Deck 10: Conducting Crime Strategy Meetings

Question 1

The use of quarterly or annual trend data during crime strategy meetings

A) is acceptable to maintain the "big-picture" perspective.
B) is recommended as the primary analytic framework.
C) is the basis for understanding short-term trends.
D) discouraged.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

According to Compstat doctrine,crime strategy meetings promote brainstorming and creative problem solving; what does research indicate regarding operationalization of this ideal model?

A) near perfect adherence
B) close adherence
C) significant slippage
D) that it is never met

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The key to a crime-specific approach is

A) depth, not breadth.
B) breadth, not depth.
C) emphasis on breadth.
D) avoidance of depth.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Classic Compstat measurement errors include

A) subdividing the UCR category of theft.
B) measuring all arrests, both officer initiated and those resulting from calls-for-service.
C) linking arrests to specific assignments.
D) linking field interviews to specific assignments.

Question 5

Among agencies that employ crime strategy meetings,the atmosphere can typically be characterized as

A) confrontational but civil.
B) "no-nonsense" business meetings.
C) a management retreat setting.
D) run like a family reunion.

Question 6

The vast majority of agencies that employ crime strategy meetings argue vehemently that confrontation is

A) an enhancement to creativity.
B) necessary for accountability.
C) usually, but not always, necessary.
D) unnecessary.

Question 7

The degree of confrontation in the early days of Compstat in NYPD was likely a product of

A) local culture.
B) jumpstarting a moribund organization.
C) both culture and the need to jumpstart.
D) the personalities of the top command staff.

Question 8

If the data presented at a crime strategy meeting is a month old,then the emphasis of the meeting is likely

A) tactical planning.
B) accountability.
C) balanced between tactical planning and accountability.
D) pointless, and wasting everyone's time.

Question 9

Crime strategy meetings are doomed to degenerate into staff briefings unless there is discussion of

A) accountability.
B) strategic vision.
C) crime interdiction.
D) efficiency issues.

Question 10

Among agencies that employ GIS as part of crime strategy meetings,the most frequent assessment of GIS-based analysis is that

A) it had astounding results.
B) it is credited with solving innumerable crimes.
C) although useful, it did not meet original expectations.
D) although not quite a waste of time, it comes close.

Question 11

Most analytic comparisons during crime strategy meetings should use data focused on the last few

A) hours.
B) days.
C) weeks.
D) months.

Question 12

The use of GIS as part of crime analysis among agencies with 100+ officers now approaches ____ of agencies.

A) 50 percent
B) 75 percent
C) 82 percent
D) 100 percent

Question 13

The crime categories employed during the analysis portion of a crime strategy meeting should be

A) premised upon the Uniform Crime Reports Part I offenses.
B) parallel to both UCR Part I and Part II categories.
C) reflective of the National Incident Based Reporting System.
D) premised on an interdiction perspective.

Question 14

In most agencies,questioning of unit commanders during crime strategy meetings is done by

A) the chief of police or sheriff.
B) an assistant chief.
C) the director of crime analysis/intelligence.
D) a senior civilian administrator.

Question 15

The most cited problem with the employment of GIS for crime analysis is that it too often is

A) confusing.
B) a blur of dots.
C) technically riddled with "bugs."
D) actually an impediment to analysis.

Question 16

During the overview portion of a crime strategy meeting,using comparisons to "this month last year" is intended primarily to account for

A) short-term trends.
B) long-term trends.
C) seasonality.
D) validity in month-to-month crime data.

Question 17

If one were to conceive a continuum for the style of a crime strategy meeting,with 1 representing a pure accountability program and 10 representing pure tactical planning,today's typical meeting would be a

A) 1 or 2.
B) 4 or 5.
C) 8 or 9.
D) 10.

Question 18

Crime strategy meetings in the NYPD,compared to those in the 1990s,are currently

A) stressful, but do not use the confrontational model.
B) confrontational, but less so.
C) just as confrontational as ever.
D) more confrontational.

Question 19

Use of GIS to plot recovery locations of stolen vehicles facilitates identification of

A) home addresses of thieves.
B) chop shop locations.
C) repeat theft locations.
D) escape routes.

Question 20

The application of GIS that has attracted the most interest is which of the following?

A) auto-theft interdiction
B) hot spot deployment
C) parolee tracking
D) identifying probable drug houses