UTPD Policy B-27, Inspectional Services

Title	Administration / Policy B-29
Effective Date	09-10-09
Rescinds	3-10-07
Subject	Crime Analysis
Purpose	To provide guidelines for the implementation and management of a crime analysis.
Scope	This directive applies to all employees.
Reference
CALEA	Chapter 15

Policy:
1. Crime Analysis represents a system utilizing regularly collected information on reported crimes and criminals, in order to prevent and suppress crime and apprehend criminal offenders. Crime analysis is a scientific process, in the sense that it involves the collection of valid and reliable data, employs systematic techniques of analysis, and seeks to determine the frequency with which events occur and the extent to which they are associated with other events. Collecting and analyzing readily available crime data and making the analyzed information regularly available to officers and investigators, thus increasing their effectiveness, is an important function of the University of Texas at Austin Police Department.
Crime Analysis Function:
1. Crime Analysis is a function of the Administrative Division and is the responsibility of the Records Supervisor.
2. Crime Analysis involves five steps:
  1. Collection of Crime Data: The Records Supervisor will collect data on reported crimes and known offenders. Information is obtained from a variety of sources including, but not limited to: Offense Reports; Incident Reports; Arrest/Detention Reports; Field Interview Reports; Criminal trespass warnings; other recording forms utilized by the department; and information provided by other criminal justice agencies.
  2. Collation of Crime Data: The data must be collated into an organized format for subsequent comparison and analysis. Collation includes the filtering of irrelevant or extraneous information; arranging of material so that relationships may be established; and creating a system for the rapid retrieval of stored or filed information.
  3. Analysis of Crime Data: The data will be analyzed, using generally accepted analytical methods and practices, to determine crime patterns and trends.
  4. Composition of Analyzed Crime Analysis Information: The Crime Analysis Report is presented in a format tailored to meet the needs of the department. The report should be written objectively indicating the degree of reliability of the information, and may take the form of a listing of common characteristics between a series of crimes which are suspected of being related or a listing of common characteristics of a crime and the modus operandi of a known offender. The analysis will be done annually and is due by the 31st of January each year.
3. The function of crime analysis is directed at identifying similarities among different offenses in order to reveal commonalities and patterns in the characteristics of current crime problems. In order to accomplish this function, crime analysis should include the following data:
  1. Frequency by type of crime;
  2. Geographic and temporal factors of crime occurrence;
  3. Chronological factors;
  4. Victim and target descriptions;
  5. Suspect descriptions including vehicle information if applicable;
  6. Modus Operandi factors;
  7. Physical evidence information;
  8. Review of information provided by other agencies; and
  9. Implications for the use of Problem Solving or Community Policing strategies.
Crime Analysis Objectives
1. The objectives of Crime Analysis are:
  1. To increase the number of cases cleared by arrest, by correlating the methods of operations of arrested suspects to other current offenses;
  2. To provide investigative leads to investigators by furnishing lists of suspects;
  3. To provide crime pattern reports to patrol officers and investigators in order to increase their awareness and the potential for earlier arrests;
  4. To provide early identification of crime patterns by analysis of crime trend data by type of crime, offender characteristics, and location of occurrence;
  5. To provide a measure of the effectiveness of crime suppression and prevention programs;
  6. To provide staff with recommendations on programs, manpower allocations, and the effective use of resources;
  7. To provide a tool useful in both tactical and long range planning;
  8. To provide support for budgeting and other administrative activities; and
  9. To analyze feedback and evaluate the effectiveness of the Crime Analysis.
Crime Analysis Report
1. Procedure
  1. The Records Supervisor will review data and gather descriptions, methods of operation, locations, and other pertinent information.
  2. The information is compared in order to discover similarities in suspects, offenses, locations, methods of operation and other factors in collected data.
  3. The Records Supervisor will document similarities and attempt to project trends.
  4. The Records Supervisor prepares reports detailed in section D(2).
  5. The Records Supervisor attends patrol shift briefings and Investigator meetings on a regular basis in order to provide information and gain feedback on the Crime Analysis function.
2. The Records Supervisor will prepare a Monthly Crime Analysis Report which utilizes the factors, functions, trends, characteristics, relationships, and descriptors included in this policy.
  1. The monthly report is distributed to the Command Staff, the patrol shift commanders, and the criminal investigations component.
  2. The Crime Analysis Report may be disseminated to other Criminal Justice agencies with the approval of the Chief of Police.
  3. Data regarding crime trends and patterns may be disseminated to the media and university groups with the approval of the Chief of Police.
3. The Records Supervisor will brief the Chief of Police on significant crime patterns and trends within the campus community.
4. Through effective analysis, the temporal and geographical distribution of specific crime trends can be determined. Such trend information will disseminate through:
  1. Analytical reports
  2. Suspect bulletins
  3. Hot spot or pin maps
Evaluation Reports
1. All arrests, suspects, and other information generated as a result of the Crime Analysis Report will be documented.
  1. Investigators and patrol officers will include any such documentation in a Supplemental Report routed through their supervisor to the Records department.
  2. The Records Supervisor will include all such documentation in the monthly report to the Records Supervisor.
2. Each year the Command Staff, the patrol shift commanders, and the criminal investigations component will evaluate the Crime Analysis function and its impact in relation to acknowledged objectives.