Police Policy and Effectiveness-- Part Three

The Rand study of detectives found that detectives and investigators are essentially unsuccessful. Many investigators spend a majority of their time doing paperwork, rather than working on arrest and clearance rates. Rand also found that patrol officers, most especially those that arrives first on the scene of a crime, are just as successful, if not more so, than the investigators to whom the cases are later assigned to. It was shown that manpower was essentially wasted on investigators right now. Investigators, in their traditional roles, are currently a strain on department resources, when officers that arrive first on the scene, are primary sources (as opposed to the secondary resources that most investigators are) collect evidence first, and speak directly to the victims first, are going to be better at case resolution than the investigators. Investigators arrive second on the scene, and then receive information from the patrol officers first.

Skogan and Antunes explain that the findings on the Rand study are not surprising because the investigators are often working with limitations, many of which are beyond their control. Therefore, it will seem as though they are not successful. For instance, the information that is given to the first respondent to the call (usually a patrol officer) is the best source of information, and is also an excellent determinant as to whether a case is going to be resolved. The investigator is secondary on the scene. Even after speaking to the victim, the very best information comes to the first person the victim speaks to, so the investigator gets his information second hand. In addition, whether an investigator is successful or not is largely determined by the number of arrests that are made, and cases that are closed. However, not all arrests lead to a lower clearance rate, and not all arrests are good ones. Therefore, basing the success of an investigator on his arrest rate (as opposed to his clearance rate) is not entirely fair. When gauging success, both the arrest and clearance rates are looked at. If they don't match, or the arrest is significantly higher than the clearance rate, then the investigator will look unsuccessful, and the departments policy on effectiveness and organizational effectiveness comes under fire.

Next: Problem Oriented and Zero Tolerance Policing.