably, leaders who back this reciprocal flow of communication essentially are open to information as it flows up the organization. Community oriented policing is a significant element of this mission (Glasser & Parker, 2001).  Community policing addresses crime. Citizens who are satisfied have a boundless sense of self-assurance that those in charge are attentive in their involvement.

Conclusion

Those involved in leadership; law enforcement supervisors, police, court officers, and those employed by the criminal justice system rely on statistical data. This data in the form of reports, databases, mug shots, etc. enable criminal justice professionals to adopt programs and involve citizens in the fight on crime. Developing a relationship between police officer and the community enables a positive flow of communication in the criminal justice organization.

Community policing is the philosophy of allocating officers into neighborhoods in order to become familiar with the residents. Working one on one, officer and resident can partner in order to address public safety issues such as crime, social unrest and upheavals, and immediate concerns due to the violence of crime. Utilizing problem-solving, analytical and critical thinking with fresh perspectives in the decision-making process, allows police and citizens to merge ideas, implement procedures and strategies to combat crime and put away offenders.

Leadership’s focus on writing mission statements and placing officers on duties using printed reports allows officers to focus on areas where crime is likely to happen. With the use of statistical data from new and innovative technological advances, leadership can focus on offender profiles, crime locations and hotspots, reducing crime, making decisions, implementing tactics, and develop strategies in collaboration with citizens of a community.  

References

 Bureau of Justice Statistics(2016). Retrieved from http://bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=dcdetail&iid=248

Cherney, A., Antrobus, E., Bennett, S, Murphy, B., & Newman, M. (2019, July). Evidence-based policing: a survey of police attitudes. Trends & Issues in Criminal Justice, (579), 1-17. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=2&sid=f77ef0aa-1152-4d7c-bf2b-e4f320846d04%40sdc-v-sessmgr01&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPXNoaWImc2l0ZT1lZHMtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=sih&AN=137653463

Glasser, M., & Parker, L. E. (2001, February). The thin blue line meets the bottom line of community policing. International Journey of Organization Theory & Behavior, 4(1/2), 163. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=7&sid=89e6acad-9235-40ab-885c-9d8fed5f42aa%40pdc-v-sessmgr05&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPXNoaWImc2l0ZT1lZHMtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=8711185&db=bth

Jones, N., Ruddell, R., & Summerfield, T. (2019, January). Community policing: Perceptions of officers policing indigenous communities. Canadian Journal of Criminology & Criminal Justice, 61(1), 41-65. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=6&sid=89e6acad-9235-40ab-885c-9d8fed5f42aa%40pdc-v-sessmgr05&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPXNoaWImc2l0ZT1lZHMtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=134989005&db=lgs

Kappeler, Victor E. (2019). What is the place of Police within the Criminal Justice System? Retrieved from https://plsonline.eku.edu/insidelook/what-place-police-within-criminal-justice-system.

Kaste, M. (2018). How Data Analysis Is Driving Police. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2018/06/25/622715984/how-data-analysis-is-driving-policing.