I was traveling on a train this weekend and learned that my seat mate lived only blocks from me and was involved in community crime prevention efforts. She had been a victim of several crimes herself - including multiple burglaries and a purse snatching in her driveway. She was concerned about making her neighborhood as safe as possible. Since it is a fairly affluent neighborhood close to a relatively poverty-stricken area, this would call for some creative thinking. Problem analysis can help her and the officers who serve her.
In Problem Analysis in Policing, on page 2, problem analysis is described as:
"An approach/method/process conducted within
the police agency in which formal criminal justice
theory, research methods, and comprehensive
data collection and analysis procedures are used
in a systematic way to conduct in-depth
examination of, develop informed responses to,
and evaluate crime and disorder problems."
Quality crime and intelligence analysis are crucial to problem analysis. Because problem analysis is proactive rather than reactive and long-term rather than short-term, it is not well-implemented in our society. Yet it offers the possibility of lasting solutions to crime problems.
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