Author Description

A 2-year study of criminal investigations of burglary and robbery in three jurisdictions points toward a series of management changes that can yield a more effective and efficient use of investigative resources. The study involved the analysis of investigative data from more than 320 robberies and 3,360 burglaries in the 3 jurisdictions of DeKalb County, Ga.; St. Petersburg, Fla.; and Wichita, Kan. For each case, crime reports and other official data were obtained, and patrol officers and detectives completed logs of the actions they took, the amount of time involved, and the information obtained. More than 5,500 activity logs were analyzed, and researchers observed officers and detectives in the performance of their field duties. Police detectives and patrol officers were found to contribute equally to the solution of robbery and burglary cases, but the investigations rarely took more than 4 hours spread over as many days. Three-fourths of the investigations were suspended within 2 days because of lack of leads. In the remainder of cases, the followup work by detectives was a major factor in determining whether suspects were identified and arrested. However, detectives and patrol officers alike rely too heavily on victims, who seldom provide information leading to an arrest, and make too little use of those sources of information most likely to lead to arrest -- witnesses, informants, their own colleagues, and police records. Detailed findings and policy implications are discussed.