About Crime Analysis

What is Crime Analysis?
Types of Crime Analysis
Crime Analysis Personnel

    Historically, the causes and origins of crime have been the subject of investigation by varied disciplines. Some factors known to affect the volume and type of crime occurring from place to place are:

  • Population density and degree of urbanization with size locality and its surrounding area.
  • Variations in composition of the population, particularly youth concentration.
  • Stability of population with respect to residents' mobility, commuting patterns, and transient factors.
  • Modes of transportation and highway system.
  • Economic conditions, including median income, poverty level, and job availability.
  • Cultural factors and educational, recreational, and religious characteristics.
  • Family conditions with respect to divorce and family cohesiveness.
  • Climate.
  • Effective strength of law enforcement agencies.
  • Administrative and investigative emphases of law enforcement.
  • Policies of other components of the criminal justice system (e.g. prosecutorial, judicial, correctional, and probational).
  • Citizens' attitudes toward crime.
  • Crime reporting practices of the citizenry.

Crime Analysis is defined as ....
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    A set of systematic, analytical processes directed at providing timely and pertinent information relative to crime patterns and trend correlations to assist the operational and administrative personnel in planning the deployment of resources for the prevention and suppression of criminal activities, aiding the investigative process, and increasing apprehensions and the clearance of cases.
    Within this context, Crime Analysis supports a number of department functions including patrol deployment, special operations, and tactical units, investigations, planning and research, crime prevention, and administrative services (budgeting and program planning). --Steven Gottlieb et al., 1994, "Crime Analysis: From First Report To Final Arrest."

Types of Crime Analysis
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  • Tactical crime analysis: deals with immediate criminal offenses to promote quick response. It provides information to assist operational personnel in the identification of specific crime trends and in the arrest of criminal offenders. The primary goal is to identify crime trends and patterns/series.  Tactical information links offender and modus operandi information from a number of offense in an attempt to provide investigative leads, help solve crimes, and clear cases after apprehension and arrests.
  • Strategic: concerned with operational strategies and seeks solutions to on-going problems. It provides information for resource allocation purposes, including patrol scheduling and beat configuration. Its purpose is to identify unusual crime activities over certain levels or at different seasonal times, identify unusual community conditions, provide police service more effectively and efficiently by matching demands for service with service delivery, reduce and/or eliminate recurring problems, and assist in community policing or problem-oriented policing.
  • Administrative: involves long range projects. Tasks include providing economic, geographic and law enforcement information to police management, city hall, city council, and neighborhood/citizen groups. Its purpose is financial, organizational, political, and legislative. It is critical to budget, personnel, public information, and legal issues.

Crime Analysis Personnel
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    The Tempe Police Department's Crime Analysis Unit is comprised of four full-time crime analysts and a full-time crime analysis technician. Theresa Wong, Mona Qureshi, Matt D'Anna, and Brian Napolitano are the current Crime Analysts. The Tempe Police Department's Crime Analysis Unit performs all three types of Crime Analysis: Tactical, Strategic, and Administrative.