Become a Problem-Solving Crime Analyst

Ronald Clarke, John E. Eck

• Publisher: Willan
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN: 9781135899011
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Criminology
• Index: Social Sciences

Crime analysis has become an increasingly important part of policing and crime prevention, and thousands of specialist crime analysts are now employed by police forces worldwide. This is the first book to set out the principles and practice of crime analysis, and is designed to be used both by crime analysts themselves, by those responsible for the training of crime analysts and teaching its principles, and those teaching this subject as part of broader policing and criminal justice courses. The particular focus of this book is on the adoption of a problem solving approach, showing how crime analysis can be used and developed to support a problem oriented policing approach – based on the idea that the police should concentrate on identifying patterns of crime and anticipating crimes rather than just reacting to crimes once they have been committed. In his foreword to this book, Nick Ross, presenter of BBC Crime Watch, argues passionately that crime analysts are 'the new face of policing', and have a crucial part to play in the increasingly sophisticated police response to crime and its approach to crime prevention – 'You are the brains, the expert, the specialist, the boffin.'

49 Tell a clear story

The purpose of your work is to help people make better decisions. To assist decision makers you must tell a clear story that leads from an important question to possible answers and to effective actions. To do this you need to know who your audience is and the questions they want answered. Your story has to address their particular needs. This story can be told in a written report or in an oral presentation (see Step 53).

You should not simply recount what you did to analyse the problem. This is tedious and does not help people make actionable decisions from your work. So once your analytical work has been completed you will have to translate it into a story that addresses the needs of your audience.

Your work can help answer four basic questions. These questions correspond to the stages of the SARA process:

• Scanning - What is the nature of the problem?
• Analysis - What causes the problem?
• Response - What should be done about the problem?
• Assessment — Has the response brought about a reduction in the problem?

Clearly, these are general questions that can be made more specific depending on the facts of the matter being examined. Local residents, for example, might complain about late night noise and finding litter along their street. Instead of the general scanning question, a set of specific questions could be developed: Are there recurring instances of late night noise and litter that disturb residents? When and where do these incidents occur? Who is disturbed? Are these complaints symptomatic of a deeper set of issues? So in this example, answering the general question requires answering a set of more specific questions.

Your first task in telling a coherent story is to decide which kind of question you are seeking to answer. Next, you should try to structure your account around the basic theories and approaches described in this manual (e.g. the crime triangle or the 80-20 rule). These are frameworks. A framework is a general 'story shell' that links the multiple interacting factors that cause problems. Your choice of frameworks depends on the problem, your findings and the needs of decision makers. Be sure there is a logical flow from the basic question, through the framework and findings, to the answers. Check for gaps in logic. Now outline a story. There are four basic story outlines that can guide your work. The details of the story will depend on the specifics of your problem.

Do not religiously stick to these outlines, but tailor them to the amount of time you have and, above all, to the concerns of the people whom you are addressing. Try to anticipate their questions, and modify the appropriate outline accordingly. Though we have used technical terms from this manual in these outlines, you may need to use a common vocabulary in your presentation. If your audience is not already familiar with the terminology of problem analysis, you probably should use it sparingly, or not at all.

Four story outlines

1. WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM?
   1. Organising framework - e.g. elements of problem definition.
   2. Systematic description of evidence about problem type and existence:
      • Time trend of crimes or disorder.
      • Geographic analysis and hot spots.
      • Types of harm.
      • Types of people most harmed.
      • Evidence from other forces and areas.
   3. Implications for analysis and collaborative problem solving:
      • Questions that need answering.
      • Partners who need to become involved.
   4. Summary.
2. WHAT CAUSES THE PROBLEM?
   1. Organising framework for problem - e.g. problem analysis triangle.
   2. Systematic description of problem answering the following questions:
      • Is this an enduring problem or a new problem?
      • What brings the offenders and targets together at the same places?
      • What behaviours are each engaged in?
      • Why don't others step in to prevent these encounters?
   3. Implications for general form of responses that fit the information:
      • Offender access or control.
      • Victim/target behaviours or protection.
      • Facility access or management.
   4. Summary.
3. WHAT SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT THIS PROBLEM?
   1. Organising framework for response - based on analysis conclusions:
      • Offenders.
      • Targets/victims.
      • Places.
   2. Systematic description of response strategy:
      • Increasing risk or effort.
      • Reducing rewards, provocations or excuses.
      • Who will carry out actions, when and where?
      • Additional resources required.
   3. Implications and anticipated outcomes:
      • Direct results,
      • Displacement.
      • Diffusion.
      • Other side effects.
      • How evaluation should be conducted.
   4. Summary.
4. HAS THE RESPONSE BROUGHT ABOUT A REDUCTION IN THE PROBLEM?
   1. Organising framework - Why the response was expected to be effective.
   2. Systematic description of evaluation:
      • Was the response implemented as planned?
      • Did the problem change?
      • Why it is likely response was a direct cause of change.
      • The magnitude of displacement, diffusion and other side effects.
   3. Implications for further action:
      • Is this problem-solving effort complete?
      • What further actions are necessary'?
      • Should further analysis be conducted and the response changed?
   4. Summary.

50 Make clear maps

Problem-solving maps serve tour important purposes:

1. They show where problems are located (important at scanning and early in analysis).
2. They h...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Prepare yourself
• Learn about problem-oriented policing
• Study environmental criminology
• Scan for crime problems
• Analyse in depth
• Find a practical response
• Assess the impact
• Communicate effectively